My Top 100: #64 – The Death and Return of Superman

 

It pretty much says it all in the title, doesn’t it?

I spent a very small portion of my early double-digit years honestly believing I could be Superman if I tried hard enough.  I watched Lois and Clark on Sunday nights, had a massive crush on Teri Hatcher, and was convinced that with a cape, an imagination and a running start, I could fly.

Those plans never really panned out, for some reason.

I never had an interest in comic books, but the Superman character had always fascinated me.  Yeah, he’s all-powerful and isn’t actually all that interesting as a superhero because of it.  I just thought his superpowers would be awesome to have!

It was a pretty big deal in pop culture and comic books when, in 1992, he was actually killed off by the all powerful Doomsday character.  Though the idea of such a powerful symbol of hope being murdered was somewhat depressing, I thought it was pretty cool.  I’m not sure why I found depressing things so interesting back then (yay, shipwrecks and people dying!), but I suppose it’s similar to my little niece’s current curiosity about death, about how and why it happens and such.

Naturally, they eventually made a game about the whole saga.  From his death to the reign of imitators, The Death and Return of Superman covered it all.

 

 

You get to play as The Cyborg, Eradicator, Superboy and Steel, but there really is no difference in terms of their abilities.  They can all fly, shoot laser beams somehow, and pull off a screen-clearing super move.  They all punch and kick (obviously) except for Steel, who whacks everyone with his massive hammer.  You can pick up the bad guys just by walking up to them without attacking, then slam them into the ground or into the scenery behind them.  Kinda cool, I guess.

Action levels are randomly interspersed with a flying shooter remeniscent of the R-Type games.  They’re not bad at all, but it does make you wonder why ol’ Soup doesn’t just fly like that to the end of each level.

As far as beat ’em ups go, this one isn’t really all that different.  It’s pretty repetitive, and none of the enemies are all that unique from one another.  You’d probably be better off playing a Final Fight or Streets of Rage game, since there’s really nothing new to offer…

Unless, of course, you’re like me and enjoy a good Superman storyline.  Great story, good graphics, surprisingly good music and passable gameplay.  It’s nothing special, but this is the first game I stayed up way past my bedtime to play, just to see what would happen next.

This is the first game on my countdown that I’d suggest that you not play, because you probably wouldn’t like it if you did!