Hands-onSuperman: Shadow of Apokolips

By Ricardo Torres, GameSpotPosted Feb 12, 2002 7:19 pm PT

Infogrames developer Sheffield House shows off its Superman game for the PlayStation 2.

The Superman franchise on video game consoles has been a complicated state of affairs since gamers first guided some crudely animated sprites on the Atari 2600. The task of creating a video game that captures the essence of one of the most recognized and loved comic book characters has always posed a formidable challenge to game developers. Some have been up to the task, while others have clearly not been, since what works in a comic book hasn't always translated into a good game. Considering the most recent entry from the franchise on the Nintendo 64, it looked like the man of steel was in need of a rescue. Enter Infogrames developer Sheffield House, which has taken on the daunting task of restoring the last son of Krypton's good name with gamers in its upcoming game for the PlayStation 2--Superman: Shadow of Apokolips. A 3D action game set in the universe of the Warner Bros. animated series, Superman: SOA looks like a step in the right direction. We traveled to Sheffield, England, and got a chance to check out an early build of the game.

The game's plot, developed and written in conjunction with DC Comics, finds perennial Superman nemesis Lex Luthor trying to find a way to best use the alien technology he's discovered to destroy the man of steel. One of Luthor's first attempts sees him freeing the deadly kryptonite-powered cyborg, Metallo, and arming him with the alien weapons in the hopes that he'll take out the mighty one. However, there's more to the alien technology than meets the eye. As you work through the game, you'll find out the nature of Darkseid's involvement and his relationship with Luthor. The game's story, worthy of a story arc in the animated series, is a nice touch that keeps things interesting.

Fans of the Warner Bros. animated series will recognize many of the sights and sounds found in the PS2 game. The main cast in the game will include Superman, Clark Kent, Metallo, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Professor Hamilton, Angela Chen, and Maggie Sawyer, while some of the other villains will include the Interbots, Livewire, Parasite, Kanto, and Darkseid. The various characters will be voiced in the game by the voice talent used for the animated series, including Tim Daly, Clancy Brown, Malcom Macdowell, Lori Petty, and Michael York. In addition, any sound effects used in the series will be used in the game to stay as true to the cartoon as possible.

Fans of the series will also be pleased with the game's look, which is faithful to that of the cartoon. Superman: SOA uses a graphics style similar to the cel-shading technique seen in Sheffield House's Dreamcast game Wacky Races, and it features a slick art style that is extremely impressive. We were able to check out a few of the game's environments, which were made up of roughly 25,000 polygons each, including Metropolis, Manheim Warehouse, Lex Dam, Lex's Office, the interior of Stryker's Island Prison, and a mountain base. Though the early levels lacked objects such as pedestrians in the street and enemies, they all captured the look of the series. The city of Metropolis is rendered in a combination of pastels, and it features extensive layering of highways and buildings, which give the city an impressive sense of size. Lex Dam is also impressive, thanks to the huge leaking dam in the background that you'll eventually interact with over the course of that particular level.

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jakeboudville
Posted Sep 22, 2006 5:38 am PT

looks impressive
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