Captain America Super Soldier
SCORE: 68
Comic Book heroes have been thrust into our society over the past decade like never before. And whenever there is a movie featuring one of these heroes, you can bet there is a video game tie-in right on its tails. The problem with this scenario is that the development time for the video game companion is often shortened due to the issues of movie making, script writing and so on. The end result with so many of these movie tie-in games is that they feel rushed and lack proper polish and development. Unfortunately, Captain America: Super Soldier falls right into that category. While the game has some really bright spots and entertaining moments, the glaring flaws take away from what almost was a great game.
The game starts with a cut-scene showing two soldiers in a trench during WWII. Mysterious enemies, which have never been seen before, suddenly appear and start killing the soldiers. Captain America comes at the last moment to save the day and thwart the enemy. The gamer takes control of Captain America in the trenches and the game uses those sequences to teach you the various combat skills. From there you journey through a series of chapters fighting the evil organization known as HYDRA. The game is a combination of third person combat and plat-forming.
The combat mechanics are well done for the most part, but can get somewhat repetitive after the first couple of hours. Gamers will learn techniques that include dodging, hand to hand combat and most importantly using the famous Captain America Shield. Whether slamming it to the ground or throwing it to knock down some enemies, using the shield never gets old. The down side of the combat is that there is limited variety in enemies, which makes the game flow seem even more repetitive. Packs of life-less enemies flock out of hallways and doorways, and seemingly stand around waiting to be hit. Some of the armed enemies will approach and attack Captain but present little problem. Simple button mashing will get you through the game chapters relatively quickly – no more than 6 hours tops.
It would have been great to get some additional character development in the campaign mode. Little screen time is given to the main characters in Captain America lore – other than Captain America of course. Speaking of Captain America, he looks great in both the cut scenes and gameplay. However, the environments and surroundings do not live up to his standard. Having Chris Evans reprise his role from the movie does add some needed flare to the title, but is just not enough to keep it from mediocrity.
The biggest issue with Captain America: Super Soldier was the plat-forming. I never really felt like I had complete control over Captain America’s movements. There were designated areas for hurdling railings, jumping obstacles. However, there were other areas where it would seem obvious to do the same but it was not possible – Captain America would simply roll around on the floor. When running along the side of a building or swinging from poles, the controls did not seem as responsive as they should have. Also taking away from the adventure was the insane amount of collectibles stashed throughout the game. Not only were there so many, but the kind of collectables was more than interesting to say the least. While running to save an airplane from getting blown out of the sky, Captain America would need to stop and pick-up a ceramic egg, film reel or helmet.
Overall,
Captain America: Super Soldier has the foundation for a great adventure
game, but the repetitive button mashing and lack of plat-forming
controls keep in from living up to its potential. Also, parents will
need to consider the nature of the game, which is focused on hand to
hand fighting and WWII combat. In future Captain America games I would
like to see more of a focus on character development and improving the
gameplay mechanics.
- Alan
Graphics: 70%
Sound: 68%
Replay/Extras: 75%
Gameplay: 62%
Family Friendly Factor: 70%
System: Xbox 360/PS3
Publisher: Sega
ESRB Rating: 'T' for Teen
{Mild Blood, Mild Language, Violence}
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