Captain America: Super Soldier

Developer: SEGA

Publisher: SEGA

Before we get started, let’s just get the elephant in the room out the way. Yes, it’s a movie tie-in game, and yes it probably suffers from that a little. Games like like Goldeneye on the N64 have shown that movie licensed games can work (on rare occasions, excuse the pun), but in all honesty developers would be better taking the character and building their own story around them. That way they wouldn’t be forced to work around a narrative not built for the medium it occupies. With that said and done, Captain America Super Soldier on the 3DS isn’t actually a bad game. It’s just not fantastic either.

Following the classic ‘hunt down and take out the bad guy as you rampage around various levels as the super soldier,’ the gameplay is split evenly into thirds. Fighting, puzzle solving, and platforming, and for the most part these are fun, although they do become repetitive after a couple of hours doing the same thing over and over.

The fighting sections are very reminiscent of the recent Batman games on the home consoles in its simplest form. Y to attack and X to counter when a flashing symbol appears above the enemies head. It’s fun, but quite shallow. The puzzling sections are probably the most enjoyable aspects, however once players figure out the initial puzzles, they’ll quickly realize that the rest of the puzzles follow the same format. Finally the platforming, much like the other aspects of the game, is fun although prolonged exposure to the mechanics will leave players a little bored at its repetitive nature.

Graphically, the game only falls into the ok category. The best way to describe it would be that it looks very much like a PS2 game. The small screen aids this in many ways, leaving players with an experience that is adequate, even if it doesn’t redefine the quality of how games should look. Compared to Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 3D Land it falls a little short, but this doesn’t detract from the experience too much. Throughout their time with the game, those with a keen eye will notice a few clipping issues, however these are for the most part few and far between.

The 3D, although unnecessary, is reasonably well done. Players can turn up and down the 3D to find a level they are comfortable with. Like any other 3D element so far in the consoles life, it is entirely optional, and offers no incentive to use it. Like other releases, players will probably use it for cutscenes, then turn it off again to play. Those who use the 3D a lot through the game may find that the 3D perspective can be lost very easily with only the slightest movement of the console, only adding to the reasons not to use it.

The touch screen, along with the 3D option, may be a primary function of the console, but the game makes very little use of it. Players, should they want, can use it to aim their projectiles, however the basic controls are far easier to use so players probably wont make much use of it. As with the 3D, this doesn’t detract from the experience, however it is a little odd that the console’s two biggest aspects aren’t utilised in a better way, raising the notion that this is nothing more than a port with the 3DS controls being an afterthought.

Easily the most disappointing thing about the game is that it doesn’t have any features of note outside the main campaign. There are a few concept art pictures, and thats about it. Those looking for a lasting experience will be very disappointed if they decide to pick this up. It’s is likely because of tight deadline constraints on the developers, but it is still something that players should be aware off, especially if they plan to buy the game at full price.

Despite its flaws, there is still enjoyment to be had with Captain America Super Soldier for the 3DS. Fans of the platform genre will probably have an enjoyable throwaway experience with the game. Everything the game does, it does fine – be it the way the game looks and plays to how the levels are designed and the tasks it asks players to complete in order to progress. The fact that the game does everything competently could also be its biggest failing. Theres absolutely nothing to distinguish it from the pack, and due to the repetitive nature and lack of added features, the longevity is very limited. In all honesty, this game would be very well suited to younger audiences. The repetitiveness of the game lends itself excellently to the younger demographic that would likely feel a great sense of accomplishment once they master the controls. Oddly the game has a 12+ rating, meaning that those who would most likely want to play the game are too young.

3 GOOD POINTS

• Combat system works well.
• Puzzle aspects help to break up the gameplay.
• Can be fun.

3 BAD POINTS

• Lacking in added features
• Becomes repetitive.
• Doesn’t feel like it was built for the 3DS