365//365: Day 063 – Death & Return of Superman (SNES)

Sometimes, the biggest successes are met with the most humbling of beginnings. This is especially true for the gaming industry. Some companies take part in some big time stinkers, yet some how have a hand at creating some of the most beloved creations in gaming. That’s why when I saw that

had a hand in developing

I had to punch myself in the face a few times to make sure I wasn’t living out a bad dream.

I need to get this out of the way before I proceed – I really, really like Starcraft. I think Diablo 2 is brilliant. Warcraft 3 is sheer genius. On the other side of the spectrum, Superman is well loved by so many. I thought the Death of Superman series and Funeral For a Friend stories were well done, and the Reign of the Supermen was interesting. One would think that combining the mastery of Blizzard, with such a memorable storyline such as the Death of Superman, you would get a great, yet predictable game. Boy, was I wrong. So, so wrong.

I don’t even know where to begin with this. The low volume, repeated use of the music? The repetitive use of thugs? Said thugs with names that defy all notions of creativity (you fight a enemy with a chainsaw named….Chainsaw)? The fact that a guy named Chainsaw, who wields a chainsaw, can HURT Superman with the chainsaw? I mean, come on now. Don’t tell me that in the 16 bit era, no one, especially Blizzard, was creative enough to give Superman a health and damage system that doesn’t decimate everything we’ve known and loved about Superman for a half century.

If only this game was called The Death of Superman, then we'd be spared 75% the subsequent drivel.

You often find yourself getting pummeled constantly, since enemies seem to have a priority when it comes to exchanging blows. Aligning yourself properly so that you can punch an enemy before they can hit you, is next to impossible. What’s worse is if you lose all your lives at a boss, even if they need just one more hit to be defeated, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the stage. Some of these stages are not that long, but given the sheer monotony of the scenery, music and enemy types, it’s almost a legalized form or torture.

You start off the first couple of levels as Superman, trying to catch up to Doomsday, who seems to be so powerful, even the Justice League couldn’t stop him. Ultimately, Superman and Doomsday “kill” each other (don’t even say that’s a spoiler!) Soon after, four other characters appear, claiming to be Superman, or trying to fill the void from his death. All four play exactly the same, with different super moves and slightly altered attacks. The only thing that breaks the thick layer of monotony, is the beginning of the third stage, where you play as the Cyborg Superman, in a flying stage. It’s simple, deviates from the norm, and no where as boring as the rest of the game.

Is there any reason to play The Death and Return of Superman? Not unless you want to see how unimaginative Blizzard was in their early years. Sub par looks, nauseatingly repetitious gameplay even for the beat em up genre, barely audible music, lack of any checkpoint system and characters with no real authenticity prove to be deadlier than kryptonite.

The double meaning will soon become apparent.

Rating: 3.6