Hey, who turned out the light?

My first thoughts when I got this game were not overly positive. I mean, movie tie-in games tend to be pants and synonymous with rushed deadlines, repetitive game play and pointless plots that neither push the console’s hardware, or push the player on the end of the controller to anything other than utter suicide. And lets face it, there are enough useless games out there without the need to resort to such attempts that are no more than cash-ins on an audience looking to ‘vividly’ re-enact their favourite moments from a flick that will inevitably end up on DVD in a bargain basket somewhere.

Rise of the Manhunters tries desperately to reverse this trend. Gosh, it tries so, so hard. But try as it might, it never comes to the point where it is truly spectacular or ‘an essential purchase’.

Developed by Double Helix – the developers behind Front Mission Evolved, G.I Joe, (yes, I see you laughing at the back), Rise of the Manhunters takes place shortly after the events in the movie. Hal Jordan (voiced almost persuasively by Ryan Reynolds) is the Green Lantern and the story takes place at the centre of the universe on the Green Lantern homeworld, Oa.

For the uninitiated, the Green Lantern Corps is an ‘elite police force’ created by the ancient guardians of the universe in order to protect it from evil. Each Green Lantern carries a ring which can channel and manifest their willpower into any object or mechanism they can think of.

You play as Hal Jordan, the most recent Green Lantern recruit and immediately find yourself tasked with stopping the Manhunters – an ancient race who are sworn enemies of the Guardians – from stealing their powers.

It is sad to see that the plot line from the movie has been thrown out of the window along with any back story. Yes, well, we all knew the big bucks cash-in cow would make some sacrifices didn’t we? What we have here is no back story, no continuation from the film and no ending. So what DO we have?

Well, gameplay-wise, what we have is basically no more than a basic hack ‘n’ slash, button-basher in the majority of the green palette. Yes, you have to time your combos. Yes, you have button combinations. Yes, you get to use your green ring, and yes, you have upgrades, But inevitably, it is wave after wave of the same thing.

The developers failed to work more variety into the missions and as a result, far too many of your ‘duties’ end up as systematically taking down robots or shutting down teleportation gates, and shamefully, besides the odd palette change, the majority of your enemies look continually similar.

There are some nice set pieces though. For example, the boss battles are quite nice, as are the flying sections which really make good use of the 3D effect. You also have the ability to collect XP from your fallen enemies which you can use to upgrade your powers and construct new weapons such as a massive baseball bat to send enemy projectiles back at them, a huge buzzsaw that can give multiple hits on your enemies or even turn yourself into a massive jet in the flying sections.

Another thing that this title brings to the table is drop in, drop out co-op play. So if you have a friend, you can both partake in some ring-blasting action (pun intended). Although the game only supports it offline, I found it really good to see. So many developers go for online play, but nothing quite beats that ‘Streets of Rage’ feeling you get with a friend when you are taking on the best of what the enemy has to offer.

I found the controls and movement to be a little dated. There is no sprint option for instance and even worse, no camera control, so this means there are set angles of play with no way of rotating the camera to see behind you. You do have a dodge button and quick attacks, but the enemies tend to circle round you and if you are caught in a corner, you have no choice but to fight your way out or watch as your life force gets blasted away.

Although it is fair to say you won’t be blown away by the graphics, as mentioned before, the game features 3D visuals and it is pleasing to see that this applies to all formats – the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360’s 3D can be accessed in two forms, TriOviz Inficolor 3D – which is usable on any standard TV with the game’s included 3D glasses – and stereoscopic 3D for ‘proper’ 3DTVs. While the 3D effects are not as dramatic as say Black Ops, there is evidently more depth and some nice explosions too. This is something I think that more games should do.

Although I have slated the sheer expense of 3D in the past, the fact is the cost of them is dropping. More movies (including Green Lantern) are coming out in 3D, so they’re bound to be out by Christmas on 3D Blu-Ray. Therefore the only thing lacking is the number of games, which can really make or break the market.

To sum up: How does this game compare to others in its genre?

It is here that I feel a little bit sorry for Hal Jordan and his green ring…

Equal to: Marvel Super Hero Squad: Infinity Gauntlet, Thor.

Better than: Lego star wars the clone wars, Fantastic 4 – Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Worse than: God of War, Castlevania – Lords of shadow, Bayonetta.

My Final Verdict –

For a movie tie-in, Rise of the Manhunters doesn’t do as badly as expected, but is still not worth the money – even on a reduced price tag. There are just so many games out there which do the job better. Granted it is not bad – it is just not that good either.

5.5/ 10