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For many, the absolutely dire Nintendo64 iteration of Superman
killed the franchise, not that it ever had a great deal of quality
Licensed games prior to this release. Initially planned to launch at
the same time as the film, Superman Returns was delayed by EA
as at
 the
time the game was clearly unfinished. As the title is released at
the end of the month, it comes as little surprise that it’s looking
a lot nicer now. Players take control of the Man Of Steel as he
attempts to defend Metropolis from various villains and natural
disasters. While around half of the plot is closely related to the
film, the rest is derived from the last 60 years of DC Comics and
will feature more outlandish villains than the relatively normal Lex
Luthor. The game allows players free-roam of eighty square miles of
Metropolis and includes over eight-thousand buildings. The game also
had no visible Load Times, but this may not occur in the full
release.
As most people know, Superman has a wealth of powers at his disposal
and lots of these have made it into the game. Heat Rays, Ice Breath
and, of course, Flight are all present and correct, the latter
easily activated with a tap of the Y Button, whilst the others are
mapped to the D-Pad. Superman earns Experience Points throughout the
game by defeating enemies, these Points can then be spent on new
hand-to-hand combos and ability upgrades. Superman is also
invincible so a Health Bar is not required, instead the players
motivation is the health of the city. As more buildings are
destroyed and people hurt, this health is reduced. In order to heal
the city Superman must help civilians, defeat enemies and reverse
the damage caused by disasters. Although not every aspect of the
game could easily be judged by the brief playtime available, it’s
safe to say that Superman Returns has improved dramatically
and, more importantly, has the potential to be really quite good. |
