Superman Returns: the Game has a lot going for it. It's coming off the heels of one of the most anticipated movies of our generation and features one of the world's most recognizable characters.
That being said, it also has a lot going against it. It's no secret that with a few notable exceptions (Chronicles of Riddick, X: men Legends) games based off movies and comic books, well, suck. To make matters worse, past Superman games are notorious for being lackluster and disappointing; in fact, Superman 64 is widely recognized as one of the worst games of all time.
Much like comic book turned movie games before it, Returns takes the story from the film and expands upon it, giving you a much larger and much deeper Metropolis. Not only will you face off against Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor, but you'll also do battle with some of big blue's most menacing foes from the pages of his long running comic adventures including Metallo and Brainiac.
Superman Returns features villians not featured in the Hollywood blockbuster.
While the game has been delayed until this October to coincide with the film's eventual DVD release, early videos have shown that EA is focusing on Superman's ability to fly as a focal point. Much like in Spiderman 2 and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, players have the ability to control their hero in a completely living city. Supes can fly from one end of Metropolis to the other, swoop down to street level and back up with ease. In a nice touch, when flying at higher speeds, the screen starts to go blurry and you can actually see yourself breaking the sound barrier.
Often in the videos, Superman will be flying straight into buildings, only to almost bounce off as if there was rubber padding over the sides of the structures. While the game is only roughly 50% complete, we should be able to do some damage to the things we hit, at the very least maybe we could see some very small debris falling off the building. Just think of the added gameplay this would bring; not only do you have to stop the giant robot attacking downtown Metropolis, but you must also keep the citizens below safe from falling mess being made. It looks like the rest of your surroundings including cars and landmarks, are interactive, why not in this aspect?
You will of course have access to Superman's entire arsenal of Kryptonian abilities. Everything from heat vision, to ice breath seems to be well represented. Check out the videos of Superman using his heat vision to seemingly make a large stone fall on a baddie, or even cooler, picking up the globe from high atop the Daily Planet, then zoom down to street level at a screaming velocity, throw the globe down the street, then freeze almost the entire area with his breath. It seems that Returns may be the first game to finally capture the freedom and thrill of being the man of steel.
Keeping track of someone who's faster than a speeding bullet can prove to be a daunting task, but luckily it seems that, barring a few minor problems (that seem like they will be changed before the game goes gold), the game's camera system seems to work extremely well. The camera is constantly changing to give you the best vantage point of the action. In one of the videos, Superman uses a move called "1,000 fists" where he inflicts damage on an enemy by coming at him at very high speeds from all directions, and the camera manages to do a decent job staying with the frenetic action.
Like other recent superhero games, the main quest finds you battling against major enemies and notable foes, but you can also veer from the past and take side quests that vary from putting out fires to stopping huge tornadoes heading towards Metropolis. Tiburon studios, the game's developers, have said that your choices will affect gameplay, in various ways. For instance, you will be able to see the path of destruction set forth by that Tornado you were to busy to stop. This very same feature was hyped heavily in 2004's Spiderman 2 but when the game was finally released, there were about four or five side quests that repeated themselves, and had no effect on gameplay. Hopefully, this is not the case here.
From flight to heat vision; all of the man of steel's powers are at your disposal
Even among men with abilities and powers far greater than any human; Superman is an almost god like figure. This poses a problem for Tiburon, much like it has for every game developer who has tried to take the task of turning the man of steel digital. Upon starting the game, the main character is essentially a walking god mode. No bullets can harm him, and he has an array of weaponry at his disposal. It will be very important to see how the game deals with these factors and gives gamers a challenge, as the release date grows closer.
Though we are still over four months away from playing the finished version of the game, Superman Returns looks as if it has the potential to break tradition, and quite possibly be the first good Superman video game. Keep watching this site for future news on Superman Returns: the Game.
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