Captain America: Super Soldier
Platforms: NDS, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3
Platform Reviewed: Xbox 360
Review Copy Provided by Publisher
Edited by: Paco /@apeachmoon
As gamers, we all know what is usually thought about movie tie-in games, that they are poor games, often with very little to commend. “Summer blockbuster X has a game releasing that ties in with the movie experience.” This is usually followed by chokes and gags as memories of almost every other crappy movie tie in, read: cash in, with their rushed-to-market gameplay and clunky graphics, speeds to the front of our minds. But, I did say almost. There have been a few exceptions. One such exception is Sega published and Next Level Games developed Captain America: Super Soldier.
Captain America: Super Soldier starts where you’d expect it to start, with action. It’s 1940, World War II and an opening cinematic shows two American soldiers chewing the fat before they are attacked by a mechanically enhanced Hydra baddie. One soldier is killed while the other, clearly outmatched, runs. Cap enters heroically, just in time to save the fleeing soldier. Cinematic ends, time to play as Captain America. A quick tutorial helps establish the basic controls. Taking its cue from some of the other successful superhero games, Captain America: Super Soldier focuses on a free flowing one button combat and defense moves. Simply press X to strike, Y to grab, B to counter and A to evade attackers. The counters, evades and attacks are seamless but don’t expect an aggressive combat style some other games in this genre, though this doesn’t mean Cap doesn’t bring it. Captain America’s combat style is fun and addictive, sticking to a simple set of effective moves that doesn’t over power the wholesome image that Cap embodies.
Captain America: Super Soldier is fluid throughout. The controls take very little time to get the hang of, allowing the player easy introduction and enjoyment throughout. The game feels solid. Cap isn’t a clunky licensed character and he wasn’t placed in inferior graphics and sluggish gameplay. It feels like Next Level set the bar as high as their budget and talent could take them. The result is a fine product and a very enjoyable romp through Captain America’s universe. The only frustration in the game I found was that at times it felt a little claustrophobic, I wanted to do a bit more than move through tunnels, climb walls and run through corridors of the compound. There were memorable locales but I would have liked a little bit more to explore, more variety. Also no Red Skull battle and what happened to Madam Hydra? I thought she was a great addition and a fun character to fight but then she flees. I kind of hoped she’d return. Either she couldn’t handle the fight or she will return in (and I’m hoping for the this) the sequel. Regardless of my nitpicking, the game looks great and is far superior to the vast majority of licensed, movie tie-in games that get shoveled out of studios and into the hands of consumers.
Other treats for me, was the sound design and score. Both lent themselves well to Next Level Games respect to the franchise and (it seems) their hope to create a surprising, fun and entertaining licensed game. The narrative was simple but enjoyable and the voice acting was definitely better than your average game. For those who enjoy challenges, Captain America: Super Soldier offers fighting challenges which are fun and addictive. Want to practice clobbering bad guys with a shield, there’s a challenge for that. The sound of the shield, clobbering baddies is quite satisfying.
For me, Captain America: Super Soldier is worthy addition to a gamer’s collection. It plays surprisingly well for a licensed title, is fun and with it’s AAA- like production values, Captain America: Super Soldier is easy on the eyes, baring it’s own unique look and feel that should satisfy long time Cap fans (that would be me) and gamers looking for a fun and easy title to play. It is worth the rent or purchase. I sincerely hope Next Level Games gets another shot at making a second Captain America game. I had great fun stepping into the role of Cap even after my second play-through.
Here are more Screenshots of this amazing game!
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