Ever since I beat GTA IV last week there has been a void in my life. I’ve been to GameStop 3 different times to try and fill that void. The first time I picked up Saints Row. My first impressions of the game were that it was going to be fairly epic. However it only lasted three days and I don’t even feel the need to give it a proper review. The comparison article covered all my feelings on the game more or less. The next visit to GameStop had me going home with TMNT and Stranglehold. TMNT was awesome but way too short and Stranglehold has too many design problems for me to enjoy it. Today I walked out of GameStop with Superman Returns and Tomb Raider Legend. I’ve haven’t jumped into Tomb Raider yet but Superman is a different story.

As I walked up to pay for my games, the employee (a friend of mine since I frequent this particular GameStop) told me not to get Superman. He told me it was just crap and no fun to play. I of course didn’t listen because I remember playing the demo and having a good time with that. This isn’t the only criticism I’ve heard about the game. I remember it getting less than stellar review when it first came out. However, I’m a fan of Superman and I was pretty confident I would enjoy this title. I was right.



Superman Returns is everything I would want out of a Superman game. You have fire and ice breath, super strength and you can fly around the entire city. It does a great job of making me feel like I’m Superman. The other thing I really love about this game is how it gets around the whole problem of Superman being indestructible. The fact that the only “health” meter in the game is linked to the city itself is pretty ingenious. It really just wouldn’t make sense to give Superman a normal health meter.

The most common complaint is that there isn’t enough to do in Metropolis. I agree with that but at the same time I don’t necessarily think it’s a fault of the game. The story missions should keep me plenty busy. I don’t need every sandbox game to last 50 hours. On top of that, the bosses that I have faced so far have been pretty entertaining. A couple of them even requiring strategic timing of your blocks and combos, which negates all the people who want to claim that this game is a mere beat ‘em up.

Overall this game is highly under appreciated. Sure it’s not the best sandbox game or even the best superhero game. However, it is the best Superman game and it deserves credit for that. If you have a spare $20 (I got my copy for $12) and nothing to do this weekend give Superman Returns a shot. If you’re a fan of the Man or sandbox games in general I think you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.