It’s not easy being a
superhero and even more so when the superhero in question is Daredevil–Marvel
comic’s first blind crime fighting hero. To coincide with the new movie of the
same name, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Encore lets gamers don the
red devil suit and clean up New York’s seedy Hell’s Kitchen from crime lords and
nasty thugs . . . and it’s all on your Game Boy Advance. What’s that you say?
Sounds good? Well then, heroes, read on then.
Without diving too deeply
into the story (I’m sure the movie will do that for me . . . and far better
too), you assume the role of Matt Murdock who, as a boy, was involved in an
accident that left him blind. The accident, though, had a life changing effect
on the boy in that whatever blinded him also sharpened his other senses to
inhuman levels. Later, loosing his father to gangsters, Murdock vowed to get
rid of the many criminals that haunt Hell’s Kitchen. Now Murdock is a defender
of the innocent as a lawyer by day and a hero clad in a red suit by night.
The game follows the
movie’s main premise in that it takes Daredevil through his fight with the
ultimate crime lord called the Kingpin as well as his friendship with a female
vigilante that calls herself Elektra. Here the Kingpin makes Daredevil an
offer: eliminate rival gangs and get paid top dollar for it. Naturally our hero
doesn’t accept but, with the help of an assassin called Bullseye, the Kingpin
takes out his rivals and publicly makes it look like the he’s paying Daredevil
anyway. As Daredevil, you set out to finally put the Kingpin in his place while
going up against an assortment of thugs.
And Daredevil does go up
against a number of opponents on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and various other
settings. This is a game with many levels (twenty-three levels to be exact),
some that even take place on top of moving vehicles during heavy traffic or on
the rooftops of various buildings. Like any action platform game, you basically
fight through each level that contains a fair amount of enemies as well as
breakable crates and power-up items such as invisibility, health or DD Tokens
used to unlock the game’s many secrets.
The game is basically a
jump, punch and kick action game that has Daredevil moving through a level
beating up mafia and ninja thugs and bosses like the Sewer King. You can also
use your billy club that can be used to swat at enemies or, if you grab a club
power-up, throw it at an enemy. The one feature in the game that is innovative
is the Radar Sense feature (like Spider-Man’s Spider Senses, you’ll know when
Daredevil can use his power). Daredevil can easily switch to his Radar Sense,
which is used to find invisible power-ups items or even invisible enemies.
There is a part where you’re in the darkness and the Radar Sense is used as an
advantage against the enemies that are blinded by the darkness. Too bad that
this feature isn’t used very often.
The problem is that the
fighting controls are limited to just that–punches and kicks with just one or
two combos. Due to the poor opponent AI, the many foes you encounter
(especially the ones wielding knives and bats) are quicker with the punches than
Daredevil is. Still there are easy ways to fool enemies. Gamers will find
themselves kneeling and punching because the enemy AI doesn’t know what to make
of a target that isn’t standing up. Boss fights are even worse, especially the
first two boss fights. Elektra, for example, jumps on a crate, making her an
easy target.
Visually, Daredevil is not
a bad looking game at all. The various New York locations throughout the game
are nicely done and filled with plenty of background details that really do
stand out. With buildings scattered in the backgrounds, these streets house
plenty of eye-catching details like various storefronts and rooftops with giant
billboards. Interiors are just as nicely detailed as well, with the Kingpins
swanky office complete with tiled floors and impressive decorations. The
characters, on the other hand, lack the same kind of attention placed on the
backgrounds. It’s hard to tell a thug apart from an innocent bystander that
happens to be caught in the middle of a fight.
Sound-wise, though,
Daredevil manages to make good use of the GBA’s sound capabilities. Not only
does the game’s soundtrack set the right mood, it changes during cut scenes and
level changes. Still, the highlight of the sound is the background noises. You
can actually hear the New York traffic with its honking vehicles and rushing
traffic. You can hear the pain when a thug gets a fist in the face. When a
thug throws a grenade, the sound of its explosion is less cartoon-like than the
sound of grabbing power-up items.
Alas, even with all the
interesting elements of the comics and movie, Daredevil has too many flaws in
its gameplay that ultimately holds it back from its true potential. While not
an entirely bad game, you can’t help but feel that things could have been a lot
better with a little more thought and innovation. The game has its fun moments,
but these moments are sparse.
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#Reviewer’s |
Gameplay: 5.0
The game’s weakness is its gameplay
that not only lacks innovation but also fighting moves that can keep the game
from being just a simple walk-up-to-thug-and-kick action game. There are just
one or two combo’s Daredevil gets to use and they’re not at all too impressive,
although the use of his billy club and Rader Sense are actually pretty well
implemented here. Some enemies require you to use your Radar Sense to actually
see–a surprisingly effective element of the game that should have been used for
often throughout the game.
Graphics: 6.9
While not the best looking game on
the Game Boy Advance, this is still a game with plenty of colorful and nicely
detailed graphics. There are stages where Daredevil fights foes on the tops of
moving vehicles and the vehicles themselves are so nicely detailed that they
won’t fail to impress. Even underground you’ll find lots to look at and even
more so when Daredevil activates his Radar Sense that changes your surroundings
color.
The main characters are
distinguishable on screen, but they lack the visual punch that comes with seeing
superheroes and super villains on screen. They do, though, pay homage to comic
books by adding the POWs and BIFFs seen in comic books when a superhero slams
his fist into a thug.
Sound: 7.5
Daredevil also has the best sounds I
heard in a GBA system starting with the good soundtrack that’s never annoying or
bothersome throughout the game and its transitional cut scenes. This is
followed by its wonderful sound effects that add a nice touch tot he gameplay.
Depending on your location, the background sounds follow throughout the level.
For example, if you’re in the docks, you’ll hear the sounds of seagulls and the
soft dings of the boats. In the streets, you’ll hear the madness that is New
York traffic. Fights and things like breaking crates also sound good. This is
really a job well done.
Difficulty: Medium
The fighting mechanics are not the
game’s strong points and this is evident the minute you take on a bat-wielding
thug because getting a good shot in requires you to take a number of hits
first. There are also times when more than two henchmen gang up on you, a fight
that would have been more than welcome had you enough combo moves to take them
on. Yet the confusing part about all of this is that the boss fight is just a
question of putting you in a spot where you can just keep punching the boss
without getting hit in the process–and I thought Daredevil was the one that was
suppose to be blind.
Concept: 6.0
A game based after a blockbuster
comic book superhero is nothing new considering that movies like Spider Man and
the X-Men generate a lot of fanfare from loyal moviegoers and gaming fans. Many
of the games, such as Spider-Man: The Movie, have actually made for some
pretty great games. Daredevil’s movie tie-ins are evident in the game, which
adds movie stills and character profiles depicting the actors that portray them
in the film. This game also has dozens of secrets gamers can unlock throughout
the course of playing the game that does add a nice replay value.
Overall: 5.0
Unfortunately, Daredevil is one
sloppy action platform game that really doesn’t do the Man Without Fear any
justice. This is too bad, really, considering the fact that the game has decent
visuals, great sound and an assortment of interesting characters. Comic book
and video game fans alike will not find much to like about this game.
