The way some comic book collectors see it, you are either a Marvel devotee or you’re a DC fanatic and it seems, with the release of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Justice League Heroes across most platforms, that devotion is being put to a test. So do we go for the game with heroes such as Ghost Rider or do we go for the game with Martian Manhunter? Are you a fan of Elektra or do you like the powerhouse that is Wonder Woman? If you’re a true blue DC Comics fan, you have something to cheer about on your favorite console but sadly Justice League Heroes on the Nintendo DS comes up short in many aspects.

The paper-thin plot doesn’t even follow the nicely written story of the console version although it does touch upon a similar threat. An alien invasion plagues the planet with armies of robots causing chaos throughout a number of familiar locales such as Gotham City and Metropolis. It is up to the Justice League to put an end to this threat as well as discover the mystery behind the invading forces. What does the villain Proteus have to do with all of this and who dared imprison members of the Justice League. As the story begins, we find Wonder Woman and the Flash answer the distress call to come to the aid of the city and their friends.

Justice League Heroes is basically a 3-D brawler seen through a top view perspective of most hack-and-slash games with the only difference is that the heroes have super powers. In the beginning of the game, you can pick between Wonder Woman and the Flash then Superman or Batman with the option to unlock bonus Justice League members such as the Green Arrow, Zatanna, Hawkgirl, Huntress, the Green Lantern and Aquaman. Unlike the console version, however, you are forced to tackle the slew of enemies solo. Sure, you can swap heroes on the fly but that’s not much help when you’re up against a large number of enemies. Where the Nintendo DS version does offer help is in the ability to summon a fellow Justice League hero to drop in and perform his or her own support power. For example, if you’re running low on health, touch the Support Hero icon on the touch screen, choose Zatanna and she will swoop down and perform a healing spell and then disappear. Need a protective dome when going up against an onslaught of enemies? Call up the Green Lantern and he will form one around you.

The dozen or so missions you will have to complete in order to move the story along is actually lengthy affairs and that is both a blessing and a curse. For one thing that means you can level up your character (everyone starts at Level 1 but can end up with Level 25 depending on how much you use him or her) as well as make full use of your character’s four distinct powers. Superman, for example, has freezing breath, heat-ray vision, a flying strike and his super punch.

You would think that having these powers makes for a cool game but unfortunately that’s just not the case with Justice League Heroes. The powers and abilities each character possesses just feel, well, not so super. In fact, they don’t do the damage you would expect nor are they represented well. Wonder Woman does throw her tiara like a boomerang but when she performs her flying charge, she barely makes a dent on fixed gun emplacements. Secondly, fighting off the same enemies just becomes a real bore so you will be definitely glad when you finally go up against familiar villains and even brainwashed heroes that put up a mean fight. Still, you’ll have to go through level after level fighting the same clone robots.

As far as the controls are concerned, they’re quite simple for those who like a pick-up-and-play brawler. Then again, the controls can be pretty awkward and thusly making the melee moves a nightmare to pull off. Even with the manual targeting you will miss a lot and that will result in a quick death. The good news is that the game includes two mini-games as well as one you can download via a copy of the Justice League Heroes: The Flash for the Game Boy Advance. At least the mini-games are actually fun to play.

The game’s graphics, unfortunately, are another negative aspect of the game. We’ve seen some gorgeous visuals on the DS before and Justice League Heroes could have been more attractive than this. GBA-styled graphics aside, there are some cool visual effects centered on most of the heroes’ powers such as Superman’s heat-ray vision or the Flash’s barrage of fists. The environments look a bit clunky but at least there are destructible items scattered around to give each locale some detail. Otherwise, this is just a very unattractive DS game.

The game’s score is actually of the game’s nicest surprises since it never loops. It’s good to see a score that just makes gamers feel like they’re playing a Justice League game because it feels similar to the animated series. The sound effects aren’t bad but they’re not good either and the lack of voice acting just makes things less interesting.

In the end, Justice League Heroes for the Nintendo DS just disappoints on so many levels, particularly making each hero’s power fun to use.  While there are a good number of Justice Leaguers to use, the game’s repetitive action and awful controls just make for a frustrating portable version of a decent console game. If you’re a fan of the comic books I suggest you pick up the console version and skip this one altogether.

Gameplay: 6.0
Why do we have to unlock a character’s powers at the beginning and not start out with them in order to upgrade each power? This and the fact that the game’s controls are so awkward will frustrate most action fans who will most likely abandon the game after the first level. For those who stay, there are some decent levels later in the game after you manage to unlock all the support characters.

Graphics: 5.0
This is not the prettiest DS game at all so be prepared to be greatly disappointed. Just the poorly rendered character models alone will give you an indication of what to expect visually from this game with dull backgrounds. At least some of the powers look good.

Sound: 5.5
Aside from the cool narrator in the beginning of the game, there’s very little in terms of voice acting. The sound effects are actually the sound’s strength. At least the game’s music sounds good throughout the game.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The battles are actually very challenging but not for the right reasons. Thanks to the awkward controls, the battles will seem a little one-sided and you will often miss your enemy even with the poor lock-on feature. The boss battles will keep you busy as well.

Concept: 7.0
At last there’s a game featuring a number of cool Justice League characters all in one portable package. There are some great unlockable characters just like the console version and some exclusive mini-games connected to the GBA Justice League Heroes: The Flash you can download to the DS. No multiplayer mode hurts the game considerably.

Overall: 6.0
Justice League Heroes for the DS lacks intense battles and super heroics of the console version but at least it gives us a game with a lot of cool characters and a lot to unlock. Sadly, this is just isn’t enough to make for a good portable action game even with Superman and Wonder Woman among the list of heroes. I recommend you skip this one and consider buying the console version instead.