"Down for the count"

Needless to say, Superman titles have always left gamers down and this one is no different. Based on the hit Superman Animated Series this title tried to take advantage of some of the main villains and plot lines from the show only to fail in execution. The game starts very promising with some nice graphics and animated sequences based on the art from the show but right from the very first mission we feel something's wrong.

STORY
The plot is nice as it spins off from the Darkseid story arc from the show; however, the missions themselves are too boring.

GRAPHICS
The best feature in the game. The visual style of the show makes it a can't miss and they used it nicely with the still images and the animated sequences. It truly captures the feel of the show. Pay attention to the color variations on Superman's costume.

MUSIC / SFX
Not much of either, rather disappointing and below average.

GAMEPLAY
This is where the game stumbles. Basically you move around the map beating up regular thugs and then take on a mission boss. The bosses are cool, you get to fight Livewire, Bruno Mannheim, Kalibak and a special unlockable boss if you play by the game's rules (only close up attacks, no heat vision). What's really annoying are the regular thugs. These are normal people and they take too many punches to beat, on the other hand, if you get punched you take a ridiculous amount of damage. The AI of the thugs is way too low as they only move away if you get too close at ground level, not if you sneak up on them while flying. It was nice that they included most of Superman's powers: flight, heat vision and super breath but tuning down his strength to that level was a bad move. The worse part is that they didn't have to, it was enough with the super weapons they gave Intergang and a little bit more AI to make it difficult on the man of steel, but instead they chose to make Superman a wimp.

REPLAY VALUE
To unlock the secret boss at the end you have to beat all the missions with a perfect rating, that means you can only use close up attacks. I tried it over and over but in some missions I would only get 2 out of 3 Superman shields using only punches and no other super power. I got bored so I used the password the posted here to unlock the villain.


OVERALL (5/10)
Very disappointing, not as much as Superman Fortress of Solitude for this very same console, but nevertheless disappointing.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/07

Game Release: Superman: Countdown To Apokolips (US, 03/26/03)