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Title: Death and Return of Superman, The
Author:Sunsoft
Rom Player: Kgen
Reviewer: Brian Bellows
Synopsis: The only cool Man of Steel Video game. This old school platformer kicks the next-gen consoles ass when it comes to the Last Son of Krypton.
You might remember a few years back when Superman "died." He didn't really die, merely a flesh wound. He had a huge battle with Doomsday, they both delivered a near fatal blow to each other, and disappeared off the map for a while. This actually sets up one of my favorite time periods in Superman literature, the introduction of the Supermen. I loved this series and the game is just as good, or better if you didn't like the Death of Superman comic series.
Starting out, you play as the original Supes. you have cool abilities and can fly, super punches and kicks, super earthquake, that sort of stuff. At the end of the first level is the fight with the infamous Doomsday, at the end of which you'll both die. Then the fun starts.
You remember the different Supermen, right? John Henry was the Man of Steel, who weilded a big ass hammer(not very Superman like, but hey, neither was Shaq's stupid ass). There was the genetic clone of Supes in Superboy, but don't call him that. The Eradicator (my fav), was just lost particles that got stuck in the wrong body, becoming the Last Son of Krypton. The Man of Tomorrow was always a little different, as he is half cyborg and some parts Kal-el.
You play through different levels catering to each of the Supermen's inherent abilities. Superboy is really fast with the punches. Steel is hella strong, of course, he's got a big fucking hammer. The Eradicator is creepy and has one of the coolest special moves where he disappears and everyone turns up dead, but he's a little weak with the combos. The Man of Tomorrow has a cool machine gun, part of his cyborg enhanchments, and is probably the most balanced of them all.
Each level brings you closer to finding out who the real Superman is, the real villian is, and saving the world once again, cause somebody's gotta do it. That the synopsis anyway. I won't give away any more of the plot, in case you never read the comic books or anything.
Game Play: 7/10
Great stuff really. You get to be not just one Superman, but a whole flock of flying, cape wearing do-gooders. The controls are real easy. Three buttons on a Genesis controller so it can't be that hard. You have a punch, a jump (double jump and you can float on the screen indefinitely), and a supermove that varies depending on what incarnation you're playing as. You can also grab the baddies and toss them into the background, or boxes or each other, sometimes revealing health and powerups.
Graphics: 6/10
It looks good for the most part. Almost the same graphics as say, Maximum Carnage or Ninja Turtles games that came out around the same time. Ok, but not the best.
Music: 5/10
There's Really nothing to it. It's a pretty generic soundtrack and the SFX are the usual 8-16 bit fair.
Originality: 6/10
Think Final Fight, Maximum Carnage and the like. Enemies come up, punch them till their health bar goes down and they dissapear. It does receive an extra point in this department for original enemies. I don't remember any satanic goat/Baphomet creatures in the comic book, but hey, why not?
Overall Rating: 8/10
It's still a hell fun game, escpecially if you ever wanted to don the read cape yourself. And, honestly, who hasn't. There's just something about this game that makes you keep playing. As an added bonus, it's not that hard to beat. It's challenging and you will die, but set the options to five continues and you can tackle the whole thing with minimal practice.
A highly recommended waste of an afternoon.
Best Cheats: I'm positive there's some Game Genie stuff out there, but honestly, with a little practice, you won't need them.
Game Play: 7
Graphics: 6
Music/Sound: 5
Originality: 6
Overall Rating: 8
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