Overview
Even if the film did not have the expected effect on the public, we can't say that it was a complete failure. It lacks consistency and allows itself some changes in Clark Kent's future. As far as the actors are concerned, only those who play Superman and Lex Luthor's roles are good. The game, on the other hand, clearly didn't have the same chance. Announced very quickly a few months before the movie's release, Superman Returns was also promised to be released on Next-Gen consoles and was postponed for a whole year (for the release of the DVD) by Electronic Arts. One would have thought that this year would be highly beneficial, that the developers would take advantage of it to and alas, that wasn't the case.
The game starts with a meteor shower that falls on Metropolis. The opportunity for the player to learn to use several commands. You are flying and accelerating but also knowing the superpowers at their disposal. These powers can be activated with the arrow pad. So, if you want to shoot a small laser, hardly offensive, you will have to press the right trigger very delicately. On the other hand, if you're going to spend all your energy bar (which regenerates, rest assured), leave this same trigger pressed to make your attack full power. The other possibility is to press the arrow of power twice to activate it in a high power mode. This way, Superman will launch a massive blast of laser or ice. So many possibilities! The problem? They're also frankly useless.
Gameplay
Superman is invincible! Everyone knows that. In Superman Returns, his life bar is represented by Metropolis's life bar, which he must defend. If this "life bar" runs out, Superman will collapse, and the city will, in any case, be destroyed. It's a pity that Metropolis doesn't degrade according to this bar; it would strengthen the concept and give it credibility. Because seeing people going about their business while incredible tornadoes attack the city is pretty pathetic. These same tornadoes that, strangely enough, are the final bosses of the game! Lex Luthor, the legendary nemesis of the superhero, only appears in the (ugly) cinematics. He prepares his evil plan, talks, kidnaps Lois Lane and gets beaten up. The player will have absolutely no interaction with this great charismatic villain! A shame. Instead, all of the hero's enemies that have already appeared in the comics show up in Metropolis to wreak havoc. To beat them, you'll have to activate their presence in the city and to do so, like in Spider-Man 2, you'll have to carry out routine missions that appear in the city - hitting villains or putting out devastating fires. You will quickly understand why the game will soon become repetitive. Especially since to activate the bosses' presence, you will have to complete a minimum of fifteen missions on average, represented by an evolution bar that will allow you to improve your energy and body capacities.
The waves of enemies are sometimes very annoying, but some are more annoying than others. Dragons, for example (yes, dragons!), are to be defeated according to their element. Ice dragon? Laser power! Fire dragon? Ice power! It's so repetitive that it's almost like a Dance Dance Revolution track. The music and fun are less. But the best part is that the enemies are not afraid of the powers, and you have to fight them with your hands. Superman's gameplay is so bad that it is almost impossible to fight while flying. The camera goes in all directions, and the movements are jerky to the extreme. So you have to land and hit, without stopping, until the life bar of some enemies runs out. It's slow, frankly boring. The fun that could have been had in these missions quickly disappears in smoke.
Conclusion
What an absolute disappointment this Superman Returns was! We weren't expecting a gem, but from there to a real mess in flesh and blood. The game offers us insipid gameplay, heavy progression, a catastrophic camera, many bugs, and a city too big and empty to enjoy it. It's an absolute disaster for the Man of Steel who fails here, whatever his superpowers are!
