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Captain America Super Soldier
Captain America: Super Soldier had such
potential, perhaps we were hoping for more because of the iconic
subject. There are moments when we have some actual fun with this star
spangled beat-um up title. The bland graphics don’t plead the case for
the game, while our star spangled hero looks awesome as does his shield
the world around him is nothing interesting, and filled with jaggies in
the graphics.
Like most games, there are different levels
of difficulty, though gamers, if you want a bit more of a challenge make
sure you play it at the highest level of difficulty. A bit more time in
development may have done some more for the game. There are some areas
where there is clipping, on some stairs and in one sprawling prison
area, poor ol Cap got stuck between the end of a bunk and the cell wall.
Took some doing but I did at last get unstuck.
The game does have some fun kick butt moments, with the good old
fashioned right and left cross as well as the iconic shield throwing.
These are the times when things are the most fun, when Captain America
is fighting through the enemies. This is when the game is at its best.
The acrobatics and plat-forming are fun moments as well…but again…I had
the most fun when Cap was dealing out the beat down.
Through the course of the game, our hero
can get upgrades to his fighting and shield with cool new moves. So
there are a visual variety of moves that come off very satisfying
indeed, when unleashing our hero on the forces of Hydra. Ducking and
dodging foes and doing counters helps fill up a meter, once this is
filled Captain America can execute a special move called a crippling
strike. Better yet to savor the awesomeness that is Captain America,
it’s done in slow motion to show off the entire bone crunching splendor.
There are fast fluid moments ala Batman Arkham Asylum like fighting,
where our hero can flow from an attack and chain several together and a
whirlwind of awesome iconic moments. Complete with using the shield…
throwing the shield is rather satisfying. Being able to bounce the
shield amongst a group of enemies in a star spangled disk version of
lethal pin ball is a blast. Another cool feature is the ability to block
a bullet and send it back to the person firing it. This does need a
little timing skill, but is cool when you can pull it off.
Disappointing moments are using the shield in defense; Cap is stuck in
one position and is unable to move. Bummer…but understood, it’s a
tradeoff.
There are also points of plat-forming, but this it seems needs little
skill no matter what level of difficulty you play it at, a few button
mashes and Captain America is jumping, flipping, and swinging from point
to point in no time flat.
Plus Captain America spends some time finding files and reports and
intel that helps him on this adventure. Some schematics give information
on certain enemy types and therefore they give Cap a bit of an edge on
how to defeat them and exploit weaknesses.
Cap is well represented, but the game assumes you know this hero already
and what drives him. This is Captain America after all. With no back
story to speak of, in regard to Caps origin, I was worried that it would
miss the full spirit of Captain America. Perhaps in some ways it does,
it fails to portray the heart and soul of this living symbol. The story
shows hints of it, and Chris Evans voice talent sells our hero and makes
him a bit more real to us….I have to admit, I was not sold on Chris
Evans as Captain America…after seeing what he did to bring this hero to
life on screen…. He won me over. Chris Evans voice over work for the
game is a solid and welcome addition. He is Captain America.
Happily enough the story line handles the
introductions well enough in the form of two hapless U.S. Army soldiers
who are on guard duty in the trenches. The scene does a nice job of
introducing the Captain America concept from the average grunts point of
view. Is all the hype about this hero really true? Or is Captain America
just propaganda? I won’t ruin it for you; I will say the soldiers soon
become believers.
While the game is of course coming out around when the major motion
picture is hitting screens, thankfully it is not following the movie. We
get to break new ground here with “Captain America: Super Soldier” Cap
has to head off after an even bigger threat during World War II, or at
least Marvel Comics version. Facing off against the forces of Hydra, our
hero has to fight his way through a Bavarian castle complex chock full
of Hydra soldiers of all sorts, as well as other classic Captain America
Villains.
As noted Captain America: Super Soldier breaks no new ground, so of
course the standard puzzles to open doors and sabotaging equipment is in
place. Opening doors is handled by a decryption device that sort of
resembles an enigma machine… so applaud the designers for some tweaks
here and there in the game…because yes we do notice. Most of these
puzzles involve steady thumbs as, you must use the analog sticks to move
two images together and match up numbers. Simple in many respects but is
a welcome change of pace.
The story while having its moments is dull, that and so- so graphics
keep this title from being a major contender in the super hero hall of
fame. While not a cursed bad game, Captain America: Super Soldier is
super short… it’s not a complete miss, nor is it a bull’s eye.
Have fun, play games |
