Iron Man (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

2008 is quickly becoming the year of the comic-book movie. In addition to this we'll see another outing for Batman and The Hulk before the year's end. This is the first outing for Iron Man though and if the trailers and, if the opening weekend box office are anything to go by, it won't be the last. Not being a comic book expert, I'm told that Iron Man (or Tony Stark to give him his 'real' name) is one of the few modern day super heroes not to be born with any super powers. Instead, his various suits give him the upper hand against the odd nutter who wants to take over the world. This notion of super equipped armor is the stuff computer games are made of so, did Iron Man win us over?

Gameplay

Your main objective in Iron Man is to simply fend off wave after wave of henchmen sent by the evil Obadiah Stane, who wishes to steal Stark's technology from him. You start out on-foot attempting to escape a cave where you learn some basic moves such as the ability to shoot and basic combat both of which can be upgraded. It is all objective based and you'll never get lost, thanks to on-screen text and a handy map on the bottom screen. The objectives generally involve destroying an installation or clearing henchmen. Anything remotely puzzle based has been completely ignored. At the end of each level you have the option to spend your credits (amassed during the level, dependent on success and exploration) on better armor and weapons. You also gain better suits. The first real upgrade is the ability to fly, which you'll be able to test on the second level. The remaining levels play out pretty much the same: receive an objective; carry it out and so on until you've completed the level. As a strategy it's simply a case of guarding your health until you absolutely need it whilst destroying the most irritating enemies as soon as you encounter them. Unfortunately that's it. There are no mini-games and the only other gaming mode (which is unlocked once you've completed the main game) is a simple case of endurance played out on the locations you've previously visited.

Controls

Couldn't be more straightforward really and while you could easily become overwhelmed with just how much you are doing during the game, an excellent tutorial embedded in the first level allows for trouble free gaming.

Graphics

2AM have cooked up an impressive visual engine here and from the first level it's apparent that the animation and attention to detail have not been compromised by the fact that this is 'only' a movie tie-in. This continues throughout the levels and the airborne sections allow you to dart about at great speed, especially once you have taken advantage of the upgrades. For the most part the frame rate keeps up with the action and we only had one experience where the DS' processor simply couldn't keep up with the onscreen action. Elsewhere the story is pushed along nicely with some stylized grabs from the movie and those of you who want a real treat should simply hang around for the end credits as Iron Man playfully 'dances' thought the night skies.

Sound

The audio elements in Iron Man are absolutely top notch and you'll first notice this with the wonderful orchestral score, which plays throughout the menu screens. Unusually it also plays as a background to each of the levels helping to give a far more immersive experience. If that wasn't enough there's some excellent voice over work from the original cast including Robert Downey Jr. A real treat and refreshing to see developers taking seriously this all-important aspect of the overall package.

Dual screen

Like Geometry Wars the touch screen's main use is to act as a kind of second analogue controller with your firepower direction dependent on where your stylus is on the screen. It does have a few other uses such as communication hub and releasing missiles (which auto aim) and some other weapons, but as far as interaction goes that's it.

Final comments

In the end Iron Man is nothing more than a graphically superior version of arcade classic Robotron, which wouldn't be so bad except we've just encountered much the same thing in the recently released Geometry Wars and last year's Monster House. Its real flaw though is in its linear and repetitive gameplay and although the game starts out 'on-foot' and progresses to flying there are not nearly enough earth-bound sections in the mix. The developers have done little to extend the game's replay value and given that the 'One Man Army' section is simply an extension of the game's main theme you are unlikely to be revisiting it once you have completed it. Only for huge fans of the movie and anyone in need of a Robotron fix.

Pro: Great Soundtrack, Nice Animation
Con: Very Linear, Not Enough 'on-foot' Sections, Far Too Short.
Final score: 5.5

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