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EA does the Superman franchise right. Many developers and publishers have tried to make a good Superman but they usually end up failing. EA knew this quite well going into Superman Returns and decided to have the game launch several months after the film’s theatrical release to make sure that the game was top-notch. The time was well spent since Superman Returns delivers the most authentic super hero experience since Spider-Man 2.
Superman Returns is about half movie stuff and half original stuff. The movie missions progress the game’s story, but you’ll also have a lot of side content. You’ll find a lot of the comic book characters in the game as you’re given some background information on Superman, including what he did during his hiatus from Metropolis. The original content (fighting the comic book enemies, rescuing citizens and stuff of this ilk) was obviously added to extend the game’s length but manages to work well and highlights the game’s gameplay. Throughout the story, you’ll frequently have to fight Metallo. He begins at a reasonable 12 feet before turning enormous.
EA Tiburon did a great job of making you feel like you’re playing as Superman. Superman still has all of the powers you expect from him including flight, super speed, heat vision, super breath and super strength. You can upgrade his different abilities to be stronger and have a wider range. For example, the heat vision will begin as a single ray but can eventually be upgraded into a much thicker, stronger ray that attacks in all directions. Aside from the powers, you do have basic melee combat ability. You can power slam, punch, uppercut, etc. Additionally, you can also pick up almost anything in the game and lunge it at an enemy.
Superman is nearly invincible so you don’t actually take damage in the game. Instead the missions give Metropolis a life bar. As enemies (or you) attack the city, its health bar will deplete. It’s a clever concept that works just as well as giving Superman a life bar but keeps things in character. As Superman, you can’t just go crazy in the game since you do have an adrenaline meter that depletes as you use superpowers and regenerates if you calm down for a bit.
Superman Returns does two things extremely well: the power of flight and recreating Metropolis. In combination, they help the game capture the essence of Superman better than any game before it. The game’s Metropolis—an area twice the size of San Francisco—is enormous and populated with thousands of buildings. You can run at super speed through the streets of Metropolis, skyrocket to the sky in a swift move, or fly at super speed in between the skyscrapers or far above them. The fact that you can go from the ground to flying at super speed within a few seconds and with such ease is quite a feat.
Graphically, the highlight of the game is obviously the rendering of Metropolis. As I mentioned above the city is simply enormous and full of highly detailed buildings. There are several thousand buildings in the game and they’re unique enough to make you really feel like you’re in this city. Superman himself looks quite good with excellent detail. The same can be said of the game’s primary enemies. The city has a lot of pedestrians which helps make it seem alive and although they aren’t especially detailed they do look pretty good. The framerate doesn’t skip a beat even when you’re breaking the sound barrier as you fly, which looks quite good thanks to great blur effects.
The game’s audio is just as impressive. EA worked with Peter J. Lehman (of Oscar-winning fame) on the game’s soundtrack. The end result is a soundtrack that feels just as epic as a blockbuster movie. The soundtrack is quite dynamic and changes often in response to what is going on with the game. The sound effects are solid too. The voice acting is provided by the movie’s actors. Brandon Routh does a good job as an interactive Superman, and the same can be said of Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther and Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane.
Superman Returns is one of the best superhero videogames available. EA was obviously influenced by Spider-Man 2, which was an incredibly good model for Superman. The game really makes you feel like you are Superman and all of the gameplay elements came together. Gaming doesn’t get much better than breaking the sound barrier through Metropolis’ skies. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 20, 2006
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