I just downloaded the Superman Returns demo and gave it a quick play through. In short, it's actually pretty good (I invite my fellow 360 Fanboy bloggers to disagree). It seems like for all the crap EA puts on the market, there's always one or two good games, too. It's the law of averages really. After all, if you put out 500* games a year, at least a few of them have to be good, right? Superman, however, is special, and not just because he's Superman either. No, the Son of Krypton has a sordid past in the videogame world. It's arguable that there has only ever been one Superman game that was actually fun, and that was the arcade game -- in fairness, I've never played the NES Superman and I somewhat enjoyed The Death and Return of Superman on Genesis/SNES. Read on for impressions (especially Live Silver members, who, we have just learned, cannot currently download the demo).
Back to Superman Returns. Superman Returns borrows heavily from Activision's excellent Spider-man 2 (which still isn't back compat, by the way). Superman Returns drops the Man of Steel directly in a huge free roaming version of Metropolis (though the demo only gives you a tiny portion of the overall city). From here, you can pretty much do whatever you want. You can blast things with heat vision, blow them away with Super Breath, or freeze them with Ice Breath. The one thing you must do is fly as high as you can and look at the city below. It was at that point that I actually felt like Superman, watching the city below. From this vantage, you can easily spot the trouble markers that pop up in the city and promptly fly straight for them. Flying faster than a speeding bullet from the such great heights to the city below is very cool.
That's what the demo (and presumably the game) really gets right. You do feel like Superman. Other elements, the combat in particular, feel like they could have used more work. The combat isn't bad, but it's not exactly thrilling either. The combat animations are impressive enough, but you don't really feel like you're in control of them. Also, saving citizens one by one and taking them to the ambulance is tedious -- on the plus side, it doesn't seem to have a big effect on the game if you don't save them. The other (minor) quip is that the game doesn't really do anything special in the graphics department. Put simply, the game looks like it could have been done on Xbox. It would have been a great looking Xbox game, but as a 360 title it falls a little flat. It's not a deal breaker, but it's something people will notice. Also curiously absent from the demo is Superman's trademark theme music. Considering the game is tied directly with the movie, you'd think that was a no-brainer.
Overall, the demo paints a good picture for the retail game. I'm not sure how long it will remain entertaining, as flying doesn't require the Tony Hawk-like skill that Spider-man 2's web slinging does, but what's in the demo is pretty solid. What are your thoughts?
*This is a made up number. I have no idea how many games EA actually releases.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-15-2006 @ 12:34PM
Anthony D said...
I totally agree....the demo is great!! I think this one will be an owner!! I love the mach speed flying effects and the super powers are cool as hell!!! The graphics are good too....damn I didn't want to buy another game before the holidays!! 360 RULES!!!!!
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11-15-2006 @ 12:42PM
Tony said...
The NES one is probably the worst. Go back and play it lol.
I never thought this game would suck, personally. Problems with EA's practices aside, the actual information on the game was always pretty promising. I like that "life of the city" idea as opposed to a traditional health meter.
Looking forward to playing it later on.
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11-15-2006 @ 12:53PM
Ciscomancer said...
I heard the heat vision, Super Breath, and Ice Breath have all been removed from the actual game, but will be available on XBLM for 900 points each.
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11-15-2006 @ 12:56PM
tim said...
nothing will ever beat the atari 2600 version of superman!!!
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11-15-2006 @ 1:04PM
botdeluxe said...
Yeah the demo is pretty good, surprisingly. I the fighting was abit shallow but after the movie at teh end of the demo, it looks like there is alot more to it. Damn, another game to pick up...
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11-15-2006 @ 1:11PM
Tucker said...
Interesting, one of my friends played it this morning and told me the controls are terrible. Since I have pretty much negative interest in this game, sadly I will not be taking the time to evaluate whether or not that's true.
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11-15-2006 @ 1:24PM
Lion said...
I don't care for it at all. If two items or people are next to each other, sometimes you pick up or punch the wrong one. That's a bit troublesome. Also, high-speed flight is too slow. I'm not a big Superman fan to begin with; so maybe that's why I don't like it as much as others. I suppose a fan starved for a half-decent Superman game will be pleased that this one doesn't appear that it will totally suck.
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11-15-2006 @ 2:03PM
splitmetal said...
I'd be more interested in that old Taito arcade version you pointed out.
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11-15-2006 @ 2:14PM
Alex Keen said...
This game is about as much fun as throwing quarters at a trash can. The flying mechanism is ZERO fun, not because they don't get it right, but because how Superman flies is silly. The physics seemed far too cartoony and the control wasn't loose enough. This is a game that will disappear faster than you can say Brute Force.
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11-15-2006 @ 3:26PM
DSK UK said...
This demo reminded me way too much of Spider mans 2, and not in a good way. It's like they've seen how spider man 2 worked and thought "yes, lets steal it".
Similarities include:
The map - Looks identical to the one used in Spider man 2 just with Metropolis instead of New York
"Living city" - an open world design. Granted, this has been done in many other games but it's still similar.
Random rescues - Like the random crimes that riddled New York, Metropolis has the same sort of structure
XP - Gaining XP points for doing Good deeds. I wouldn't be suprised if the game included a spidey...i mean, Superman shop where you could use your XP points to go faster and buy more moves.
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11-15-2006 @ 4:03PM
sev4 pri1 said...
atari 2600 superman was a hoot. guess I'll have to play it this weekend now.
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11-15-2006 @ 4:15PM
Chappy said...
If EA charges for cheat codes in the game, I won't buy it or rent it (no matter how good a demo it has).
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11-15-2006 @ 5:08PM
Bennyishere said...
I liked it a little, but the fighting was awful. The graphics weren't exactly great, either. I thought the demo was sucky, but I'm pretty sure the full game is a lot better. The flying was pretty nice, but turning isn't as easy as I want it to be.
Seems as it'll be one of those games that makes up for bland gameplay with loads of value.
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11-15-2006 @ 5:49PM
Eddie said...
i'd check the thermostat, champ.
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11-15-2006 @ 7:27PM
The1 said...
I think the game is cool. I will get it for nephew as a Christmas gift and me of course.
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11-15-2006 @ 7:49PM
aragorn said...
This game actually makes me want to play the incredible hulk.
I'm kinda back and forth on the demo. I mean... it's pretty, it's intelligently designed, and very dramatic
but the controls are kinda a pain, plus it's really difficult to get superman to do what you want him to do.
Ultimately I think what works against this game is that it's... well... superman. you have unlimited power, that you cannot for some reason use to wreak havok... I'm out. I'm not saying that I'm looking for another GTA (and yes, I know about the bizzarro minigame)... but protecting everything around you just isn't that interesting. carrying injured people to ambulances... again, not interesting (you had to do this in the hulk too).
that and it's EA... so they dropped the ball somewhere... we just don't know where yet.
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11-16-2006 @ 12:45AM
Johnny said...
lets see here.
1.you cant jump, youre forced to fly over the curb.
2.fighting is terrible
3.the citizens of metropolis seemingly cannot die...so why do they even need my help?
4.feels like once youve learned the controls, the game doesnt really offer much else.
5. citizens and car graphics SUCK.
it does have some positive things about it tho.
1. the city is huge and pretty detailed. tho a little cookie cutter generic. but still its massive.
2.your freedom to fly about is cool. mostly how high you can go before hitting the game ceiling.
3. the environmental and main character graphics are nice.
in the end, I dont think its worth buying. and after the demo, its not even worth renting.
I'll just keep the demo.
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11-16-2006 @ 6:14AM
Chronos_777 said...
My main problem with the game is the controls. First, the game is practically a thrid person shooter, but if I move the left stick to the side, the camera follows, If I am using the right stick to aim, the only thing that should move the camera shoulc be the right stick. Also, I find it irritating that Super only has two speeds Super-fast, or Super-slow. The demo was pretty fun, but these annoyances could really grate after a while in the full game. My decision on the game itself? I'll wait until the price is cheaper, maybe pick it tup used. Besides, I need the money to build my Wii360 combo!
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11-16-2006 @ 10:04AM
ElementsUnknown said...
I think the demo is pretty good, but the opinion of the game could have been influenced by the fact that everything I have read about the game for the last year was that it totally sucks. When the demo didnt suck everyone was presently surprised. I would give it an 8 out of 10, lets all hope the final game expands all of the themes of the demo. BTW, the graphics still look lackluster compared to Gears of War and other AAA titles releasing soon.
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11-16-2006 @ 3:55PM
moksha said...
I got it, but the missions bored me, so I invented a new game. Superman: Traffic Cop Extraordinaire! Go to a four-way intersection, and either use your super powers to blow or explode cars, or pick up0 a stop sign and whack them.
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