Review: Captain America: Super Soldier

Is there anything worse than a movie video game? Usually, no, but sometimes, in the case of the Spiderman 2 game and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher’s Bay, they can actually be pretty amazing. Well, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually going to put Captain America: Super Soldier for the 360 in that category, too.

It totally apes Batman: Arkham Asylum in the combat mechanics, with you fighting multiple baddies at once and bouncing from one bad guy to the next. But it actually does it so well that I don’t even mind. Tossing your shield is a blast. There are even sections of the game where you go all Prince of Persia and fling yourself around the German landscape. I love it.

But here’s the interesting thing. There once was a time when video game companies making multi-platform games would make the same game and just port them to the various platforms. But this being the end of the Wii’s lifespan, nobody’s kidding themselves. The Wii can’t handle the kind of game that is on the 360 and PS3. So you know what, Sega decided to make it different.

Captain America for the Wii, seriously looks like Goldeneye for the N64. The graphics are that bad. But that doesn’t mean that the game itself is bad. It just LOOKS awful. The gameplay itself is surprisingly entertaining. But it’s also very different. Instead of focusing on the up-close-and-personal combat in the 360 or PS3 versions, the Wii version focuses more on the mechanics of the shield. Blocking with it, deflecting bullets with it, tossing it, it’s all done effectively with the Wii-mote and nunchacku. But the actual hand-to-hand combat in this game is atrocious. Instead of the swift, Arkham Asylum movements in the 360 version, it boils down to being a button masher, that quite frankly, looks and feels awful. The hits feel unresponsive and loose, and the general flow of the game is much slower than its counterparts, even though all three versions are pretty much telling the same story. It’s a shame, too. Maybe the Wii-U would handle it much better. Too bad that console’s about a year away.

As for the Nintendo DS version, well, it’s the worst of the bunch, but it’s still not horrible. In May, I actually reviewed theThor video game (http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Review-Thor-God-Thunder-31747.html)and mentioned how the DS version was better than its console brethren because of its simplicity. Well, that being said, Cap Am for the DS is a bit TOO simplistic. It features a whole bunch of interesting mechanics like the touch screen and stealth sections. But it still plays clumsily and the combat in it could feel more responsive. It doesn’t feel balanced and a lot of it is pretty repetitive with the running and jumping segments. They needed to be broken up more. Sure, there are some cool Ninja Gaiden-like sections where you’re bouncing off the walls to get higher. But overall, Cap Am just doesn’t work as well asThor did for the DS. The combat in this game isn’t as smooth as I’d like it to be, and knocking baddies around the screen with the shield isn’t nearly as satisfying as knocking them around with Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir.

Overall, though, the 360 version is awesome, the Wii version is passable, and the DS version is decent, but bordering on being not so good. Take one star off if you’re thinking about getting the Wii version, and one-and-a-half off if you’re thinking about picking it up for the DS. With the 360 version being so good, I’m actually looking forward to an Avengers game next year. Sega seems to be getting better at this. I’m impressed. Keep it up, Sega, keep it up. Players: 1

Platform(s): Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, Wii (reviewed), DS (reviewed)

Developer: Next Level Games (Xbox 360 and PS3), High Voltage Software (Wii), Griptonite Games (DS)

Publisher: Sega

ESRB: Teen

Rating: