Dust off your cowabunga collection and prepare your fists for some serious turtle-powered mayhem, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving shell-first into TMNT: Mutant Melee, the 2005 arena-based fighting bonanza that took the 2003 animated series and asked the most important question: what if we just got all the turtles, their friends, AND their enemies into one room and let them beat the absolute snot out of each other? Developed by Konami for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC, this isn’t your typical one-on-one fighter—it’s more like if Smash Bros and Power Stone had a shell-covered baby and that baby knew all of Splinter’s teachings.

Joining us for this body-slamming brawl is the incomparable Tommy Proffitt from Distant Echoes and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge, a podcast wizard who understands the intricate art of dissecting character-based chaos and canon coherence like few others can. Plus being able to bring his signature blend of gaming nostalgia and comedic precision to help us determine if this colorful chaos simulator managed to capture the spirit of its source material or if it swung its nunchucks at empty air.

Together, we’ll navigate the treacherous waters of Last Man Standing mode, contemplate why anyone thought having 22 playable characters was a good idea, and investigate whether the game’s holiday-themed cosmetics (seriously—set the date to December 25th and watch the turtles rock Santa hats) are feature or bug.Continue Reading

Welcome back, comic crusaders and digital daredevils! This week on Play Comics, we’re diving into the gloriously chaotic world of Heavy Metal: Geomatrix for the Sega Dreamcast—a game that asks, “What if Heavy Metal magazine became a button-mashing arena brawler with enough explosions to make Michael Bay jealous?” Released by Capcom in 2001 and featuring the wild art of Simon Bisley, this four-player deathmatch extravaganza throws you into a 23rd-century future where VR-addicted humanity battles it out in submerged cities, all while capturing the magazine’s signature blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and “did my mom just see that?” moments.

Joining us for this high-octane journey through neo-cyberspace mayhem is none other than our beloved returning guest Billy – yes, the same mysterious internet hermit who graced us with his presence during our previous mecha-focused episodes covering Gundam Battle Assault 2 and Gundam Wing: Endless Duel. Billy’s back to help us navigate the testosterone-fueled battlegrounds of teams like the 818 Stompers, 991 Elite, 707 Metal Heads, and 323 Agents, because apparently in the future, gang names are just random numbers followed by edgy nouns.

So grab your favorite energy drink, prepare your best robot voice impressions, and settle in for another episode where we discover if this Dreamcast gem was a faithful adaptation or just an excuse to watch scantily-clad warriors duke it out with bazookas and laser swords in the name of preserving humanity. With Billy’s expert commentary on all things giant robot-adjacent, this promises to be more entertaining than watching someone try to explain the plot of Heavy Metal magazine to their grandmother!Continue Reading