XBOX 360 Review: Superman Returns

"Superman Returns" is one of those games that, although its not bad, it just seems that if a little more work had been invested in it, this could have been truly great game. Seems like the game was developed and released much to quickly. The "Superman Returns" movie was released in the summer of 2006, and then in November 2006, the video game was released for a several gaming consoles including the XBOX 360.

The storyline of the "Superman Returns" video game seems to stay pretty close with the movie. So if you haven’t seen the movie yet then there is a good chance you may get lost in the storyline's plot. While playing "Superman Returns" you may find yourself asking why you have to do this task … or why do I have to do it like that? The storyline in "Superman Returns" tends to be rather vague … and at times you may become confused with some of the situations and how they tie in with the actual "Superman Returns" movie. Fortunately, there is more here then just the storyline of "Superman Returns".

As just about everyone knows, Superman protects the city of Metropolis from the "bad" guys. Batman protects Gotham and Superman protects Metropolis … that’s just how it is. In "Superman Returns" you become Superman. Now you are going to get to do everything that Superman can do such as running at super fast speeds, flying faster then a speeding bullet, easily lifting huge objects, melting objects with heat vision, freezing your enemies with frost breath, and more. But I have some bad news for ya fellas: Superman can’t leap a tall building in a single bound … In fact, in this game Superman can not even jump at all, which can be rather frustrating at times.

Superman has an entire arsenal of excellent combos that can be used to weaken his enemies. Many of the combos will lead gamers to lots of button smashing, but it is button smashing at its best. After you have weakened your enemy, you can easily finish them off. You could just punch the bad guy a few more times, or you could do something that is a whole lot more fun. Use the D-Pad to select your Heat Vision power, then target the enemy and set him on fire. Or if you’re feeling like the bad dude deserves more punishment, choose "Super Breath" to blow the villain high into the sky. After you blow your enemy into the sky, quickly switch to "Heat Vision" and use it to set your enemy fire. It’s a pretty cool sight to see the villain falling out of the sky on fire!

Of course, powers and combos are not your only super tool. Another super advantage you have in combat is your super strength. Your strength allows you to pick up immense objects and hurl them at your enemies. You can also pick up stop signs, street lamps, and traffic lights and use that object to smack your enemies. You can also grab the bad guys and throw them off a building, into a building, high into the air, into the ocean, into the ground, or … well, you get the idea.

Of course, the bad guys are quite feisty and they love fighting back! Some of them are not much of a challenge, but there will be plenty of bad guys that won't be taken down so easily. You will find that the bad guys are vulnerable to various powers. There is even a villain that will get stronger when a specific power is used against it. Just as a precaution, always be sure you learn the strengths and weaknesses of an enemy you are facing.

Fighting the bad guys with your super powers can provide plenty of fun entertainment, but there is a slight problem. During "Superman Returns" you will be completing the same objectives over and over again. Since the game is done in chapters, you will have to complete a certain series of objectives to complete that chapter. The problem is not the number of objectives but with the quality of them. Many of the objectives that you will face are quite similar, and after awhile you grow tired of the similarities.

Superman is invulnerable, so instead of Superman having a health bar the city of Metropolis has one. When City begins to receive damage, its health bar will slowly go down. This means if a bad guy is setting buildings on fire, the city will lose "health". That’s when you have to step in and stop the destruction. You have to be careful though because the civilians will get in the way. If they become injured you have to bring them to an ambulance. Fighting all the bad guys, saving the cities citizens, and preventing the destruction of Metropolis can get pretty busy at times. But hey, you're Superman so you can handle it! But, if you get bored with being a hero, play as Bizarro and destroy the city! Click Here For More Articles About: Video Games!