Most superhero games suck. It doesn’t take rocket science to realize that some of them are just going by the numbers. Just look at Thor: God of Thunder if you need some evidence of that. However, there are some that are considered an exception to the rule, and in this case, Double Helix has something good cooking up – and green, for that matter. Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is set for release next month, to coincide with the forthcoming film that’s due around the same time. The events in the game, however, take place after the movie, with Hal Jordan – the latest agent to join the intergalactic Green Lantern crusade – taking on a new group of enemies, a former robotic protective force known as the Manhunters. They’ve gone rogue, and it’s up to you to bring peace to the home planet of Oa – and the galaxy, while you’re at it.
The game is divided into two parts. The first is ground combat, which closely resembles the God of War games, but with super powered attacks in place of the blood and guts. That’s not a bad thing, as Double Helix has managed to make the combat remain just as lively. Hal uses a variety of moves to subdue his enemies, mostly chaining together weak and strong hits into powerful attacks. These are generated through the power of his ring, forming huge fists and other objects to smash enemies. The other part consists of shooting stages, similar to the Panzer Dragoon games. You control Hal on-screen, evading incoming shots and directing a crosshairs to shoot at enemies with missiles and lasers, and occasionally activate a super ring charge that turns you – temporarily – into a fighter jet with unlimited firepower. You don’t direct where you’re going, since you’re “on rails” for the most part, but the action remains engaging nonetheless, and ideal for those of you who like old-school shooters.
We recently went hands-on with the game, or a demo of it anyway, to get a feel for both of these gameplay types. The ground combat works very smoothly, and we didn’t run into any sort of issue when it came to striking our enemies. Having to “warp” to parts of the stage, rather than travel manually, is a bit of a bummer (you basically fly up by standing on Green Lantern pads), but at least it’s not as preposterous as, say, Thor’s flying. The grappling is also well done. By pressing the B button, you can grab onto enemies and hurl them, or use your ability to grab objects, such as mines, making for an explosive counter-attack. Grappling is also necessary for shutting down generators, or accessing panels on a super tower, which then lets you attain its weak spot so you can bring it down. This puzzle strategy pays off, and never gets to the point of dullness.
This feature preview concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see more hands-on impressions on Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters.
