Justice League Heroes
It’s a formula Activision’s Marvel games invented; can DC’s team compete?
Tags: Justice League Heroes Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Jan 18th, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Justice League Heroes (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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RavenSoft and Activision pioneered the modern style of superhero RPG. Starting with X-Men Legends and continuing with X-Men Legends II and Marvel Ultimate Alliance, they blazed a trail that helped videogame creators realize there was more to do with superheroes than pit them against Street Fighter characters in an arcade-style fighting game. Of course, on PC, Irrational Games contributed to the formula with their successful Freedom Force and Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich games.
Now, along comes Snowblind Studios, the developers behind Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions: Return to Arms, to pick up on the new formula and inject some of the “World’s Greatest Heroes” into the mix. While Activision’s games have all benefited from the Marvel license, until now DC Comic’s superheroes have stood on the sideline, waiting their turn. It has finally arrived in the form of Justice League Heroes.
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The biggest difference, other than which comic book company’s heroes are featured, between Justice League Heroes and Marvel Ultimate Alliance is that in MUA, you do battle with a party of up to four heroes, while in JLH, you go out in pairs. Other than that, the dynamics of the game are essentially the same, which leaves the rest of the distinctions to be made according to execution of the concept.
One of the sad points of Justice League Heroes is that, unlike Marvel Ultimate Alliance, JLH is aimed only at PS2 and the original Xbox, with no plans for a next-gen (now current-gen) appearance on either Xbox 360 or PS3. So while the game delivers decent visual flair by the standards of the hardware it appears on, it lacks the high-def appeal of MUA.
That being said, it must be pointed out that JLH plays quite well. Although you only play in pairs, the game does well in two-player mode and feels more natural at times than the four-player squadron attack that is MUA’s default formation. Also nice is that each Justice League hero has just the right feel and plays well and according to their commonly-understood superpowers.
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One big help is the witty script, courtesy of veteran DC writer Dwayne McDuffie, whose credits include stints on the animated Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans shows, as well as several monthly comic books over the past decade or so. Sure, he’s no Garth Ennis, no Brian Michael Bendis, no Neil Gaiman and no Jeph Loeb, but McDuffie knows his Justice League, know the chemistry between the characters, and it shows. This stands in stark contrast to the querulous, inept writing of C.B. Cebulski, whose missteps, lack of knowledge and inattention to detail really hurt the enjoyability of Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
Unlike the far-out, no precedent established storyline of MUA, JLH is completely believable. The initial plot involves Superman villain Brainiac manipulating other villains into joining with him, but soon an even darker, more sinister plot is unearthed that puts even the Justice League to a serious test of their skills and abilities.
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Beyond the story, which is superb, everything else here will be familiar to anyone who has played the Activision titles or any other Snowblind game. Held back but the limitation of the previous-gen consoles on which it appears, Justice League Heroes is nevertheless an enjoyable action RPG that delivers a superior tale and plenty of deep game play.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Great utilization of each hero’s individual powers. + Wonderful story that makes sense to the casual gamer and comic fans alike, unlike MUA. + Deep story; the game isn’t short. |
8.8 |
| What Doesn't | |
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– Only teams of two instead of teams of four. – No HD or next-gen support. – No online play. |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Justice League Heroes may offer teams of two instead of teams of four when you play, but its superior two-player dynamic and far superior story make Justice League Heroes more fun than Marvel Ultimate Alliance, despite the eye-candy edge held by Activision’s title. | |
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Tags: Justice League Heroes
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Jan 18th, 2007 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
