GAMES REVIEW: 'Iron Man' video game clunky
Over the decades, the high-tech, high-flying Marvel superhero
has peripherally appeared in several games, but he's never been
able to truly soar. Sure, he could sorta float in "Captain America
and the Avengers" and achieve a little hang time in those
old-school "Marvel vs. Capcom" video games, but he wasn't really
flying.
That's not the case in Sega and Secret Level's "Iron Man"
($59.99 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). The game, based on the
summer blockbuster starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, allows
players to don the boozy billionaire's suit of armor and reach mach
speed, as well as blast foes with missiles, repulser shots and that
oh-so-devasting uni-beam.
While the "Iron Man" film devotes a bulk of screentime to
Stark building the armor that will make him even more infamous, the
"Iron Man" game spends only two levels on such development. The
rest of the interactive experience is focused on flying around and
blowing stuff up. Interesting? Nope. Fun? Absolutely, for a little
while, anyway.
"Iron Man" heavily relies on Stan Lee's original source
material to expand upon director Jon Favreau's big-screen take on
Stark, taking gamers beyond the film's Middle East and Los Angeles
locales. However, because of some playground-like gameplay, plot
never becomes an integral cog in this machine.
Every level of "Iron Man" is open, which allows wannabe
superheroes to seek and destroy robust battalions of enemy tanks,
turrets and helicopters in any order they desire. However, such
action quickly becomes repetitive, interrupted only by brief
tussles with "Iron Man" foes lifted from the comics, such as
Titanium Man and Whiplash.
The game's ability to alternate among flying, hovering and
battling on the ground is overly ambitious. The awkward control
scheme ends up diminishing any joy of becoming an "Iron Man" who
can rise more than 30 feet off the ground. In the heat of combat,
Stark looks more like he's having a surface-to-air seizure than
battling as a one-man army.
Upgradable enhancements and unique objectives give the game a
hefty amount of replay value, unless the arcade-like gameplay is
completely off-putting from the start. Hardcore fans can try
unlocking suits like the Extremis and Hulkbuster, as well as an
exclusive "Ultimate" and silver centurion suit, for the
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, respectively.
Downey, Terence Howard and Shaun Toub from the film provide
their voices in the game. Much like the movie, Downey delivers his
lines with bite. His wisecracking asides are one of the most
engaging part of the game. That's more good news for the
scene-stealer - but not for gamers hoping for a completely
fleshed-out interactive "Iron Man" experience.
Hey, at least "Iron Man" can finally fly in a game. Two out of
four stars.