Here is a look at the next-gen Superman game for the Xbox 360.
He's the most powerful hero, on paper the perfect character for video games. But why is it so hard to make a good Superman game?
Better question is why can nobody make solo videogames based on non-Batman DC superheroes.
Spiderman is Marvel.
Nobody can make a good Superman game because he's too powerful. He can fly faster than the speed of sound, has the ability to shoot lasers from hia eyes and can punch harder than a round from a tank. He's immune to what almost all of humanity can throw at him.
So imagine the scope of the sandbox you'd need. Then how would you make him feel capable of such destruction? Then how do you make it so you try and avoid that destruction and care about npcs?
Absolute nightmare to try and make a game out of.
^
his lifebar is the "health" of the city
or just like how batman was poisoned with the joker blood in the arkham series, you could ahve him poisoned by kryptonite so he is overall weaker or weaker as the game goes on.
I used to have the sentiment that no one can make a Superman game because of how powerful he is. I thought really hard about it.
+ they could have enemies that can harm him. He is vulnerable to magic, kryptonite and the red sun.
+ make it mission based and if too many civilians die , you have to start over etc.
Sumperman maybe powerful but he still is limited.
Whatever challenges he has in the comics needs to be fleshed out in the game.
The problem with these ideas is that they ultimately take the fun out of the game.
If you use something to weaken Superman then you're not really playing as Superman using the powers he has so that defeats the point of a game where you are Superman.
If you use the city/citizenry as a life bar then every scenario becomes either a timed event or one where you are walking (flying) on eggshells to prevent too many deaths. Both are annoying and again defeats the purpose of being able to destroy stuff with fun powers.
You cannot really create a challenge or tension without missions being tedious or limiting the very powers that makes us want to play.
He is too powerful... You realize what kind of rig you would need to be able to fly through a city or a large map as fast as he can and render the world without bad pop in? There is a reason GTA V and other open world games won't allow you to go very fast through the world. Forza Horizon and Just Cause do a really good job of loading the world at high speeds, but not superman speed ;)
DC has so many underused heroes that they could utilize and it's a shame that Batman is the only one they can market.
Because Batman is just a human with fancy gadgets as every action games with extra cartoonish stuff. But flash as example he is super fast and normal developers like WB studios cant really fit superpowers into agameplay in proper way. We need that project of an studio who put all their power and creativity to simulate superpowers beyond Prototype and Infamous yet enjoyable and creative.
We are missing Iron Man, Thor, flash, GL, WW, Superman because of that limitations and typical form of superpowers in games.
I think is because super man is over powered.
Is hard to make villains for such a hero without crippling super man. Plus flying around can get a little boring. D.C. Universe online showed me this
it would be fine if the story is good. they can always gimp Superman's abilities using kryptonite weapons or mutant like creatures. they could also do the three villains from Kryton, Zod, Ersa , and the other guy lol from superman 2.
it must be more story driven with great acting.
He is not overpowered.
Superman has many villains that can go toe to toe with him and even put him down.
Super villains, yes, but the game would need filler enemies to keep it feeling fresh. I guess it could be an open world boss rush type of game like SotC, but that just doesn’t sound like it would work for him. Superman would be better as some type of RPG.
@Marine
", yes, but the game would need filler enemies to keep it feeling fresh."
Intergang, Parademons, Phantom Zone criminals, ToyMan toy soldiers, I'm sure a designer could pull lots of material from the Supeman comic to fill up the Superman's world with enemies.
An open world game with GTA type overall story and side missions is what I envision a Superman game to be.
but is it online too?
We'll see. The man of steel has alot of presure on him to be great this time out, not just good but great! The spiderman games have all been great even the dreamcast version was awesome. I still play it. So, to make just 1 great supe game is expected. If it's ok and only 4 hours to finish then well I'll just be pissed again. Nice visuals or not, lets see some fun game play that we can really get into. Online would be a major selling bonus but I dont see it happening this time out.
I have kept track of this game because I am a fan of Superman. I have heard many negitive comments reguarding past Superman games which I have not played. I am very happy about the recreation of 80 square miles of the city. That is a lot of area. In some interview with the developer, he said "The game will feature 50 large challenges that only Superman can face". In another interview he said, "The game length will be around 30 hours or so". In Game Informer Magazine, He said something like the game has been worked on for two years. But the game shown at E3 was only "40%" complete. That is the sad part. The game will ship on Oct 31 which will not be enough time to complete the other 60% the game has to go to completion. It could easily use another year in development. I bet someday that someone will make a worthy Superman game. This is a steping stone to that, which I will buy anyways. (Sorry for the long post)
...I'll save my 60 bucks! However, there is hope. Even horrible movies like, "The Chronicles of Riddick" were made into excellent video games, like, "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay". If the Superman Returns video game improves on the miscalculation of the movie, I will be pleasantly surprised.
you totally took that from a film critic