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I should have seen the signs

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: November 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Earlier this year, amid some personal turmoil, I decided that I would use some of my tax return to invest in a next-generation gaming system. In deciding to go with an Xbox, I had read about several exclusive games that got me really excited about the the system. This game was one of them. It promised a free roaming environment, open-ended gameplay, and the title "best superhero game ever". In the months prior to its release, it got a cover story in the Official Xbox Magazine and quite a bit of press. As it got closer and closer to release date, I heard less and less about it. Its release was unheralded, and at the time of this writing, Amazon does not even have a box graphic. These are signs of unfulfilled promises, folks.....

Man of Steel, as far as I have played it, anyhow, is in no way free-roaming or open-ended in its game play. I think I had more freedom in the 2600 game. All the missions I have played so far have been very time-based and any exploration of the environment whatsoever will pretty much get shut down when your mission fails.

Even without these promised aspects of gameplay, Superman: Man of Steel would be a tolerable action/adventure title if it was not plagued by a poorly designed controller layout. One would think that an important aspect of reproducing Superman's movements would potentially be super-manuverability, but Man of Steel does not capture this at all.

There are three distinct controller modes - hover, fly, and combat. The controls are different in each one. For maximum effect, they all have to be used in conjunction and each one has shortcomings that must be surmounted. The flying mode will not let you turn sharply enough, turn loop-to loop, or fly straight down. The combat mode relies on a "lock-on" system that is unnatural and unreliable. The hover mode is just plain confusing and far too slow for combat situations. While you are trying to juggle these three modes to get the maximum amount of manuverability, you watch your time slip away as you bump helplessly into the sides of buildings trying to figure out the quickest way to fly in a circle while you get beat down from behind by the countless hordes of Brainiac 13 robots........all with no training mode or viable controller options!

I will say that the game LOOKS amazing. Even though his movements are clumsy, Superman is very well-rendered during gameplay (although not so much so during the cut-scenes). His cape and the flight effects are show-stoppers. The real star of the game is the (noticably barren) city of Metropolis. What little exploration I have been able to do gives me the impression that it has a very well-defined and consistent map, but I have not had a chance to explore it as much as it seems like it deserves. The super-linear nature of gameplay keeps Superman always rushing to stop the next catastrophe before time runs out.

The lowdown: I envisioned being able to fly about Metropolis (open-ended GTA-style, of course) listening for cries of help that lead to a trail of crimes. The trail would eventually lead to some sort of Luthor-devised plot that would be in keeping with the Superman mythos. Maybe I would get all the clues, maybe not, but I would like to put on the shoes of the hero and watch what I would do if I were him. THAT could potentially be the "best superhero game ever". Instead I'm hovering around desperately searching for a tentative lock on a robot while trying to simply turn around before my time runs out. I don't think Supes has to worry about that too much.

Don't rent. Don't buy. Just a suicide prevention tip.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Let's break down this horrible insult to the reputation of the Man of Steel together, shall we?

Gameplay:

First off, the control system is completely counter-intuitive, an unforgivable thing in a game that centers on your ability to consistently track and rotate around enemies and goals. You have six different preset control settings, all of them bad, and no option for customized controls. This one inclusion might have made this game at least fun, if not great.

Your superpowers are visually impressive but are not very well executed. Flight controls are very loose and awkward, but this might be tolerable if it weren't so tightly tied to the fighting system. Before you can punch, freeze, or fry an enemy you have to establish a target lock. In this game, Superman has a slow "hover" flight mode and a faster "turbo" mode. The target lock can be easily broken by your enemy as they can easily outdistance you in hover mode and you break the lock yourself if you try to fly faster. Unforgivable. Also, your heat vision and super breath are too weak to be of use unless they are charged up for a few seconds, but those few seconds are often the difference between completing a level and having the fun of starting all over again from the beginning. Oh yes, there are NO checkpoints. It's all or nothing from level to level, and if killing the same things over and over weren't repetetive enough just going through the game once...

When carrying anything, whether it's people, vehicles, or a giant antenna, Superman slides around the hapless victim of superpowered inertia. This might have been all right, and actually added a bit to the game if it only happened with the larger objects, but it's kind of pathetic if Superman can't compensate for the added mass of a single person. It's pretty much impossible to get Superman to stop anywhere in the vacinity of your goals when you're carrying something. Speaking of goals, why would Superman waste his time putting out a fire when there are hundreds of robots flying around destoying the city? Doesn't Metropolis have a fire department? Somewhat nonsensical, don't you agree?

Graphics:

It's a fairly pretty environment, but a couple things struck me as odd. One thing I noticed while flying around Metropolis there are NO people in the city. None. Empty as an AA meeting unless your goal is to rescue someone, then suddenly there are a few people standing around the goal to welcome the victim back to the ground. Then they disappear. The other exclusion is that while there are flying cars(?), there is a monorail track and regular city streets but no train or land cars.

Sound:

The music is bad, and the voice acting / dialogue is insanely melodramatic and cheesy. "Great Krypton" is dusted off and reused in this game repeatedly. Sigh.

Conclusion:

Goodness, I can't believe you read all the way down here. I guess I didn't do a good enough job trying to talk you out of it and you're a way more committed Superman fan than I am. Go right ahead and add to cart, you masochist.

Pitiful Attempt!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The only plus side of this game is the graphics, the city looks great. But to no avail because there are no people who populate it. The only difference between this and the N64 game is that it's not a virtual world and it takes a little longer for you to realize the game (is less than par). The controls are horrible, the missions are way to tedious;the designers throw fifteen task at you at once and give you a 2 sec time limit to complete. That's supposed to be fun? This game was definetly rushed and its a shame we consumers have to suffer through it. Designers please take the time to do a game right, beta test it, fix the mistakes. We will wait for a great game over being sold (less than par goods)! I want my money back.

Worst game ever!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: August 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Plays like superman needs to goto an AA meeting! Hard to control and try putting the 3 towers on the 3 roofs! Try Wolenstein or HALO!

great potential, but horrible controls

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: December 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

the controls are devastating to this game. Ofcourse if you play it long enough, you will somewhat get the hang of it, but that's ridiculous. if you're flying, there is one way to go up and down, but if you're standing still, its another way and one way is inverted while the other isn't. Its extremely frustrating.

I am a big superman fan, but this is too much. the graphics are cool, kind of comic book style and the powers are nice, but the contols just kill this game.

What a disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: November 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Ok, I bought the game 3 days ago and played it for about 5 minutes. I have been reading about it in magazines before it was released and was thinking that it would really be cool to have a superman game, and I couldn't have been more wrong.
It took me about 5 minutes to get bored. You fly around to these giant robots and punch them and theyre dead. I thought that there would be somewhere you could go so that you could just fly around. There isnt that I found, I may be wrong though. The game starts with Clark and Lois walking down the street and apparently theyre married, those graphics arent all that great in the intro. I was just incredibly disappointed in the game, I mean superman can be killed???? Whats up with that? The flying is very limited, you go up down left or right and thats it, there is no way to loop or roll or anything like that. You just fly to where the HUD pointer is telling you to go, push a button to lock onto a target and punch or use your laser eyes or blow cold air. A complete waste of money, but if any of you out there jsut have to have a copy and don't want to blow too much money, contact me, mine can be purchased :)

It just got too boring and repetetive...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Superman The Man of Steel seemed like a super game at first. It controls well, has decent graphics, and has all of Superman's powers. However, I didnt even finish this game, since it got so boring and repetitive. It had great potential, but every misson feels the same, and they all are. They are all basically "go to point a and destroy those robots". And after you destroy those robots in point A, it makes you go to point B,and over again. You can fight villans though. If you are a hardcore fan of Superman comics and stuff, you may enjoy this. But I can say that I didnt. It could have been so good too. Its the most authentic Superman game i've ever played, and probably the best one ever. Thats not saying very much though, considering Superman's dark videogame history...

Superman games always seem to be let downs!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'm a huge Superman fan. You know the bit read the comics since I was a kid, absolutley love the movies, watch the TV series etc. That's why downing this game is such a let down. This game is only for people who won't believe anything with the "S" can be bad until they try it...like me. First off I wouldn't recommend this for the younger audience namely because of the difficulty. The game pretty much just throws you in the game and gives you quick messages like "Oh yeah! Here's how you do this!". The controls are controller breaking frusterating. You confront ten enemies at once and find yourself getting shot by all while trying to manevuer to get a lock on one. Unlike the PS2's Superman: Shadow of Apokolips flying isn't half as fun. I.E. no cool Christopher Reeve arm movements, no loops, no 180 degree fly-rounds...you fly forward...real fast...sometimes you turn. The character models are terrible...people in-game look like bulky blobs with little expression. And who did the dialogue for this game? I don't remember Superman ever shouting "Holy Krypton!"...if he did I'm sure he was under the influence of something. Honestly unless you love Superman and just have to find out yourself don't buy this game. If you want to play a good Superman game go check out the PS2's Superman: Shadow of Apokolips. Sorry Supes...but this game was a let down.

Rip-Off,Rent,DON'T Buy!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: November 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I can't understand why these other reviewers actually like this game. Here is where you get screwed: You can not,I repeat,can not even replenish your strength. So,are you about to die? Will you die? YES!!!! If you fly away to replenish your 'life meter',nothing happens! You will still die! Unlike Spider-Man,there is nothing to even 'fly into' to replenish your life meter. Unlike the PS2 game,you can not even do a 'loop' while in flight. This game is soooo bad that you can't even 'pour on the speed' like you can in the PS2 game.
And there are NO cheats.
Whoo-hoo,what a great game. Not! Man,I really thought this would put the PS2 game to shame. I was wrong. Oh,and there isn't any type of save. If you don't make it through all the objectives in a level (the game calls it a 'mission'),you have to start the whole damn level over again! I mean,c'mon,this is the friggin X Box! They couldn't have thought of a way to save your progress within a level?

Just rent the game so you can say, "Yes,I've played it."

boring

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

it was just boring they need to stop making superman games were you prevent disasters and make a fun one i hate stoping robots from destoying things it should be crimeanil,s you fight not robots if you like destoying robots buy it other wise get a spider man game there worth the money

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