Iron Man

As previous reviews expose, I am a proud comic geek and thus carry the common frustration of hero games coming up short when given the chance. Who can forget the (lack of) awesomeness for Atari’s “Superman” effort? Then, there are fluke hits such as Marvel vs Capcom (Ok, not really a hero game) and some recent Spider-Man titles that were a blast. In between, there has been more bad than good. Still in my GameBoy collection is the dusty GBA “Justice League” game, which is begging to be given away. However, being the geek that I am, I can’t pass up certain temptations such as Iron Man from Artificial Mind and Movement (aka “A2M” — that brought us Spider-Man: Friend of Foe).

I saw the movie before the official release date. Then, I obtained the game, followed by seeing the movie again a couple of days later. Before the last showing, as the trailers were rolling, I was literally playing the NDS Iron Man game (with headphones!) and munching candy as I waited. The first introduction to Tony Stark and his alter ego is within the cave where he is held captive. The game skips the “how did I get here?” bit, and goes right for a loose tutorial on the ground. Your fellow captive, Doctor Yinsen, instructs you on some basics to use the (original, silver metallic) suit you just built from ideas in your head. Ok, you designed it, but the medical Dr. needs to teach you how it works. Then, you commence tearing your way out of your prison and practice collateral damage. That’s the first of many “Missions.” I should point out that in this early stage, and scattered throughout the game, there is very nice, original, game-specific voice acting from Robert Downey Jr. There are no motion cut scenes, but the character image appears in a window as they speak, as well as providing the written text of the dialog — should you be in a movie theater and not have your headphones with you.

Next, you get the option to do some armor upgrades, which is earned by destruction via points in lieu of money. There are also power-ups to collect when certain things are destroyed, so mass chaos is in your best interest. Just like any game in which upgrades make or (literally) break you, you need to stay on top of your gear and make sure you balance out power and protection. I like to run and gun, so I like some good shielding.

Your next mission takes you in the air, which is where Iron Man…. soars. That’s his thing — being armored without being bound to the ground like a tank. You click through some text action <yawn> and must destroy a military installation by using your new red and gold suit. Jarvis, the computer every geek wants to own, is uploaded in your armor and directs you along your way. This is where the game turns into a more typical 2D-action game. It’s a superhero. He’s supposed to run/fly around and destroy whatever is in the way of justice, so there is not a lot of room to reinvent the wheel, here. I could complain that sometimes it feels like Contra in the air, but I won’t. The unique way the NDS allows you to play is also the biggest annoyance to me.

The upper screen is where the action is displayed. The lower (interactive) screen is where you control things with the stylus — and the directional pad. The L/R shoulder buttons also get used, and the game is lefty-friendly. The image below allows you to move within a circle — with some smaller circles on the fringe for extra functions (missile blast). Imagine controlling the hands of a clock with the stick/stylus. He will go where you want him to by moving within that circle. That gets crazy, and combined with the fixed camera zoomed in too tight, can lead you to making Shell Head spin in a circle of firing chaos. Since you are zoomed in so close, you often can’t see where the incoming fire originates. Luckily, you can back off and miss most of it, but it would be nice to know what you’re flying into before you make that commitment. This is where the heavy shield protection comes in handy. There isn’t much finesse to the action. Just go in and blast away, collect some power-ups, and repeat. You get more plot as you progress, and you will get to a part that mirrors some movie action. So, the parts of the film are strung together in the game - with missions that are not bad, but lack depth and potential chances to make them more than they could be.

The audio is very nice. The music is powerful and enriches the action with the orchestral booms and dramatic lows. Having original voice acting by stars gives automatic bonus points, but when it’s done decent, that’s even better. Some of the lines sound flat and “let’s get this over with,” but I still give it a cheer for even being there. The blasts and action sounds are great — with some decent headphones.

The graphics are very nice, and the action looks very clean. I did not see much “blocky” pixel-cursed effect, but never cared for the angle and proximity of the camera. I appreciate that, in the NDS, you can’t adjust such things, but I was aching for that ability after a few missions. It’s a real hindrance to do well, only to stumble through the next target because you can’t get a clear field of view for what is attacking you. The trade-off would have been to draw back on the angle, in which Iron Man would look like a red speck on the screen, so it’s a no-win on this small platform.

The game starts like the movie — after the armor is created. Then, there is some filler material to keep you busy for a long time. Some of it is absurdly simple to play, then it turns completely around. It never got predictable, which is a bad thing. After playing a game for a few hours, I like to know what to expect from the action and controls. This had a lot of hit and miss with that factor. Still, it kept me engaged and playing it often, which is the goal. Maybe I’ too much of a fan — or just stubborn.

Gameplay: 7.0
The game is easy to pick up and play with minimal knowledge of the controls. The action and navigation is provided to you as you progress. The game tells you when to use the various buttons, and has other helpful tips along the way. The flying is jerky at first. You have to use the D-Pad while simultaneously watching the upper screen - and using the stylus on the lower screen. It’s more than a handful. You have to remember which “mini” circles to tap for certain weapons, and you don’t get a lot of time to react.

Graphics: 7.0
Aside from the gawking annoyance of the too-close camera angle, the graphics are smooth and look nice. The images you are targeting stand out and are clearly identifiable, which helps (almost) compensate for the lack of view in your screen. Some objectives will flash if you engage your targeting system, which makes it even easier to identify — though your window to deploy your locked-on weapon is short. Projectiles come in at you, and you can back off to re-engage from a different angle. The blasts, coming and going, are clean and defined. The images between scenes are actual photos from the film, so they are right-on. Even during mass-destruction, things move well and look solid (until they explode!).  

Sound: 8.0
The authentic actor’s voice gives this a higher score than if it had been the night janitor at A2M. I’d love to hear more, but appreciate what they did get from a fixed format like the NDS card. I want Jarvis reading me bedtime stories, but maybe in a sequel. The rockets and string instruments all shine in sync with a very good audio effort.

Difficulty: Medium
The unpredictable nature of the game drove me crazy. Not in a good way, but because I was frustrated that the play was inconsistent from one mission to the next. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of landing my missiles where I want them (via snazzy stylus tapping), my flying would go awry and I looked like the Tony Stark of the 80s (geek reference to his drunken days when Rhodey had to take over as Iron Man).

Concept: 6.5 
It’s a 2D angled top-down mission-based shooter. There isn’t a lot more to it. You get some cool insight from having Jarvis in your head/suit, but it’s been seen and done before. They just slapped a familiar costume on the character and let him go. It’s not bad, but not very original.  

Overall: 7.0
Despite some major frustrations with the lack of diversity in gameplay, I did like the game. I still like to play with it, as I am stubborn and want to get better at my ability to hone in on the correct circle for precision shooting with the stylus. It’s a lot to manage in one game with all of the simultaneous actions performed to get through a mission. Two screens to watch, and lots of buttons to tap with fingers and/or stylus. I even got headaches from playing for long periods, but that happens a lot when playing something that small and focusing on tiny dots for so long. It has good music, which is rare in NDS games, and the character is fun to use, overall. He’s a flying tank with many bells and explosive whistles (which rhymes with “missiles!”). He can take a hit and hit back harder. You take too many and power down, but after you get it back together, you can resume the metallic carnage. You rarely feel as though “this is impossible.” It’s somewhat predictable, which is the nature of making a game based on a hero — not to mention a major motion picture. I wasn’t expecting tic-tac-toe mini-games to unlock when I blow up a weapons depot. No gimmicks or shortcuts, but some lackluster action with a character of such potential. What could have been done to make it better? If I knew that for sure, I would be making the game instead of writing about it. Just think, in inevitable sequels, Mr. Stark won’t likely be the only playable character (see comments in Difficulty).