GL1
It's pronounced "glee"
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Greetings Hypesters
So, 1) I played Superman Returns the video game, and boy, was it NOT finished. Potential? Through the roof! Flying is fun? Controls intuitive? Resoundingly! (eat that 64) Plenty room to play in? Oh yeah... everything else about the game was average, poor or craptacular. Seriously. Everything else. Now 2) I like video game ideas, so I'm sharing mine... just a few hit points on what a SR sequel Video game to do to be the Game of Year, if not Game of Decade.
The Perfect Superman game needs to:
Doing these three things will take the game into a whole other realm of quality. Minor add ons like Graphics, Music and Minigames or multiplayer wouldn't hurt.
Freedom
Nothing hurts the feeling of freedom faster than hitting an invisible wall. No matter how big the area is, it stings a bit, and kills immersion. Lets expand the gameworld. If you fly too far to the west, a cutscene plays and you find yourself in Smallville. If you fly too far to the east, you find yourself over the ocean where New Krypton was. If you fly south you end up in a Mini gotham, fly north you end up at the Fortress of Solitude and flying straight up will have you in the upper atmosphere and then space.
Now you're not trapped in this little box... you've got other boxes to go into, and if that's not enough, fly into the virtually limitless vastness of space. Of course, you can run out of air there. Keep in mind all these areas will host gameplay, missions, characters and storyline.
Power
With the freedom to move about the world at blinding speeds, you want to DO stuff in those areas. SR did a GREAT job of making Superman's health be the City's health... too many people die, you lose. I would recommend giving players the ability to lift up objects bigger than cars and people. Buildings come to mind. As do comets. Borrowing GodofWar's quick-time events could go a long way towards giving Superman some feats you love, however, when the whole world becomes destructible, Hulk:UD style, you get a real sense that you're the biggest thing around.
In addition, what happened to those other powers. If the city is really finished, then looking around the city with telescopic vision and superhearing as a 'superspy' should be no problem... remote viewing at will (in addition to getting danger signals on the map with superhearing). Get clues, get (in-game) cutscenes, use strategy. Power.
Flying was fun, btw, but with more animations (the floating and sidwards hovering for instance) and an even more majestic cape, it could really be something epic.
Versatility
I hinted at this before, but to hark on it again, where are the picking up water towers to put out fires, putting bridges back together, hovering in place of train tracks, batting massive projectiles out of the sky with radio towers. Fusing villain's feet to the ground. Special interactions for a number of objects can help make Superman's world come alive... which brings me to my next topic.
Clark Kent. He's more famous than I am, I'll say that. He's also a compelling character, and, honestly, the heart of the Superman mythos. Everything revolves around him, not Superman,ESPECIALLY the supporting cast. So lets get him on screen, even if he doesn't punch anything, he deserves a shot. I want to interact with Clark's Supporting Cast, Investigate with Clark and, obviously, change from Clark to Superman at will.
Supporting Cast
Lois Lane. Perry White. Jimmy Olsen. Lana Lang. Ma Kent. Pa Kent. John Henry Irons. Natasha Irons. Emil Hamilton. Jor-El. Yeah, that should about do it. (Oh. Jason, Richard) With the Daily Planet Newsroom acting as sort a game-hub (pick up a case(leading to a mission), free roam, access a menu, options, etc -- this is the logical center of Superman's universe.
Additionally, all of these characters would have missions attached to them, their own sub-storylines separate (though often intersecting) with the main plotline of the game. In their missions, sometimes you work with them, sometimes you have to save them, carry them, protect them, race to or from them. All manner of madness may or may not happen. Now, Clark Kent's life becomes a part of yours... these characters' stories get into your own story. That's where the good stuff can happen.
Investigate With Clark
So what does Clark Kent DO, exactly? Well, 1) He does Recon for Superman. You can get into LexCorp facilities before the lead lockdowns block your vision. You can talk to people to open up key areas, options or items. You are Superman's disguise.
2) Honestly, truth be told, after a few dozen hours of Diner Dash and Bully I think an optional 'newspaper article' minigame is in order, putting together pieces in order within a certain time to unlock bonuses. Perhaps a bonus could be additional dialogue or money for extras for your customizable pad/fortress/what have you. This is in addition to possibly taking pictures as Jimmy Olsen, or flying a plane as Richard White, or even playing the piano as Jason White. These things all have potential to be fun little distractions.
Clark to Superman at will
This is what makes comic books awesome. The transformation from the mundane to the epic. You do a little Clark Kent thing cuz you're bored or you're stuck on a certain boss and then, you whoosh into an ally, into the sky or whatever and viola. Superman. Aside from a little 'can't change here' message from time to time, it should be great!
Metropolis
More often than not described as 'a character unto itself.' Lets make this character alive. Lets splurge on 15-30 different civillian models with pallette swaps to boot, 8-15 different car types. Lets have traffic patterns and a day-night cycle. Lets put our supporting cast out on the street sometimes. Lets make this place alive. Same goes for the other gaming areas (smallville, Gotham city) with their own vibes. If you have a big island, BUILD A BRIDGE TO IT. If you have multi-tiered highways, build roads to connect them. Where the heck is the airport, people? The bus system. The stadium. Make a city, not just a concrete playground.
Well, obviously, we need great combat, we need epic villain conflicts and we need good reason to be involved in these conflicts. Again, SR gets close, but no cigar.
Reason to Fight
That requires, I promise, an overarching storyline. As a movie tie in, you've got to make your own story that integrates the movie story into it... the movie almost has to be a sub-story and it'd be wise to come up with your own great climax and leave the movie's climax as the beginning of the end.
Combat
Easy dashing attacks, unlockable charge moves and good combos are okay, but Superman's not quite a one-trick pony anymore. The man knows how to throw a few good punches. Give him multiple combos, maybe a knee in there. Integrate the heat vision, grabs and flying into it all and you've got room for some awesome visuals as superman lays thick smackdown on villainy. Where are the reversals at?
Epic Villain Conflicts
Well, again, SR came close with it's massive Metallo battle, Tornado path of destruction and so on, but that's not enough for a whole game. And 'throwing stuff at it' should not be a constantly superior solution, as your super powers fall harmlessly by while cars get through.
When I fight Metallo, everything should revolve around the Kryptonite heart opening. And at that, Kryptonite and red sun should give superman a health meter, giving him a chance to die. What if metallo doesn't open up? You have to give him an excuse to, and then find a way to hurt his kryptonite heart while you're weak and dying.
When I fight a natural disaster, I need to be making tough decisions all the time, not zipping from one scripted sequence to another. When I fight Mongol, I should be against a trained gladiator, and the only way to win should be by reversals and combos, where he will have many of his own.
When I fight Parasite, I need to rely on a keep away game, in addition to employing the strategies necessary to beat whoever he's parasited. When I fight Zod, or even Bizarro, I want to be overpowered at my own game and be forced to come up with a new strategy. When I fight Brainiac, I want to be screwed until I figure out where his base is. When I fight Darkseid, I want to be vastly overpowered, and have to resort to talking and using his own tech against him. And when I fight Luthor I want to NEVER know what to expect. I want city smashing epic villain conflicts. The the point where it's all about Superman's life meter and damage to the city is 'understandable' during boss battles. Doomsday for instance.
And the peons. I realize that we need to give Superman something to do between boss battles... but lets get real. Where is Intergang... humans with Apokoliptan-weapons that can faze the man of steel? Where is Lex Corp with it's army of Superman-killing suits, or Star Labs (evil) with the red-sun exploitation? How about mutiple phantom zone villains kicking tail, or the Toyman's creations running amok. Myxlsptlik can do anything, sure, but why not something a bit more imaginative than Dragons. Please.
So you put all these things together and what do you get?
Something amazing that's what. Add to it the Next-Gen Graphics and epic musical score and a good marketing campaign and you're good to go. If it were up to me I'd have Multiplayer with Kara Zor-El (and associated missions) and Steel as downloadable content (with Steel having been hinted at during the game by JHI) so you and two buddies can go frolicking through the gameworld. But I think that's just cuz I like multiplayer. Everything else stays.
But what do you guys think?
So, 1) I played Superman Returns the video game, and boy, was it NOT finished. Potential? Through the roof! Flying is fun? Controls intuitive? Resoundingly! (eat that 64) Plenty room to play in? Oh yeah... everything else about the game was average, poor or craptacular. Seriously. Everything else. Now 2) I like video game ideas, so I'm sharing mine... just a few hit points on what a SR sequel Video game to do to be the Game of Year, if not Game of Decade.
The Perfect Superman game needs to:
- Make me feel like Superman
- Introduce me to Clark Kent's World
- Provide compelling Conflicts
Doing these three things will take the game into a whole other realm of quality. Minor add ons like Graphics, Music and Minigames or multiplayer wouldn't hurt.
This IS a Job for Superman
This is one area where 'Superman Returns' came very close to hitting. Keeping the basic controls allowing for a wide variety of flight freedom, as well as instant access to super-breath, heat vision and freeze breath. But why stop there? Freedom, Power and Versatility are all necessaryFreedom
Nothing hurts the feeling of freedom faster than hitting an invisible wall. No matter how big the area is, it stings a bit, and kills immersion. Lets expand the gameworld. If you fly too far to the west, a cutscene plays and you find yourself in Smallville. If you fly too far to the east, you find yourself over the ocean where New Krypton was. If you fly south you end up in a Mini gotham, fly north you end up at the Fortress of Solitude and flying straight up will have you in the upper atmosphere and then space.
Now you're not trapped in this little box... you've got other boxes to go into, and if that's not enough, fly into the virtually limitless vastness of space. Of course, you can run out of air there. Keep in mind all these areas will host gameplay, missions, characters and storyline.
Power
With the freedom to move about the world at blinding speeds, you want to DO stuff in those areas. SR did a GREAT job of making Superman's health be the City's health... too many people die, you lose. I would recommend giving players the ability to lift up objects bigger than cars and people. Buildings come to mind. As do comets. Borrowing GodofWar's quick-time events could go a long way towards giving Superman some feats you love, however, when the whole world becomes destructible, Hulk:UD style, you get a real sense that you're the biggest thing around.
In addition, what happened to those other powers. If the city is really finished, then looking around the city with telescopic vision and superhearing as a 'superspy' should be no problem... remote viewing at will (in addition to getting danger signals on the map with superhearing). Get clues, get (in-game) cutscenes, use strategy. Power.
Flying was fun, btw, but with more animations (the floating and sidwards hovering for instance) and an even more majestic cape, it could really be something epic.
Versatility
I hinted at this before, but to hark on it again, where are the picking up water towers to put out fires, putting bridges back together, hovering in place of train tracks, batting massive projectiles out of the sky with radio towers. Fusing villain's feet to the ground. Special interactions for a number of objects can help make Superman's world come alive... which brings me to my next topic.
Mild Mannered Reporter... riiight.
Clark Kent. He's more famous than I am, I'll say that. He's also a compelling character, and, honestly, the heart of the Superman mythos. Everything revolves around him, not Superman,ESPECIALLY the supporting cast. So lets get him on screen, even if he doesn't punch anything, he deserves a shot. I want to interact with Clark's Supporting Cast, Investigate with Clark and, obviously, change from Clark to Superman at will.
Supporting Cast
Lois Lane. Perry White. Jimmy Olsen. Lana Lang. Ma Kent. Pa Kent. John Henry Irons. Natasha Irons. Emil Hamilton. Jor-El. Yeah, that should about do it. (Oh. Jason, Richard) With the Daily Planet Newsroom acting as sort a game-hub (pick up a case(leading to a mission), free roam, access a menu, options, etc -- this is the logical center of Superman's universe.
Additionally, all of these characters would have missions attached to them, their own sub-storylines separate (though often intersecting) with the main plotline of the game. In their missions, sometimes you work with them, sometimes you have to save them, carry them, protect them, race to or from them. All manner of madness may or may not happen. Now, Clark Kent's life becomes a part of yours... these characters' stories get into your own story. That's where the good stuff can happen.
Investigate With Clark
So what does Clark Kent DO, exactly? Well, 1) He does Recon for Superman. You can get into LexCorp facilities before the lead lockdowns block your vision. You can talk to people to open up key areas, options or items. You are Superman's disguise.
2) Honestly, truth be told, after a few dozen hours of Diner Dash and Bully I think an optional 'newspaper article' minigame is in order, putting together pieces in order within a certain time to unlock bonuses. Perhaps a bonus could be additional dialogue or money for extras for your customizable pad/fortress/what have you. This is in addition to possibly taking pictures as Jimmy Olsen, or flying a plane as Richard White, or even playing the piano as Jason White. These things all have potential to be fun little distractions.
Clark to Superman at will
This is what makes comic books awesome. The transformation from the mundane to the epic. You do a little Clark Kent thing cuz you're bored or you're stuck on a certain boss and then, you whoosh into an ally, into the sky or whatever and viola. Superman. Aside from a little 'can't change here' message from time to time, it should be great!
Metropolis
More often than not described as 'a character unto itself.' Lets make this character alive. Lets splurge on 15-30 different civillian models with pallette swaps to boot, 8-15 different car types. Lets have traffic patterns and a day-night cycle. Lets put our supporting cast out on the street sometimes. Lets make this place alive. Same goes for the other gaming areas (smallville, Gotham city) with their own vibes. If you have a big island, BUILD A BRIDGE TO IT. If you have multi-tiered highways, build roads to connect them. Where the heck is the airport, people? The bus system. The stadium. Make a city, not just a concrete playground.
Truth, Justice and an American Beatdown
Well, obviously, we need great combat, we need epic villain conflicts and we need good reason to be involved in these conflicts. Again, SR gets close, but no cigar.
Reason to Fight
That requires, I promise, an overarching storyline. As a movie tie in, you've got to make your own story that integrates the movie story into it... the movie almost has to be a sub-story and it'd be wise to come up with your own great climax and leave the movie's climax as the beginning of the end.
Combat
Easy dashing attacks, unlockable charge moves and good combos are okay, but Superman's not quite a one-trick pony anymore. The man knows how to throw a few good punches. Give him multiple combos, maybe a knee in there. Integrate the heat vision, grabs and flying into it all and you've got room for some awesome visuals as superman lays thick smackdown on villainy. Where are the reversals at?
Epic Villain Conflicts
Well, again, SR came close with it's massive Metallo battle, Tornado path of destruction and so on, but that's not enough for a whole game. And 'throwing stuff at it' should not be a constantly superior solution, as your super powers fall harmlessly by while cars get through.
When I fight Metallo, everything should revolve around the Kryptonite heart opening. And at that, Kryptonite and red sun should give superman a health meter, giving him a chance to die. What if metallo doesn't open up? You have to give him an excuse to, and then find a way to hurt his kryptonite heart while you're weak and dying.
When I fight a natural disaster, I need to be making tough decisions all the time, not zipping from one scripted sequence to another. When I fight Mongol, I should be against a trained gladiator, and the only way to win should be by reversals and combos, where he will have many of his own.
When I fight Parasite, I need to rely on a keep away game, in addition to employing the strategies necessary to beat whoever he's parasited. When I fight Zod, or even Bizarro, I want to be overpowered at my own game and be forced to come up with a new strategy. When I fight Brainiac, I want to be screwed until I figure out where his base is. When I fight Darkseid, I want to be vastly overpowered, and have to resort to talking and using his own tech against him. And when I fight Luthor I want to NEVER know what to expect. I want city smashing epic villain conflicts. The the point where it's all about Superman's life meter and damage to the city is 'understandable' during boss battles. Doomsday for instance.
And the peons. I realize that we need to give Superman something to do between boss battles... but lets get real. Where is Intergang... humans with Apokoliptan-weapons that can faze the man of steel? Where is Lex Corp with it's army of Superman-killing suits, or Star Labs (evil) with the red-sun exploitation? How about mutiple phantom zone villains kicking tail, or the Toyman's creations running amok. Myxlsptlik can do anything, sure, but why not something a bit more imaginative than Dragons. Please.
So you put all these things together and what do you get?
Something amazing that's what. Add to it the Next-Gen Graphics and epic musical score and a good marketing campaign and you're good to go. If it were up to me I'd have Multiplayer with Kara Zor-El (and associated missions) and Steel as downloadable content (with Steel having been hinted at during the game by JHI) so you and two buddies can go frolicking through the gameworld. But I think that's just cuz I like multiplayer. Everything else stays.
But what do you guys think?
