There's something lately that has been really bugging me concerning this site. Something that I have talked about with others in a PM or commented in many articles in the past. Something that I need to get off my chest regarding the many comments I read or replies I get. Something that I can’t stand when I read comments on here or how some people just don’t get it.
My problem…
There can't be a good Superman game!!
Thought I was gonna b*tch about somthin else huh? (Clickbait!!) ;)
Seriously though, the Man of Steel is more than ready to have a great video game just as good if not better than the Batman Arkham games. Superman has all the powers and abilities that can translate well into a video game. Heat vision, freeze breath, super speed, super hearing and flight are all perfect for a character’s arsenal of moves and can be more than done on today’s consoles. Why people think it's impossible is beyond me. I’m going to give just some of my ideas on what I think a good Superman game could have.
Treat this almost like an initial pitch.
The game would of course take place in an open world city of Metropolis. Also I would want other possible places Superman could explore to break up the monotony of Metropolis only. With Blu-ray and better tech in these consoles I would include not only Metropolis but places like the Phantom Zone, Warworld, Apocalypse or any other exotic huge place. And no matter where we place Superman, the levels would have to be ALL DESTRUCTIBLE. I mean everything would have to tear down, I want fights to be just as epic as seen in Superman II and Man of Steel. Superman getting punched through buildings, villains getting thrown through walls, gas stations and cars blowing up, bodies being flung around like basketballs, laser vision blasting through buildings, full on glorious destruction.
Here’s a few ideas that could represent Superman in his game. Keep in mind too that a lot of my ideas are ripped (off) from the EA's game Superman Returns which I thought wasn’t that bad but didn’t live up to its full potential due to obvious rushed development in time for the movie.
Invulnerability – This is the main concern and debate when dealing with Superman by a lot of people, the thought that he can’t be hurt. Where this notion came from I have no idea as we have seen Superman get hurt many times even without the aid of Kryptonite. I would give Superman a health bar that would be represented by two colors, yellow and green. Superman has a sort of a natural shield that his body produces around him thanks to absorbing solar energy and this is what him his invulnerability, this would represent the first health bar in yellow. Ordinary weapons or threats, guns, fire, some mortal stupid enough to punch him, etc. would not deplete this shield and would protect Superman’s main health bar, but this shield bar can go down by foes of extraordinary power, magic or weapons of advanced/alien nature. Once the shield bar is down then Superman’s real health represented in green is exposed, if that gets knocked to zero then Game over. The yellow bar (shield) does regenerate over time at a slow rate, faster if you fly up in the air closer to the sun, the green health bar regenerates too but at a very slow rate regardless of how close to the sun you are.
Powers – Like Batman’s Arkham series, Superman would have an arsenal of weapons. But unlike Batman all of his weapons the player would start out with. Heat vision, Freeze breath, Hurricane breath, and super speed. These are no brainers and really need no explanation. Not to mention Superman has a new power recently introduced in comics where he can expel all of his saved up solar power in one huge atomic blast, but doing this leaves him powerless. This could be his super move that you would have to build up over time through damage or long combos but should only use in case of an emergency and you better know if resorting to this will take out the enemy because you would drain your whole health bar both yellow and green and be vulnerable.
Super Speed – When flying in the air you could double tap a button to fly faster. In combat, parrying or dodging at a specific moment of an attack would make Superman’s surroundings slow down for a second or two. Pressing the attack button at that time while dodging or parrying will result in a quick counter attack.
Super Hearing – Just like EA’s Superman, super hearing would be represented by a mini map on the HUD. Specific different colored markers (specific colors to represent side mission, bonus missions, or main mission) placed on the mini map would let the player know what’s going on at all times.
X-ray vision – I remember Atari made a Superman: The Man of Steel game for Xbox that was open world also and they had a cool feature. When X-ray vision was selected you could see the inside of the whole open world. You could see all the NPC’s skeletal structure plus contents in their bag. It was pretty sweet, added nothing to the game but it was cool. For our game it would be used for locating enemies, bombs or White Martian impostors *wink*…whatever!
Strength and Combat – I picture Superman as a scrapper. So no need for kicks, backflips or any Karate moves like Batman. Just straight up punches and heavy punches. Combos would be key to combat, I would love to see a combo system like Tekken where combos can change depending on how fast your inputs are, how delayed a button press is and other factors. Also throw in your other Powers to extend your combos like a DMC game.
Enemies are not a problem to provide for the game. We have a handful of cannon fodder enemies to provide a challenge to Superman like Parademons, Intergang members, Toy Man’s toys, or a Khundian invasion. Also we would have boss characters like Mongol, Doomsday, General Zod, Metallo and Ulysses just to name a few from the Superman rogue gallery.
Throw in a great plot of Lex Luther working hand in hand with Inter Gang and Darkseid to bring down the Man of Tomorrow and you have a great Superman game.
What do you guys think? Do you agree that a Superman game can and should work? Or am I going to have to seriously nerd rage on you if you disagree?
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Superman is a crap super hero. There I said it.
Lampshading your clickbait title doesn't make it OK.
I don't really like Superman that much, but if anything needs to happen, it would be Superman vs Hulk instead of Batman. What's he going to do with his gadgets?
Anyone who thinks there can't be a good Superman game simply needs to play DCUO to see how it can be done.
The problem with a Superman game is that "God-mode" would be on by default and any form of immersion would be broken as soon you tried to go anywhere else but Metropolis. Heck, depending on level of detail, not being able to go into much less topple certain buildings or structures.