I usually struggle with strategy games. They're typically too hard for me, and I often get overwhelmed at managing multiple characters or squads. But I couldn't put down Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, which blends ideas from strategy games and classic TMNT arcade games to keep things snappy, easy to play, and full of action.

One way Tactical Takedown - developed by I Am Your Beast maker Strange Scaffold - keeps things simple is by having you play as just one character in each of the game's 20 levels. The four turtles have different movesets; Leonardo, for example, uses his swords to aggressively attack enemies, while Michelangelo can zip around the playing field on his skateboard. You're able to customize each turtle's arsenal by buying new moves, but I didn't change the movesets at all and got through the game just fine.

Battles take place in a grid overlaid on small chunks of very TMNT locations, like a street, sewer, or subway system. Every turn, you have six "action points" to spend as you please, whether that's moving around the level or attacking bad guys. You just press a button to use one of your moves, no menu required, which speeds things up considera …

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