Iron Man

Developer: Sega Europe
Format: multi-format
Genre: Action

Made of girders, no doubt

Where would the videogames industry be without superheroes? Nothing translates as well to an over the top game than a superhero to add just the mildest drop of plausibility to the story. Superheroes means that when our in-game character jumps crazy heights, has the strength of ten men or webs flying from his wrists it's all ok - due it being based on a comic book character. Hooray for superheroes, they allow games developers' minds to run wild.

So to one of Marvel's most underrated superheroes - Iron Man. Our iron clad leading man is all set to be the star of the box office this summer when a movie starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and even Jeff Bridges hits the big screen. Downey plays Tony Stark, an alcoholic genius who invents an iron suit to aid his recovery (and survival) after a serous accident. So we've got an anti-hero with super hero ability (he can fly, has huge strength and is pretty near indestructible) so think of Iron Man as a more macho version of Superman and you're probably half way there.

From what we've seen, flying is big in this game. Soaring through the sky is the order of the day; or you can also hover to get a bird's eye view on what goes on below. When you hit top speed the game will enter a side-shoulder view that looks really impressive on a decent HD display. The detail of the land whizzing past is immense.

Iron Man also has a host of energy-based weaponry such as power blasts from his hands and a special chest blast resonating from his upper body. Counter moves are also in abundance with a neat trick involving catching a missile and lobbing it back at the silo that fired it.

The game's debut is set to coincide with the launch of the movie in May. We think it'll do the licence justice but will have to reserve judgement until the big day.

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