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Xbox 360 | Action | Superman Returns: The Videogame

Boxart for Superman Returns: The Videogame
Superman Returns: The Videogame 7 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.00
  • SOUND: 3.00
  • CONTROL: 2.50
  • FUN FACTOR 2.50
  • AVG USER SCORE 2.3
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 2.1

Preview: Superman Returns: The Videogame

Preview by John Gaudiosi | 06/14/2006 | 07:05:37 AM PST

With a Hollywood blockbuster movie now out in front of the game, here's how Electronic Arts is planning to make Superman Returns: The Video Game a star.

Electronic Arts has had a miss (Catwoman) and a hit (Batman Begins) with its annual summer collaborations with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics. Superman Returns: The Video Game looks like another step in the right direction for the game publisher, which is expanding the game's world beyond the scope of the film and tapping into the rich comics' history.

"Historically, it's been hard to make Superman games," said Jason Hall, senior vice president of WBIE. "He's an invulnerable character that can only be hurt by one thing."

Superman Reborn

That's where the film helped the team of 150 people at EA's Tiburon Studio. Unlike past Superman games by the likes of Sunsoft, Titus Software, and Atari, EA was able to work closely with director Bryan Singer and get input from film writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris to create a unique game experience.

"We saw the approach that Bryan Singer was taking with the new movie and thought it was relevant for our time and cleared some of the hurdles that plagued previous Superman games," said Hall. "Singer took time to work with us. He brought an interesting sensibility on how to do a Superman game." Singer, like a growing number of Hollywood directors, is a gamer, himself. In fact, the director is working on an original game called "Secret Service" that has recently been sold to a publisher.

Chris Gray, executive producer of Superman Returns, Electronic Arts, said he had a number of face-to-face meetings with Singer. Gray spent several days on the set in Australia while the big budget feature was filming.

"We showed Bryan concept art, actual game content and the script for the game," said Gray. "We received the story treatment of the film early on, but there are a lot of parts of the movie that aren't in the game and vice versa."


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