Review

Superman Returns was always going to be a tricky prospect to turn into a game. From very early on in the film’s production it was obvious it was going to be more thoughtful and emotional than your average Hollywood summer release with action sequences kept to the minimum. Factor in the fact that there has never been a truly decent game based on the Man Of Steel and it was obvious EA had their work cut out.

So it comes as no surprise that all the game shares with the film is the title and a central character that looks like Brandon Routh but everything else has been spawned out of the comics, even John Williams’ iconic theme is missing! Your first impressions bring back memories of Spider-Man 2 with a huge city to navigate and everyday heroic activities to perform. These range from putting out fires to catching bank robbers but there’s not enough of them to stop the tedium as you have to repeat them time and again as you play.

What just about rescues the game is the boss fights where you take on increasingly large mechanical foes controlled by villains comic fans will recognise but anyone brought up on the movies, Smallville and (shudder!) Lois & Clark will look on in complete ignorance.

In the end, it’s a bold attempt by EA to make the ultimate Superman game, and compared to previous offerings this is far superior, but the result is still incredibly boring and not worth your time.

About the Review

Platform

Microsoft Xbox 360

Developer

E.A. Tiburon

Publisher

Electronic Arts

Released

22nd November 2006