No other pop culture icon has suffered in the eyes of gamers more than Kal-el, son of Krypton. From the bizarre cartoony Japanese take on the NES to the Plan 9 From Outer Space of gaming Superman 64, to the recent big production flop, Superman: The Man of Steel on Xbox (Superman: Shadow of Apoklips got enough right to remove itself from this list), Clark Kents alter ego has taken more punishment from game developers than a gigantic Metallo filled with kryptonite.When EA announced a couple of years ago that it had acquired the Superman license, the news was met with hope and trepidation.
Long time Madden developers Tiburon were tasked with bringing the chosen son of Krypton from the movies to the game screen. Theres no doubt that Tiburon are a talented bunch, but they were going to have to leave their comfort zone for the Phantom zone and have to deal with the fallout if their Superman game didnt match up. In that sense, Tiburon was almost faced with an impossible task due to the overwhelming expectation of DC Comics fans. How do you attempt to make up for every rotten Superman game ever created? As Superman fanatic and comedian Jerry Seinfeld would say Good luck with all that
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Jun 16, 2017 DBPG: Superman Returns Review (Xbox 360) - Duration: 12:37. Drink a Beer and Play a Game 10,617 views. For Superman Returns on the Xbox 360, GameFAQs has 1 FAQ (game guide/walkthrough), 32 cheat codes and secrets, 7 reviews, and 57 critic reviews.
Superman Returns the game, is very loosely based on the blockbuster movie, and I mean, loosely. The only real tie-in of any substance happens to be the fact that actor Brandon Routh allowed his likeness for his onscreen heroic counterpart and lent him his voice. He should have stopped at the likeness, but Ill get to the lame voice-acting later. You will see and hear actors Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor) and Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) and other actors from the movie, but for the most part theyve been completely overlooked in favor of more colorful villains ripped from the pages of the comic books such as Metallo, Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bizarro Superman.
In doing so, Superman Returns is all-action, preferring to focus directly on the exploits of Metropolis only savior in his attempt to save the city from numerous threats. Unfortunately by completely side-stepping any dramatic elements that involve Clark Kent and his personal relationships (even by way of cutscenes) Superman Returns lacks overall depth. Of course, there is the argument that no one would buy a Clark Kent simulator, but therein lies the problem with most superhero games.
Ive said it before and Ill say it again, if you gave gamers the opportunity to spend some time in the secret identity, allowing them to change at will into the hero, ripping off the shirt, changing in a back alley, youd have that missing element no other superhero game has. Players want to feel that rush of going from zero to hero. By denying them this one fairly simple act, which we see ignored over and over and over again, is to suggest that game developers are still missing that one key ingredient that would connect their audience to their game.
Would it make the game for some players? I believe it would. The first development team who creates a freeroam sandbox superhero game in which players can create their own costumes, change at will from a created secret identity while roaming the streets and features enough random crimes with boss battles that take place completely free-roam in the streets will have a sure fire hit on their hands. Surely this next generation of systems could handle this with nary a hiccup.
Its not processing muscle this idea needs to come to fruition, its imagination and creativity.Speaking of imagination, I defy anyone not to be impressed (or even giddy) the moment they take control of Superman and fly extremely high into the air over Metropolis and then swoop down at superspeed and fly between the skyscrapers. The 80 square miles of city is impressive and many will enjoy just flying around as their favorite caped do-gooder. The flying controls of Superman are the star of the show, even though players can expect a learning curve because both analog sticks are required for flight. I spent some time with the demo in preparation of the game so I was ready to hit the air when I got my hands on the final copy. Superman can eventually reach speeds of 800 mph in the game (faster than the speed of sound) but quite truthful the effect at which Supes travels doesnt translate to that actual speed in the game.
Otherwise youd make it to the other side of the world in a second. Superman can pick up and fly with large heavy objects littering the landscape such as vehicles, boats, cargo containers, carts, people and even the Daily Planet globe.
Superman can then use these objects aside from the citizens of Metropolis to throw at the small collection of badguys hell encounter over and over throughout the game. On the ground, Superman can also run at superspeed and for the most part it works well, although it defies all logic that when he runs into the side of a building while carrying a person to an ambulance, the person is A-Ok. I guess it is, afterall, just a game, right?This brings me to the next area of disappointment in Superman Returns. Aside from some missions on WarWorld, Superman will be faced with battling an endless cycle of cookie-cutter robots and flying gargoyle creatures which are hellbent on destroying the city. Superman, who for the first time in a game is invulnerable to attack and thus has no health bar, must save Metropolis, which does have a health meter.
If the citys health is depleted from too many attacks, its Game Over. As the Man of Steel you wont be given the pleasure of feeling bullets bounce off your chest as you wont be able to confront bank robbers, muggers or other petty criminals. Its almost as though the character of Superman has become too big for those kinds of everyday crimes. Thats more of a Spider-Man deal. Superman will save the planet, Spidey can stop the bank robbers. The boss battles in the game can be entertaining but are generally over quickly once you realize what to do (like most games, lets be fair).
The gigantic Metallo youll fight in the city is quite impressive and youll probably enjoy fighting the largest boss ever to grace a 3D free-roam game. While I wont give away the last boss entirely, I can tell you rather disappointedly that its not Lex or even another human villain, nor is it a robot. Its a natural disaster. And if Twister taught us anything, its an EVIL natural disaster as there are no other kinds.Batman has his wonderful toys, Spider-Man has his webs and I cant remember what Green Arrow has, but Superman has always had an array of cool (yet strangely bizarre) superpowers at his disposal. Tiburon removed the X-ray vision and super-hearing in the game (although Supes will hear peoples cries for distress when a new chapter opens), but provided players with Heat vision, Freeze breath and Blow breath, each of which are mapped to the d-pad and can be upgraded to devastating levels.
Each of the powers has their own particular strengths and weaknesses and some players will experiment more with them than others. I found using the Blow breath to blow the enemies hundreds of feet into the air gave me some extra time to focus on more dangerous enemies.
It also enabled me to remove them from the equation and fight them in more secluded areas so they couldnt damage the city so readily.
: TeenSeriesWebsiteTwitchTwitterFacebookThis guide is for the console version. For the version, see.Superman Returns: The Videogame is a video game loosely based on the movie of the same name, developed by - in Orlando, Fla., in conjunction with and DC Comics. It features a story arc from the movie, which was released on, and more than 60 years of comic book content. EA Tiburon, known for its game series, has claimed that the game combines strong creative vision and compelling new technology to deliver a powerful and emotional gaming experience to their consumers, and they will experience a real sense of flying while mastering Superman's superhero powers to save Metropolis. Continue to:→→In the game, Superman combats Metallo, who does not appear in the movie, as well as other classic villains (including Mongul) as well as being able to play as Bizarro for a short period of time in one of the many minigames inserted into the game. The game was produced for the next-generation Xbox 360 as well as current generation platforms and handhelds although it was canceled for the due to it not having enough power to support the game.Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment secured an all-star cast for the voices in Superman Returns: The Videogame.
The game features the voice and likeness of Brandon Routh (Superman/Clark Kent) as well as the voices of Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski) and Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen), all reprising their roles from the Warner Bros. Pictures film directed by Bryan Singer.The game was released on,. The and also featured games based on the film, but they are fundamentally different from the console title. The games were delayed from their original release date (set to coincide with the theatrical release of the film) due to design complications and issues with polish on the console game. The handheld games were delayed in order to preserve a simultaneous release with non-handheld SKUs. The games were ultimately released on November 22, 2006 in the United States and November 30 in Australia, to coincide with the DVD release of Superman Returns.Gameplay The game has an 80 sq. Mile free-roaming map, and the character is able to fly into the stratosphere generated in the game though not into the depths of the ocean surrounding the fictional city.
Superman's complete array of superpowers are at the player's disposal, and the player is required to 'master' Superman's powers, because Superman might cause harm to the city if his powers are used incorrectly. If the player wishes to use heat vision, they must use the right power level, for too much power can lead to civilian casualties and destruction. Although, at the beginning of the game you will start off using the most basic forms of Superman's powers and you will be required to upgrade them in order to achieve greater strength, speed, distance and damage.As for the flying in-game, the player will be able to fly at different speeds, the maximum being 800 mph, which is faster than the speed of sound. The faster Superman travels, the more the screen will blur.
As stated above, each power will have different levels of energy.In the main game, Superman is indestructible: no matter what happens to Superman in the game, he cannot be killed.The one exception is during the second part of the tutorial mission which is three boss fights in a row without a checkpoint on War World, here Superman does take damage to the point oif mission failure.But Metropolis isn't as fortunate, there is a damage meter - if too much damage is done to the city during a mission (in other words, if the damage meter is fully depleted) then the game ends. Superman has a stamina meter that depletes as more power is used. Players can fly Superman into the atmosphere and absorb sunlight to replenish the stamina meter faster, as performed by Superman many times in comic books.In the game, the player is challenged to be creative with Superman's powers. To stop a burning building, for example, Superman could use his freeze breath and risk not being able to save all of the civilian casualties in time, or alternatively, he could pick up a fire truck and station it at a more convenient level (i.e. On top of a building adjacent to the burning one) for a faster extinguishing effect.Amongst the various unlockables, there are alternate costumes (a 'Pod Suit' and 'Golden Age Suit' are featured in addition to the suit from the film).
These costumes will be accessed from the 'Fortress of Solitude' (the menu screen). A 'Bizarro' mode is also featured where the player must destroy as much as they are told to in a limited time. There is also an unlockable 'Bizzaro rampage' mode that will allow the player to cause havoc as Bizzaro for an unlimited amount of time. This mode is accessible by using a cheat code found on the Superman Returns DVD.Superman's famed x-ray vision is used automatically when Superman picks-up an object. The object is made transparent to the player so it will not obstruct the player's point of view during gameplay.Story The story begins with Metropolis suffering a devastating meteor shower.
Superman uses his full array of powers, including his strength, freeze breath, and heat vision to destroy the deadly rocks before they can strike the city.Following this incident, astronomers announce that they have discovered the remains of the dead planet Krypton. Superman flies to the distant galaxy in the space rocket that his father sent him to Earth in to investigate the ruins of his homeworld and to see if there is anything left. He finds only gigantic, asteroid-sized chunks of, pieces of the planet that were irradiated by the supernova that destroyed the great civilization.
Superman turns his ship around and heads back to Earth, but along the way he is intercepted by and forced to compete in gladitorial combat in. Mongul first pits him against an elite team of warriors known as the Plahtune, but the Man of Steel easily besats them. Next he confronts, an alien who can fire energy from his hands and who can also transform into a gigantic energy-based creature that can emit shock waves of power. After Superman overcomes him, Mongul himself steps into the arena to battle Superman. Though he is powerful and possesses great strength, Mongul is still no match for the Last Son of Krypton, who beats him nearly to death.
At the conclusion of their fight, Superman picks up the crushed Mongul and prepares to deliver what would most certainly be a killing strike. Mongul taunts him, 'Go on, Superman. You know you want to.' Superman then throws Mongul's broken body to the floor and states that the fight is over. Superman then finds his ship and sets off for Earth, but Mongul vows that he will find him.Superman's return to Metropolis is greeted with ecstatic applause by most, but Lois Lane seems somewhat hesitant to put her faith in him again. Soon after his return, however, Metallo attacks the city with an army of robotic beings.
Superman is forced to fight both the supervillain and his minions. The lesser opponents are of little consequence to the Kryptonian, but Metallo is another matter.
Superman and the robot go hand-to-hand, and Metallo transforms into a towering monstrosity that Superman cannot directly touch, because his kryptonite-laced body will cause the Man of Steel to temporarily lose his stamina. Superman compensates for this by throwing vehicles at the villain. Realizing that he is about to be defeated, Metallo fires a large missile to level the city, but Superman intercepts the projectile and hurls it into the stratosphere. Superman shows Metallo no mercy, gathering all of his powers and charging the villain, tearing through his body and ripping out his power source.Unbeknownst to Superman, during his absence Lex Luthor broke into the and stole the data crystals. Luthor experiments with the crystals by adding a small particle to water, and the resulting city-wide power failure releases numerous villains and genetic creatures, including Bizarro.
Bizarro begins a rampage throughout Metropolis, destroying buildings and attacking citizens. Though Bizarro is of equal might, Superman is a much more experienced warrior. In the end Superman defeats Bizarro, but does not kill him because he knows that the poor creature is incapable of understanding his actions.No sooner has he defeated Bizarro than an old enemy returns for a rematch. Mongul and his minions have followed Superman to Earth. Superman battles the Plahtune and Overkhast, and after beating them confronts Mongul once again. The fight is fierce, but as before the Man of Steel emerges victorious. Mongul admits that he is defeated and flees Earth.There is no time to celebrate this victory, because Luthor has put his diabolical scheme of creating a new world with the Kryptonian crystals into effect.
Luthor plants the main crystal and an entire new landmass begins to form off the coast of Metropolis, which causes several tornados to form and tear through the city. Superman deflects the tornados and extinguishes the fires that have erupted throughout the city, then flies out over the water to investigate. He finds Luthor's boat sinking, the evil mastermind having abandoned it after planting the crystal. Lois had sneaked onto the ship and is trapped as it is sinking, and Superman rescues her and takes her unconscious form to the coast guard.
He then discovers the gigantic new island forming as a result of the crystal. Superman lands on the island, and discovers too late that he has fallen into a trap. The island is laced with kryptonite. Luthor beats and taunts the Man of Steel and then kicks his powerless form into the ocean far below. But Lois arrives with the coast guard and rescues Superman, who flies into outer space to bask in the rays of the sun before burrowing his way under the ocean floor and lifting the landmass directly out of the water and throwing it into space.Superman flies back to Metropolis to take care of the few remaining villains who earlier escaped him, and the game ends.