My review of Turtle Odyssey:
This site hasn't had a platformer in ages. And by "platformer", I don't mean a generic collect-em-up which is basically Pac-Man with a vertical dimension. Now that this is being offered...it still doesn't.
While having more than one screen, unlike other similar games, the player still doesn't need to do anything except for collect a certain number of objects to reach the next level. However, instead of collecting everything, one only needs to collect the six gigantic rubies to progress, and can effectively ignore the coins and other bonuses. This makes it ridiculously easy, especially given the arrow at the edge of the screen that constantly points to the next ruby. The player has to walk in that direction to get it, of course, but it's really not that different from other collect-em-ups. The enemies are easily killed and don't really put up a fight in the first place; Ozzy, the main character, has way too much health to make death a likely possibility; and, with only six rubies to collect, levels can be finished in less than two minutes. In short, it's extremely easy, and didn't hold my interest for the full first level.
The graphics, however, are exceptionally nice, with well-done lighting and high-polygon 3D modeling. It's all pre-rendered, of course, and really 2D fakes of 3D models, but that allows the game to run smoothly on any computer. Framerates are also high.
The sound, however, is so generically portal-game-esque that my ears almost hurt from the boredom. That was meant as a joke, of course, but it really is bland. The music is the same droney mush used in match-3s, the twinkly coin effects are generic, and the menu sounds are hardly special. The enemy-kill sounds are actually bad - the octopus being the worst of all(it sounds like it's puking).
The theme sounds like something that a guy made up when he was high. A turtle is interrupted in his game of snowball catch by a furry fish, so he embarks on a quest to find out what the fish is. However, the only way that he can escape from the snails and sea urchins that are out to kill him is by collecting six giant rubies, which will open a stained-glass door.
Am I the only one who thinks that that is one of the stupidest storylines ever? Also, the character model for Ozzy blatantly copies the sea turtle design in Finding Nemo - and they even included Dory as an enemy! This game isn't so much ocean-themed as it is Nemo-themed.
Overall, I give Turtle Odyssey a score of five and a half out of ten(four for gameplay, nine for graphics, four for sound, and five for theme). It's too easy to be any real fun for players older than five, and the generic sound and plagiaristic theme are turn-offs already.
Small side note: Apparently, any deviation from the main path is a "SECRET AREA!". It really makes me feel special when I find all four in a level.