Superman Returns

"A spectacularly BAD game"

Graphics

Pretty much a last gen affair. Models are ok but bland in taste. Buildings and environment are repetitive. Explosions are bad, the remains of stuff after they explode are bad.
The only redeeming feature in graphics is that when flying in superspeed, rain drops have the motion blur effect which is kinda cool for about 2 seconds

Gameplay

I use the term gameplay very loosely here because I wouldn't even consider this a "game". The controls for flight and landing are bad. There is a lag when landing which turns into frustration when you need to land quickly because some enemies require you to do so.

The superspeed moving is atrocious. When flying, its too slow when you want to move across the map and gets really boring just holding the RB. When fighting enemies its really annoying as you will often lose your bearings if you are not locking on. Which means you always have to lock-on

Which brings us to the lousy lock on system. It only works well on some enemies. But some enemies like Riot, it doesn't even register some times.

The ENTIRE game works like this. Fight minions, fight minions, fight minions, Boss. Fight minions, fight minions, fight minions, Boss. Fight minions, fight minions, fight minions, Boss. It gets old after 15 minutes. The same old boring enemies. The game tries to ramp up the difficulty by adding variety and more enemies at a time but it serves no purpose other than prolong your suffering

Most of the game's play time is actually due to having to fight the same generic enemy A,B and C over and over and over until you level up enough to fight the Boss. They should have just left all the enemies out entirely

The 5 hours or so needed to beat this game will be the worst 5 hours you will ever spend on your 360. And if you are those who try to get everything in the game by doing the sidequests, you are in for hell and I pray for your sanity.

Sound Effects

The sonic boom when you fly fast enough is kind of cool. other than that its a complete bore.

Achievements

The game tries to extend your torture by adding ridiculous achievements like flying 10000 miles, play for 12 hours, lifting 10000 tons etc. Normally if the game was like Crackdown, these would be fun. But in Superman Returns, they just seem like a last ditch attempt to make you play the game longer than you should.

Lasting Appeal

I couldn't play the game for more 30min at a time. You actually want to turn it off. I finished the story only because I'm an achievement whore. And in the end, it wasn't even worth it.

Final Comments

DO NOT under any circumstance get this game. Do not get this for your kid or it'll ruin his/her childhood. If it was lying around on the street, run in the other direction. If someone gives you this game, hit him/her with it until he/she is dead because he/she was trying to kill you in the first place

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/07