Covering one of the most controversial times in comic history, Superman delivers a well paced game with some issues.
You then take control of The Cyborg, part man, part machine of Superman, then The Eradicator, Superboy and finally, the most popular of all is Man of Steel aka Steel. From all 5 of the Supermen, each fighting style is different for example, since the The Cyborg is evil he will fight a little dirty since his left cybernetic arm can turn into a hand or a gun. One of the poorest fighting skill is Steel's moves... it seems as if Blizzard just forgot about him and just gave him 2 swing moves with his hammer instead of the usual 5 different hit combos the others got. But mostly the easiest to use is obviously Steel's hammer is a long-ranged weapon.
The game is generally tough to play. You'll get an average of 10 game over screens before finally beating the game and luckily this game shows you mercy by restarting at the beginning of a level rather then the whole game again. One of the reasons that you'll get an average of 10 game over screens is the fact that there are 3 different enemy types, short-ranged, medium-ranged and long-ranged. When in packs it makes the game difficult since this is a beat-em up game like Maximum Carnage. One of the BIGGEST reasons you'll get game-over screens is that the bosses are extremely cheap. If the boss knocks you down, your screwed since the boss will do combo and you will have trouble getting out of his reach. The toughest of all bosses in this game is Steel (no he didn't go evil he's just dueling The Eradicator) due to his hammer and reach. But eventually you'll find a way to beat him.
The game's story can be familiar to those who read "The Death of Superman" comics because the cut-scenes pretty much covers it but not enough to those who didn't read "The Death of Superman" or "The Return of Superman". You'll be wondering where did The Cyborg, Superboy and The Eradicator came from... you'll be left clueless. Especially on Superman's return after his death, how was he reborn? How did he get to the Fortress of Solitude, how did he regain his power since he came back as a human. But you'll eventually try to ignore it but don't try to fill in the holes yourself.
The sounds are not to good for a last generation game of the Sega Genesis but the music is just downright horrid. Superboy's song is the worst of them all due to the drum and guitar solos and you'll think if your game is about to crash when you hear it for the first time. Some sounds are just repetitive sounds like when you punch someone you'll hear a "whack" and when you use your projectile attack you'll hear the same "whack" again. The sounds just really doesn't diversify itself from types of attacks and weapon blasts.
The graphics are a little muddy but good, except in the Motor City levels which the sky WILL burn your eyes with it's bright red and sometimes you'll lose Superboy back there and you'll see his black jacket but not his pants. Luckily you won't have to fly that long in the sky to take out aireal enemies. But overall it's pretty good but not that good for a Sega Genesis title.
Overall, true Superman fans will be dissapointed but can still have some fun with it. The challenge can make players come back for more but the lack of power-ups can frustrate a lot of gamers. This is a title that is worth keeping in your Genesis library since the game is now rare due to the popularity of Superman's death and Batman's defeat.