Iron Man 2 (Playstation 3)

The video game tie-in to Iron Man 2 is pretty much everything you'd expect it to be: a rushed piece of shovelware that, while providing a couple sparks of entertainment, doesn't add up to being anything too enjoyable in the least. Choosing to play as either Iron Man or War Machine, Iron Man 2 pretty much follows the same formula as the first game; which is taking on baddies, flying around, and blowing stuff up. That pretty much sums up Iron Man 2 as a whole, along with a plethora of sloppy controls, sub-par graphics, and almost zero replayability. There is barely enough entertainment value for fans of the comic and/or film to garner from playing, but like most licensed video games, there isn't nearly enough here to hold your interest.

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Well, most of us know, that the first Iron Man game wasn't exactly GOTY material and we didn't expect it to be. We did, however, expect to get a well made Iron Man game. We didn't get that either. While the first game wasn't bad, the second one outdoes it one every level.

Iron Man 2 is fun! Pure and simple. The flight is much easier and enjoyable. The customization comes close to rivaling Army of Two's weapons customization. The story is not based on the movie! They say 5% of the movie is in the game. Well those 5% are the likenesses and voices performed by two actors from the movie. That's it. That being said, this is not a movie game. You have an entirely new storyline and different enemies.

Now it's time for the bad stuff.

The controls are a little hard at first but once you get them down, it's a piece of cake. Customizing your suit is a little tedious but the same goes for it. The biggest drawback is the story. It's very short. You can blow through this game in about 5 hours or so. But you can play it at least twice due to the fact that you can choose to be either Tony or Rhodie for most of the missions therefore giving you different dialogue throughout the game. The animation is a little tough on the eyes as well especially during the cut scenes but that's not why you'll play this game.

You'll play this game for the pure exhilaration of blowing stuff up and being Iron Man or War Machine! Very simple. If you've got some time to spare then check this one out (rental is suggested). It's fun, short, and to the point.

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The first game was almost universally panned as a below average game, though typical in standards for a comic book movie tie-in. Even though it had it's faults I enjoyed it and when I heard they were making a second game my only thoughts were "Well at least it can only get better right?".

Right? Well....ummmm...not really. It's by no means worse, but it's improvements over the first game are only marginal.

The game can be completed in less than 5 hours with little to zero replay value. Hence why I urge you to rent this game before buying. Once you rent it, you'll finish once or twice, or three times within 24 hours and you'll never have to play this game again and you'll save yourself $50 in the process.

A couple of improvements over the original game are the ability to wear your unlocked alternate armor designs in upcoming missions (as opposed to the first game, where you could only use the unlockable armor variants in already completed missions), the fact that your unlockable armor is featured in the game's cutscenes (also unlike the first game where for instance you could be playing the level with the Silver Centurion armor but in the cutscenes you would still be using the movie Mark III armor). The varying types of armor that can be unlocked remains unchanged from the first game with the addition of the new Mark IV and Mark VI armor. The suit-case armor that debuted in the Iron Man 2 film is available in one level and that one level only.

The ability to choose between Iron Man and War Machine at the beginning of each level is a nice feature, though for a couple of levels the choice is not available due to the storyline requiring a particular character for the level. There is no real discernible difference between the two though War Machine has an additional weapons slot and the way they handle when flying seems only slightly different.

One area where I felt the makers taking a step backwards from the last game is the in-game flight system. The first game had you using your boosters as you pinned your arms and legs back rocketing through the air like a missile, performing aerial maneuvers and the ability to catch incoming missiles and hurl them back at enemies. Being able to fly around like this really gave you the feel that you were Iron Man.

The second game however finds you merely hovering through each level as the ability to fly straight through the air like a bullet is cumbersome in its control system, is awkward in initiating, and offers no real difference in speed compared to hover mode.

Gone is the ability to pick missiles out of the air. Instead it is replaced with a missile deflection system which is nothing more than hitting the circle button when the "Incoming Missile" icon flashes upon the screen. Once the button is pressed, your character merely destroys the missiles with a few laser blasts.

The graphics are on par with the first game and the voice acting/actor likenesses are as follows:

Tony Stark himself is not voiced by Robert Downey Jr, though his likeness is used. This goes the same for the Black Widow.

Nick Fury and War Machine are voiced by their respective film counterparts and their likenesses are used.

Gwyneth Paltrow does not voice Pepper Potts and her likeness is not used.

The story is written by current Invincible Iron Man comic book writer Matt Fraction who's current run on the series as earned him an Eisner Award. Unfortunately this is a video game, and as such the writer is restricted in many ways. The story is very basic and really adds nothing to the overall game. Though Fraction's writing gives the characters a certain authenticity that comic fans would come to expect.

Overall the game is a disappointment which would come as no surprise to most of you. Understand though that as an Iron Man fan, both of the comics, the films, and to an extent the previous game, I simply cannot recommend that anyone buy this product.

Here's hoping the Iron Man 3 game will be better.

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