Friday, April 18, 2008

Sega's Iron Man game needs the Proton Cannon... Demo Impressions

I played the Iron Man demo today, which is up on Xbox Live Marketplace now and after two run-throughs (the demo is timed), the gameplay is not that deep as I thought it would be. First of all, the demo is timed, which is nine minutes to destroy tanks, helicopters, turrets, and crates as Iron Man. I have a feeling the final game's objectives will be more variations of what I played in this demo, which seems repetitive to me. All you do in the demo is fly, hover, and shoot, and repeat at what I mentioned. Occasionally, you can use the Uni Beam attack with the right bumper to take out tougher sets of enemies, but it takes time to set it up and leaves you wide open for to be hit. As seen in the demo trailer, you can use enemy vehicles to your advantage back at them, but nailing it in action seems sketchy and wonky to do. Quite simply, the overall controls for Iron Man feels really sketchy. Hovering and flying seemed confusing at first, but you will notice the differences after some play-throughs. Once you nail the flying controls, it makes you think you're freaking Iron Man flying at supersonic speeds boosting around, but I am worried after the playing the demo is that the combat doesn't make you feel like you are Iron Man especially when he is a high-tier beast in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 with Proton Cannons, Smart Bombs, Repulsor Blasts, and Infinite combos.

The graphics are at least the only good thing I can say about Sega's Iron Man game. At least Iron Man himself looks good and sharp, but the backgrounds can be somewhat dull in the final game (that's a prediction). The voice-overs also seem half-assed like most games based on movies with no emotion coming out of it from Tony Stark and your computer friend. Before jumping into action, there are some customization / RPG elements which is your basic spend money on upgrades ordeal. Even on Easy and Normal, the computer A.I. does not really put up a fight with your health being rechargeable quickly and a matter of avoiding missiles.

The Iron Man demo feels like target practice as Iron Man with its auto-aiming system. The controls feel sketchy for both movement and combat. I wished he had more of a move list or other available weapons in the demo (maybe there's more in the final cut) other than a normal blast, Uni Beam, and melee when close. Graphically, it looks good and shiny as well as having the effortless voice overs as seen in other movie licensed games. In the end, Iron Man might as well be just another crappy licensed movie game that feels rushed to coincide with the movie itself on May 2nd. Then again, everyone will be playing Grand Theft Auto IV, but this Iron Man game can be a decent rental at best if you're a fan.