Any Reviews for Xbox Superman?
11-10-02, 11:36 PM
#9
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
I really liked Batman Returns for the SNES back in the day. That and Batman for the NES but never could get past the 4th level.
anyways, it stinks that there hasn't been a decent Supe title thus far.
anyways, it stinks that there hasn't been a decent Supe title thus far.
11-12-02, 10:29 AM
#10
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Here is the IGN review!
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/376/376740p1.html
November 08, 2002 - Superman may be the man of steel in the comics, but he's been as sturdy as pudding on every console since the Atari 2600. One of America's most recognizable icons, Superman is a dream license. If the great sales and horrible gameplay debacle that is Superman 64 proved anything, it's that people will buy licensed games no matter how awful they may be. So perhaps Infogrames can breath a sigh of relief, knowing that Superman: The Man of Steel will probably make them money, despite the fact that it's a bad game. Not nearly as titanic a disaster as the N64 Supes, the Man of Steel continues to be maligned by bad console versions of his comic book greatness. Even if you love Superman, this game is not to be purchased. If the rest of the review really matters, read on, but know that the highlight of the game is the ability to use customizable soundtracks. It's all downhill from there.
Features
Storyline derived from events in various Superman books from DC Comics
Face off against Braniac, Bizarro, Lex Luthor and other famous Superman villains
Gigantic Metropolis to explore along with various other DC locations like the Phantom Zone
Eight costumes to unlock
Customizable soundtracks
5.1 Dolby Digital
Gameplay
Superman: The Man of Steel is Infogrames' second Superman game this year. But don't confuse the Xbox and PS2 versions as they are two wholly separate games. The PS2 Superman: Shadows of Apokalips is based off Superman: The Animated Series, while The Man of Steel is based on the various Superman comics. As such, this Superman has a more realistic look and is meant to offer more of a challenge. The storylines, voiceovers, and every other aspect of the two games are different. With that, Superman: The Man of Steel stands on its own as the only hope for comic book-lovin' Xbox owners for a decent super-hero game this year. But just as with every Superman game from the early beginnings of the console universe on through this year, The Man of Steel is a stinker.
Superman needs to get himself to an AA meeting
Though you can't see it in the character model onscreen, I'm convinced Superman has a bottle of Wild Turkey tucked in his back pocket. What else could explain why he's so incredibly difficult to control? Supes has his regular bevy of powers including freeze breath, heat vision, x-ray vision, telescopic vision, super speed, flight, and (of course) super strength. You will need all of these powers, plus the greatest virtue of them all -- patience.
Superman can be more difficult to control than a pop diva who's just won a Grammy. Supes has two main modes of travel (he can also run on the ground, but that's rarely done). You're almost always in flight and it's either in hover mode of full flight. When in full flight, Superman's not so tough to handle. Just hold down the right trigger and Supes takes off. You guide him with the left thumbstick and the response is good. Supes can't make tight enough turns, but nothing about this will have you cursing. But this travel method is mainly used to get you from one end of an area to another quickly. So it's not very effective in combat or other situations, which means most of the time you're interacting with enemies, objects, and innocent civilians in hover mode. Let the swearing begin.
In hover mode, Supes can lock on to enemies with the left trigger, but if enemies are too far away, he can't do this. And if an enemy backs up enough they can disengage the lock. Clicking the trigger again cycles through enemies, but often times it won't cycle to the next closest enemy. Oh well, who needs to be able to target enemies? Uh, you do. Because if you don't it's almost impossible to hit them with your heat vision or freeze breath.
Heat vision and freeze breath can be charged up by holding down the corresponding buttons or you can tap to do a quick blast. The final two face buttons represent a light and a heavy punch. Superman has only a handful of hand-to-hand attacks, which get old after about the third time you punch something. The black and white buttons give you telescopic vision and x-ray vision respectively. The telescopic vision turns you towards your next objective and zooms in. Think of it as a big pointer saying, "Go here, dumbass!" Sounds like something a kid would need? Nah, even a grown man's gonna need the help here because it's rarely clear where an objective is located.
The super hearing is to blame for that. Super hearing acts as your radar in the top right corner, pointing you in the direction of an enemy or objective. Problem is, all that hooch Supes been sipping has screwed up his radar, because quite often it won't point in the right direction at all or will have you doing pointless circles to get to where you need to be, when a straight line is the obvious path of least resistance.
All of this isn't so bad. Yeah, Superman uses his heat vision and freeze breath more times in the first four levels than he's done in the entire 60+ year run of Superman comics, but hey, why would Superman want to use his fists anyway? The problem with this unbalanced, inebriated Supes is with how you move him in hover mode.
The left thumbstick turns you, the right thumstick moves you up, down, left and right. But this isn't the kind of FPS control it sounds like. You can't look up or down, left or right, you can only hover up or left. And then you must guide Supes to turn with the left thumbstick. It's almost impossible to make smooth turns or even navigate efficiently around a single building. The effect is basically like piloting a hovering box rather than a human being. If you're gonna make a Superman game, the first thing you need is a great flight engine. The Man of Steel offers difficult controls that will have you swearing more than Eddie Murphy in Yet Another 48 hours.
One nice touch is seeing the GUNVALKYRIE controls used again. Yeah, Supes is a bit overloaded on button commands. When in hover mode and locked on to an enemy, you can press in on the left thumbstick and quickly dodge left, right, back, or charge forward. Sounds cool, but attacks have such a wide spread that even dodging to the side often won't keep you from being hit. Oh well.
Superman, save my baby!
The first few levels of The Man of Steel place you in Metropolis and then take you out and about to places like deep space and the Phantom Zone. Brainiac has returned from a long absence to claim the technology previously supplied to the giant urban city. Superman must battle Braniac and his bots while contending with the menace of Lex Luthor as the two evil geniuses battle for rights to the twenty-second century technology.
Missions consist of a series of goals and if you fail one you've got to start all over again. The goals are pretty much the same each level, they just change in order and location. You'll often need to put out fires using your cold breath, battle various enemies like Braniac's different robots (each one vulnerable to a different type of attack), numerous Bizarros, and the like. You'll also have to fetch and carry objects and innocents, setting them down in various places.
Sounds simple? Yeah, it sounds simple, but each task has a time limit. And trying to put out eight fires across three buildings, with each fire on different sides of every building, is incredibly difficult thanks to the terrible control scheme. Superman puts the dis on what should be a graceful appearance in the air.
Things get more interesting once you head into space, but the controls don't change and the gameplay remains similar throughout. The Phantom Zone is an interesting place and a great choice to visit since it's so well-discussed in the Superman universe (and the Super movies, where it plays a vital role in Superman II). And the choice of villains is great. Of course you have to have Lex Luthor in there, but it's also great to see the rarely-used Braniac as mastermind. But no amount of great locales and enemies can save Superman from piss-drunk control and repetitive tasks.
Also, I can't figure out why Superman doesn't move faster. This cat's on par with the Flash yet most of the times you fail a mission it's because you aren't moving fast enough. Come now, let's have a game where Superman can really be the Man of Steel in all respects.
Graphics
Metropolis is, at first glance, a sight to behold. It's massive with views that seem to go on forever. And the city is quite large. However, the design isn't right. The story takes place after Braniac's technology has turned Metropolis into a city of the future. But the city is far too gritty. Metropolis is the beautiful city filled with skyscrapers, blue skies, and clean streets in the DC universe. But many cities look dirty and the city of the future actually seems a bit bleak.
Character models are standard fare, and the animations are limited and unattractive. Superman isn't the graceful man of steel in the sky, but is instead a stiff brute. Love the inclusion of the different costumes including the classic Golden Age costume and the less popular "energy" Superman getup.
The Man of Steel is smooth most of the time, but there are a few moments where the game slows down to an absolute crawl. For someone faster than a speeding bullet, Superman can move as slow as old lady with a walker. While Superman captures the visual essence of the comics, it's just not a very pretty Xbox game.
Sound
The orchestral score is great and there are quite a few tracks. It's nothing as good as the movies, but it's probably the best music a Superman game's ever heard. But if you disagree, you can put in your own customized soundtracks.
For voices, Infogrames went the way of cheese. Supes says things like "Holy Krypton!" Yeah, they made Supes very aww-shucks. The voices are decent, but some roles, like Lex Luthor and Bizarro, seem miscast.
Sporting 5.1 Dolby Digital only means something if the sound is done right. The cut scenes sound great, but while the in-game sound may surround you, it's not what Surround Sound is meant to be. When an enemy attacks you from the front, you hear the exact same sound behind you. So rather than feeling like you are in a living environment, it just makes everything sound loud.
Closing Comments
I'll admit, I'm a Batman guy, I'm not a huge Superman fan. However, I'm always hopeful of comic book-licensed video games. I've been a comics geek since I was eight and it's a rare thing to see a super hero done right on a console. Someday someone is going to get Superman right and make a killer game. But not today. The Man of Steel comes with appropriate kryptonite green casing. This game is deadly to anyone not wearing a lead suit. You just can't overcome bad controls, no matter how much other good stuff comes to a game. Flawed from the moment you take off, Superman: The Man of Steel is, at the very best, a weekend rental. It'll take about 10 hours to complete, mainly because it's so impossible to beat the missions thanks to the controls.
-- Hilary Goldstein
Presentation
It's got a variety of Superman friends and foes, nine total costumes, and your main menu is the Fortress of Solitude. 7.0
Graphics
Average visuals with a sprawling Metropolis that looks too dark to be considered true to the comics. Bad character models and some nasty slowdown. 5.0
Sound
Great score, 5.1 cut-scenes with a cheap working of 5.1 for in-game play. Some miscast voice, but the score is great. 7.0
Gameplay
Crap. When will Superman get off the dope and fly straight? 3.0
Lasting Appeal
It would be short if you could control the main character properly. Lots of unlockables that get unlocked simply by beating levels. Bad game, you won't likely want to finish. 3.0
OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 4.7
Chris
November 08, 2002 - Superman may be the man of steel in the comics, but he's been as sturdy as pudding on every console since the Atari 2600. One of America's most recognizable icons, Superman is a dream license. If the great sales and horrible gameplay debacle that is Superman 64 proved anything, it's that people will buy licensed games no matter how awful they may be. So perhaps Infogrames can breath a sigh of relief, knowing that Superman: The Man of Steel will probably make them money, despite the fact that it's a bad game. Not nearly as titanic a disaster as the N64 Supes, the Man of Steel continues to be maligned by bad console versions of his comic book greatness. Even if you love Superman, this game is not to be purchased. If the rest of the review really matters, read on, but know that the highlight of the game is the ability to use customizable soundtracks. It's all downhill from there.
Features
Storyline derived from events in various Superman books from DC Comics
Face off against Braniac, Bizarro, Lex Luthor and other famous Superman villains
Gigantic Metropolis to explore along with various other DC locations like the Phantom Zone
Eight costumes to unlock
Customizable soundtracks
5.1 Dolby Digital
Gameplay
Superman: The Man of Steel is Infogrames' second Superman game this year. But don't confuse the Xbox and PS2 versions as they are two wholly separate games. The PS2 Superman: Shadows of Apokalips is based off Superman: The Animated Series, while The Man of Steel is based on the various Superman comics. As such, this Superman has a more realistic look and is meant to offer more of a challenge. The storylines, voiceovers, and every other aspect of the two games are different. With that, Superman: The Man of Steel stands on its own as the only hope for comic book-lovin' Xbox owners for a decent super-hero game this year. But just as with every Superman game from the early beginnings of the console universe on through this year, The Man of Steel is a stinker.
Superman needs to get himself to an AA meeting
Though you can't see it in the character model onscreen, I'm convinced Superman has a bottle of Wild Turkey tucked in his back pocket. What else could explain why he's so incredibly difficult to control? Supes has his regular bevy of powers including freeze breath, heat vision, x-ray vision, telescopic vision, super speed, flight, and (of course) super strength. You will need all of these powers, plus the greatest virtue of them all -- patience.
Superman can be more difficult to control than a pop diva who's just won a Grammy. Supes has two main modes of travel (he can also run on the ground, but that's rarely done). You're almost always in flight and it's either in hover mode of full flight. When in full flight, Superman's not so tough to handle. Just hold down the right trigger and Supes takes off. You guide him with the left thumbstick and the response is good. Supes can't make tight enough turns, but nothing about this will have you cursing. But this travel method is mainly used to get you from one end of an area to another quickly. So it's not very effective in combat or other situations, which means most of the time you're interacting with enemies, objects, and innocent civilians in hover mode. Let the swearing begin.
In hover mode, Supes can lock on to enemies with the left trigger, but if enemies are too far away, he can't do this. And if an enemy backs up enough they can disengage the lock. Clicking the trigger again cycles through enemies, but often times it won't cycle to the next closest enemy. Oh well, who needs to be able to target enemies? Uh, you do. Because if you don't it's almost impossible to hit them with your heat vision or freeze breath.
Heat vision and freeze breath can be charged up by holding down the corresponding buttons or you can tap to do a quick blast. The final two face buttons represent a light and a heavy punch. Superman has only a handful of hand-to-hand attacks, which get old after about the third time you punch something. The black and white buttons give you telescopic vision and x-ray vision respectively. The telescopic vision turns you towards your next objective and zooms in. Think of it as a big pointer saying, "Go here, dumbass!" Sounds like something a kid would need? Nah, even a grown man's gonna need the help here because it's rarely clear where an objective is located.
The super hearing is to blame for that. Super hearing acts as your radar in the top right corner, pointing you in the direction of an enemy or objective. Problem is, all that hooch Supes been sipping has screwed up his radar, because quite often it won't point in the right direction at all or will have you doing pointless circles to get to where you need to be, when a straight line is the obvious path of least resistance.
All of this isn't so bad. Yeah, Superman uses his heat vision and freeze breath more times in the first four levels than he's done in the entire 60+ year run of Superman comics, but hey, why would Superman want to use his fists anyway? The problem with this unbalanced, inebriated Supes is with how you move him in hover mode.
The left thumbstick turns you, the right thumstick moves you up, down, left and right. But this isn't the kind of FPS control it sounds like. You can't look up or down, left or right, you can only hover up or left. And then you must guide Supes to turn with the left thumbstick. It's almost impossible to make smooth turns or even navigate efficiently around a single building. The effect is basically like piloting a hovering box rather than a human being. If you're gonna make a Superman game, the first thing you need is a great flight engine. The Man of Steel offers difficult controls that will have you swearing more than Eddie Murphy in Yet Another 48 hours.
One nice touch is seeing the GUNVALKYRIE controls used again. Yeah, Supes is a bit overloaded on button commands. When in hover mode and locked on to an enemy, you can press in on the left thumbstick and quickly dodge left, right, back, or charge forward. Sounds cool, but attacks have such a wide spread that even dodging to the side often won't keep you from being hit. Oh well.
Superman, save my baby!
The first few levels of The Man of Steel place you in Metropolis and then take you out and about to places like deep space and the Phantom Zone. Brainiac has returned from a long absence to claim the technology previously supplied to the giant urban city. Superman must battle Braniac and his bots while contending with the menace of Lex Luthor as the two evil geniuses battle for rights to the twenty-second century technology.
Missions consist of a series of goals and if you fail one you've got to start all over again. The goals are pretty much the same each level, they just change in order and location. You'll often need to put out fires using your cold breath, battle various enemies like Braniac's different robots (each one vulnerable to a different type of attack), numerous Bizarros, and the like. You'll also have to fetch and carry objects and innocents, setting them down in various places.
Sounds simple? Yeah, it sounds simple, but each task has a time limit. And trying to put out eight fires across three buildings, with each fire on different sides of every building, is incredibly difficult thanks to the terrible control scheme. Superman puts the dis on what should be a graceful appearance in the air.
Things get more interesting once you head into space, but the controls don't change and the gameplay remains similar throughout. The Phantom Zone is an interesting place and a great choice to visit since it's so well-discussed in the Superman universe (and the Super movies, where it plays a vital role in Superman II). And the choice of villains is great. Of course you have to have Lex Luthor in there, but it's also great to see the rarely-used Braniac as mastermind. But no amount of great locales and enemies can save Superman from piss-drunk control and repetitive tasks.
Also, I can't figure out why Superman doesn't move faster. This cat's on par with the Flash yet most of the times you fail a mission it's because you aren't moving fast enough. Come now, let's have a game where Superman can really be the Man of Steel in all respects.
Graphics
Metropolis is, at first glance, a sight to behold. It's massive with views that seem to go on forever. And the city is quite large. However, the design isn't right. The story takes place after Braniac's technology has turned Metropolis into a city of the future. But the city is far too gritty. Metropolis is the beautiful city filled with skyscrapers, blue skies, and clean streets in the DC universe. But many cities look dirty and the city of the future actually seems a bit bleak.
Character models are standard fare, and the animations are limited and unattractive. Superman isn't the graceful man of steel in the sky, but is instead a stiff brute. Love the inclusion of the different costumes including the classic Golden Age costume and the less popular "energy" Superman getup.
The Man of Steel is smooth most of the time, but there are a few moments where the game slows down to an absolute crawl. For someone faster than a speeding bullet, Superman can move as slow as old lady with a walker. While Superman captures the visual essence of the comics, it's just not a very pretty Xbox game.
Sound
The orchestral score is great and there are quite a few tracks. It's nothing as good as the movies, but it's probably the best music a Superman game's ever heard. But if you disagree, you can put in your own customized soundtracks.
For voices, Infogrames went the way of cheese. Supes says things like "Holy Krypton!" Yeah, they made Supes very aww-shucks. The voices are decent, but some roles, like Lex Luthor and Bizarro, seem miscast.
Sporting 5.1 Dolby Digital only means something if the sound is done right. The cut scenes sound great, but while the in-game sound may surround you, it's not what Surround Sound is meant to be. When an enemy attacks you from the front, you hear the exact same sound behind you. So rather than feeling like you are in a living environment, it just makes everything sound loud.
Closing Comments
I'll admit, I'm a Batman guy, I'm not a huge Superman fan. However, I'm always hopeful of comic book-licensed video games. I've been a comics geek since I was eight and it's a rare thing to see a super hero done right on a console. Someday someone is going to get Superman right and make a killer game. But not today. The Man of Steel comes with appropriate kryptonite green casing. This game is deadly to anyone not wearing a lead suit. You just can't overcome bad controls, no matter how much other good stuff comes to a game. Flawed from the moment you take off, Superman: The Man of Steel is, at the very best, a weekend rental. It'll take about 10 hours to complete, mainly because it's so impossible to beat the missions thanks to the controls.
-- Hilary Goldstein
Presentation
It's got a variety of Superman friends and foes, nine total costumes, and your main menu is the Fortress of Solitude. 7.0
Graphics
Average visuals with a sprawling Metropolis that looks too dark to be considered true to the comics. Bad character models and some nasty slowdown. 5.0
Sound
Great score, 5.1 cut-scenes with a cheap working of 5.1 for in-game play. Some miscast voice, but the score is great. 7.0
Gameplay
Crap. When will Superman get off the dope and fly straight? 3.0
Lasting Appeal
It would be short if you could control the main character properly. Lots of unlockables that get unlocked simply by beating levels. Bad game, you won't likely want to finish. 3.0
OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 4.7
Chris
11-12-02, 10:56 AM
#11
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Hmm...I liked Superman on the Atari 2600 
Something about that sound when he flew 
I thought Batman Vengeance on the Xbox was ok, especially for $20. Haven't tried Superman yet, but will soon.
Something about that sound when he flew I thought Batman Vengeance on the Xbox was ok, especially for $20. Haven't tried Superman yet, but will soon.
11-12-02, 05:41 PM
#12
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Why do game makers seem to do so well with MARVEL video games, but when it comes to the majority of DC video games the end results suck most of the time?
Why doesn't CAPCOM take a stab at DC hero games???
Why doesn't CAPCOM take a stab at DC hero games???
