Sega has launched the video game incarnations of Captain America: Super Soldier to coincide with this week’s theatrical release of the highly anticipated Marvel film. The game is now available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS. There are three versions of the game, one for the 360 / PS3, the Wii incarnation, and the portable DS release. You can find the launch trailers for all three below.
I am currently working on reviews of both the 360 and Wii versions of the game and thought I would give some brief impressions of the 360 version in particular, which you can find on the next page. In brief, just know this: Captain America is easily the best Marvel comic-based video game that Sega has produced yet. Don’t let their track record with games like Iron Man and Thor put you off from this game...
Sega has created quite a reputation for their selves with the recent Marvel releases that they have done... and I don’t mean that in a good way. The company is building up an incredibly bad track record of taking promising licenses such as Iron Man and Thor and failing to turn them into something good. If my first couple of hours into Captain America are any indication, that trend is about to change.
Captain America: Super Soldier for the Xbox 360, which was developed by Next Level Games, is arguably the best Marvel game yet to bare the Sega name. The game plays a lot like Batman: Arkham Asylum, with a focus on methodical combat and making the most out of your environments. I would also argue that there is a little bit of Prince of Persia sprinkled into the formula as well when it comes to the platforming areas of the game.
The combat system easily the standout aspect of the game worth commending. Just like Arkham Asylum before it, Captain America focuses on timing your attacks accordingly and facing off against multiple enemies simultaneously. You will almost always find yourself surrounded by 5 or more foes and forced to maneuver around them with fluid movements and attack sin order to make the best of a bad situation. As you rack up combos and strings of downed enemies, you will fill up a super meter which you can spend towards more devastating maneuvers such as instant knockouts and special shield abilities.
The shield, of course, remains Cap’s primary weapon. Players have the ability to deflect bullets in the midst of combat and even bat them back towards attackers, all within the standard flow of a combo using correctly timed button presses. The resulting action is both captivating and rewarding... you truly feel like a major badass.
I have barely scratched the surface of the game but am already thoroughly enjoying the game. Captain and the enemies all look fantastic in terms of their models and animations, but unfortunately the backgrounds and textures lack the same “umph” as they do. It is a little disappointing but something that I can overlook for the sake of a good adventure. Hopefully I will be able to finish up the 360 version this week and get a full review up on the site sometime next week, and then I will be moving onto the Wii version which is a whole other game...
