For a bad game, “Captain America: Super Soldier” can be a lot of fun. Set in an alternate-history World War II where the supervillains of comics are allied with the regular-ol’ villains of the Third Reich, “Super Soldier” pits you against enemies who give new meaning to the video game term “rag doll physics.” These stormtroopers, whose garb is as much “Star Wars” as Nazi, treat your punches like defibrillators and kicks like trampolines. Throw your shield like a Frisbee, and it laughably ricochets from enemy to enemy, sending helmets flying. Rarely have video game bad guys been so satisfying to defeat.
Indeed, “Super Soldier” follows the “Iron Man 2” tradition of Sega/Marvel Comics collaborations that feature imaginative enemy designs, their own stories separate from the movies released alongside them, and camera and control problems that sink the whole thing.
| ‘Captain America: Super Soldier’ |
| » Systems: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, 3DS, DS |
| » Price: $49.99, $39.99 (Wii), $34.99 (3DS), $29.99 (DS) |
| » Rating: 2 out of 5 stars |
One of “Super Soldier’s” most impressive assets is its story, which is “filmed” surprisingly well. Cut-scenes of American troops fighting helplessly against Axis supersoldiers were genuinely scary, and the script, from comics writer Christos Gage, made me much more excited to see the movie than I was before playing the game.
Equally satisfying was the combat system, though credit for this really goes to the makers of “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” Like vintage-2009 Batman, Captain America can chain attacks from one enemy to the next seamlessly, so all you have to do is pound the attack button while moving the joystick to clock everyone around you in turn.
Unfortunately, the game tries to gild the lily by letting you unlock all sorts of special abilities, each accompanied by increasingly challenging finger gymnastics that will only hinder the young audience likely attracted to superhero games like this. Keep it simple, “Super Soldier.”
Even so, you’d have a great time fighting such baddies as Iron Cross, Madame Hydra and Red Skull (call “Herr Skull” by his Nazi henchmen), if it weren’t for the camera. Instead of fixing the viewpoint behind Captain America, the game uses the right-joystick swivel-cam controls that have become standard in third-person games. This wouldn’t be such a problem if you weren’t constantly turning around to fight bad guys approaching from all directions.
With a few tweaks, “Super Soldier” could have been a great game. And it might still be, if you’re a Captain America fan with fast fingers and a whole lot of aspirin.
