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Superman Returns: The Videogame
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 5 votes
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Game Info
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Tiburon
Genre(s): Third-Person Action, Beat-'Em-Up
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Release Date: November 20, 2006
Summary
True to the fiction in every respect, this is the game based on the Superman universe that fans have been anticipating for decades. From excited citizens to the traffic on the streets, every detail of this vibrant city has a mind of its own. These 80 square miles are brought to life for the first time in a videogame. Go anywhere and do anything in Metropolis as Superman. Non-linear gameplay allows you to explore and play the game exactly how you want to at your own pace. Where and how you fly – to the top of skyscrapers, dodging elevated trains – is completely up to you, since gameplay is designed as a true open world experience. With notorious villains like Metallo and colossal challenges only Superman can overcome, you must navigate the Man of Steel to monitor and protect Metropolis from destruction. Three distinct types of gameplay — Flying, Rescue, and Combat — will keep the action constant and the challenges relentless. Play both film-inspired missions as well as original content created exclusively for the videogame. Graphics, sound, and gameplay have been taken to the next level to create a Metropolis like you've never seen it, with three dimensional sound, a complete orchestra soundtrack, and Oscar-wining sound designer. [Electronic Arts]
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Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Cheat Code Central
Definitely a renter for casual Superman fans and only those who want to fly around Metropolis at the end of a hard day should consider a purchase.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine UK
Our x-ray vision can see through this one. Not quite super enough. [Christmas 2006, p.126]
Armchair Empire
Despite some satisfying leap-tall-buildings-in-a-single-bound moments above the skies of Metropolis and providing the best Superman adventure yet (again, not saying too much, if you examine the history of Superman games) with some moments of solid adventuring before getting too repetitively stale, Superman Returns just isn’t that super.
Read Full Review >AceGamez
As it is, they get enough right to make this a good choice for a new gamer, but for those looking for a challenge I'd look elsewhere.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
An uneven difficulty level, not much variety in quests and battles, clunky and temperamental controls, and the lack of any type of multiplayer will all quickly frustrate you.
Read Full Review >Worth Playing
As a game that manages to encapsulate the feeling of being Superman, Superman Returns does an excellent job.
Read Full Review >Games Radar
The targeting system sucks, often sticking to the enemy you just knocked down (and therefore can't attack until he gets up again) while another is bashing you in the back. The final aggravation is the camera, which constantly gets stuck on things in the environment, so you can't always see your foe.
Read Full Review >IGN
Punching out bad guys becomes about as fun as taking out the garbage, and the "epic" battle between Superman and the forces of evil is as simple and dull as a day of chores.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Superman Returns shares Spider-Man’s flaw of repetitive combat, but it has several mistakes that stand alone: a jerky, unreliable camera; boring mission objectives; and graphics that sit well below the standards of the first Xbox.
Read Full Review >Game Almighty
Note to self: When a good Superman game finally comes out, see if the Captain can do that “around the world to go back in time” thing from Superman II so he can bring me a copy NOW!
Read Full Review >GameSpot
After the thrill of flying around Metropolis wears off, Superman Returns is nothing more than a below-average, repetitive movie tie-in that doesn't even do the movie tie-in part well.
Read Full Review >DailyGame
Think of Superman Returns as an insanely boring exercise in flying from one end of Metropolis to the other -- non-stop and for 10 hours -- while waiting for the next "battle 10 robots" or "battle eight dragons" or "battle six radioactive gargoyles" button-mashing sequence to ensue.
Read Full Review >eToychest
Oddly enough, the music sounds quite good, with orchestrated ditties that are downright inspiring. Too bad the rest of the game inspires nothing but an urge to power off your console.
Read Full Review >Jolt Online Gaming UK
Superman Returns: The Videogame is an embarrassment to video games, not to mention the Superman franchise, and is a new low for the quality of movie tie-ins.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine
It may flesh out the recent movie, but on Xbox, it feels like a picked-over meal. [Feb. 2007, p.78]
The Onion (A.V. Club)
A making-of documentary on how such a precious franchise was so flagrantly mishandled would be far more entertaining than anything the game has to offer.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Dave M. gave it a9:
I'm not really sure if these reviewers are playing the same game that I am -- I thought the graphics were nice, the audio was good, and the controls and playability all good. It's a fun game, and it really captures the feel of Superman. I like how they handled the whole question of playing an invincible hero by tying in your success or failure to the health of the city. Nice touch.
