Superman Returns: The Videogame (Xbox 360, 2006)

It has some genuinely cool elements, but ultimately ends up being another far-from-super release. Eventually, you're given the ability to move at hyperspeeds -- up to 800 mph -- and given the huge playing field that you're allowed, this gets crazy fun. As disappointing as this game is, the ability to literally fly up alongside a skyscraper at mach speed is a serious gaming rush.

After being given the basics of how to use your super breath, freeze breath and heat vision, you're suddenly supposed to be able to protect the city from dozens of meteorites hurtling downward. You'll shoot down a mess of them, but eventually the city will take too much damage and you've failed. If you manage to somehow make it through this one, you're then tossed into a battle arena where, for some reason, you're pitted against a morphing enemy who would be considered at least a minor boss in most games. Should this have been my intro to the game's fight mechanics? No. It's frustrating as hell. Oddly, once -- and if -- you beat him, the real game starts and the level of the competition drops rapidly. To its credit, the game does do a good job of dealing with the Superman concept. He doesn't have a health meter, per se. That's cool. He's Superman, after all. Instead of having to worry about his health, you have to be concerned with the health of Metropolis. If the city gets pounded, you lose. Supes is kind of like a goalie that has to protect an 80-square-mile net.

The game obviously tries to mimic the open-endedness and free-roaming of Spider-Man 2. Unfortunately, while you have an 80-square-mile playing field on which to explore, there's very little free-roaming to do. All you have to do is fly off in a certain direction to kick off a new chapter. The result is that you never have a chance to just goof around and check out this vast playground. You're constantly being yanked into battle after repetitive battle against Metallo and a series of land-based or air-based robots. The concept of a huge Metropolis is a great one. The fact that you get very little chance to actually poke around in the city is a letdown. Yes, there's a Mr. Mxyzptlk mini-game that centers around finding lost kittens, but it would have been nice to have some middle ground between retrieving lost pets and saving the city from robotic or meteoric devastation.

Superman Returns: The Videogame is clearly the most ambitious of the Superman releases that gamers have had a chance to play. There are some solid elements that development should key on if -- and when -- a sequel gets the OK. The flight aspect is absolutely thrilling. There are few bigger trips than being able to weave through the streets and around the buildings of Metropolis at normal or high speed. The size of the city is another huge plus. An uneven difficulty level, not much variety in quests and battles, clunky and temperamental controls, and the lack of any type of multiplayer will all quickly frustrate you.

Introduction
While I haven't had too much success enjoying Movie Tie in games, here is another one. A few websites list this game as a sandbox game, it definitely not like Grand Theft Auto or even Crackdown. It feels more like an RPG game where you have a main story line and side quests to progress. There might be a little spoiler but I will try my best.

Content:
While this has the same name as the movie, the game and the movie share very little in the storyline. The game itself is short to complete the main storyline. You get to face a half dozen or so villains in the Superman Universe. The side quests and achievements extend the life of the game but not by much and is very annoying.

Game play:
The first few mission you learn how to use Superman's super powers. The usual flying, running and punching, also you get to perform combo moves to deal extra damage. You can interact with most of the items and people in Metropolis, this can actually be more harmful because it part of the city's health that you have to maintain.

Graphics:
The game is third person. The graphics are ok at best and with the big city like Metropolis the interactive scenery just gets repetitive.

Sound and Music:
Little sound bits of Superman can be heard from time to time but most of the speech comes from cut scenes. The music doesn't have the feel like the movies where you have a large orchestral score.

Difficulty:
This is a very easy game. If "Superman" is defeated you just continue where you left off. Once you lean each villain's weakness you will defeat them with ease. You can most likely finish the game in one day.

Final Thoughts:
This game is a rental game. While you can find this in most bargain bins. You rarely find a good movie tie in game and this game proves that. While it did have a good starting point, I feel the programmers didn't execute it properly and was rushed out the door.

Pros
+ A huge world to fly through with a few familiar faces & old enemies to fight.
+ A real sense of being Superman. Fly at dizzying speeds. Lift massive objects. Use unbelievable powers to save or destroy.
+ You can use cheat codes if you want to.

Cons
- Lots of glitches, some frustrating moments running & flying, & some annoyingly hard enemies.
- Missions are repetitive and can interfere with other things around the city you may want to do more.
- No real depth after you get past flying through Metropolis as Superman. Not enough interaction with the city.
- Graphics are smoother but not really an improvement over the Xbox except for being shinier.

Comments
Fans have waited for a great Superman game for awhile. Superman Returns delivers an enjoyable ride as Superman that is not as frustrating as the games that have came before it but still lacks deliveriing the most complete experience. Some of the cutscenes look quite nice but most of the dialogue is cheesier than the movie. Any fan of Superman should love this game though.

Verdict
A must have for any hardcore Superman fan but probably only a rental for the rest of the world. 3.5/5

If you haven't read my comments before I briefly said I was waiting
for the game. Two weeks ago I finally received it. So far I like the
challenges I am facing. The opening graphics are okay, I wished the title
was a bit more enticing. The opening scene has Superman seeing a meteor shower
aimed straight for earth. Jor El (superman) father tells him about his powers
namely flying. Work on flying better and using your heat vision and cold breath
effective if you want to advance further in the game. I am still trying to over
come the meteor shower. Wish me luck. In short it is a challenging game with
interesting twist and surprises. I will tell you more later if you are still
interested.

gus8385.

One of the best games of the year!!! You can fly all over any part of the city and you have use of Superman's full arsenal of weapons. Finally a good movie comes to the video game.