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Justice league Heroes
Sony Playstation 2
Another day, another
lackluster superhero
video game based on
a DC comic franchise.
Instead of ruining a
game featuring a single
character like Batman or
Superman, this time the
developers at Snowblind
Studios have gone all
out to include most
members of the Justice
League of America for
some equal opportunity
disappointment in their
new game Justice League
Heroes.
Not relying much
on a substantial story,
the plot behind Justice
League Heroes basically
boils down to the ever
resilient Justice League
of America battling the
evil genius Brainiac and
his ragtag assortment
of super villain lackeys
working under him. While
it is quite common to find
the “threaten mankind by
Bridge to Terabithia
leads to movie magic
By Larry Peel
News Editor
TR2oo3Medic@aol.com
Gabor Csupo,
the Hungarian born
animation wizard, brings
his immense talent to the
screen once again in his
latest project Bridge to
Terabithia, the big screen
adaptation of Katherine
Patterson’s 1977 book.
Csupo manages to
do what few directors
have managed in trying
to adapt a classic book
to film; he maintains
the vision and the magic
of the text. Bridge to
Terabithia is a wonderful
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destroying the world's
much loved superhero
team” story arc in typical
comic books, it doesn’t
really hold much interest
in video game form.
Adding to the
game’s lack of interest,
the selected villains the
Justice League encounters
are very bottom of
the barrel. Fighting
against the big named
megalomaniacs like
Brainiac and Darkseid
is well-received, but
actually getting to them
unfortunately requires
going through some
utterly forgettable bad
guys such as The Key,
Queen Bee, and Killer
Frost. Good thing the
good guys are a lot more
appealing.
Despite the early
flaws and insipidness of
Justice League Heroes,
being able to play as some
of comic universe’s most
legendary superheroes
is what the game is
all about. Superman,
Batman, and The Flash
are just a few characters
available, but gamers can
expect a much diverse
cast than just the man
of steel, the dark knight,
and the fastest man alive.
Other crowd favorites
such as Wonder Woman
and Green Lantern make
an appearance, but lesser
jaunt into the magic
and mystery of the
imagination of children,
and an excellent family
experience.
In this Walden/
Disney cooperative, Fifth
grader Jesse Aaron’s
(Josh Hutcherson)
hopes of becoming the
fastest runner in his
class are dashed when
new girl Leslie Burke
(Anna Sophia Robb)
outruns everybody,
including him. However,
Jess and Leslie soon
begin a friendship,
and discover a magical
kingdom in the forest,
where the two of them
known JLA members like
Zatanna and Hawkgirl
help round out the
decently sized character
selection.
Justice League Heroes
plays as an action RPG
with the camera naturally
situated high above the
action, and forces gamers
to grind through level
after level of brainless
II
—
Photo courtesy Gamespy.com
Not even the strongest superhero team on Earth can save Justice League Heroes from its
inevitable bargain bin grave.
enemies in an effort to
gain experience and raise
their superheroes levels.
This formula is certainly
tried and true, but fans of
Marvel’s infinitely more
fine-tuned and popular X-
Men Legends and Marvel:
Ultimate Alliance will
find this game almost
verbatim to their beloved
game series.
The concept is
reign together as king
and queen. Both bullies
and their parents, which
are transformed within
the magical kingdom
that they create for
themselves, embattle the
pair.
Through the artistic
creativity ofWeta Digital,
the world of Leslie and
Jess comes to life in
ways that Patterson’s
book could not possibly
have conjured. Brilliant
creatures, an incredible
tapestry of settings, and
superb acting on the
part of the young stars
bring the story from the
page to the screen in an
relatively simple as the
game is divided into levels
where only two members
of the JLA can fight
multitudes of baddies at
a time. As players defeat
bad guys with their
various punches, kicks
and special attacks, small
experience orbs will drop
and accumulate until a
character reaches the next
level. Players can then
boost their superheroes’
stats to gain even more
health, energy, or any of
the other upgradeable
categories.
While upgrading and
assigning new abilities to
the Justice League can be
considered enjoyable, the
monotony of navigating
featureless levels and
fighting countless enemy
mi ■ -.Tifisa——— ■— --a*i —
Photo courtesy Rottentomatoes com
Bridge to Terabithia is a wonderful jaunt into the magic and mystery of the imagi
nation of children, and an excellent family experience.
immensely entertaining
fashion. Csupo retained
the intent that Patterson
seemed to have had in her
book; that friendship, not
magic is the key to the
tale. Csupo also makes
sure to portray the fact
that Jess in intimately in
tune with and concerned
about, his family’s
finances. This is a feeling
that many in the films
target demographic, 7-13
year olds, can relate to in
modern society.
Following the
tradition now firmly
established by Narnia,
Csupo strives for, and
succeeds in, capturing
the legacy, vision, and
morality of the original
drones in order to level
up is not. On top of that,
occasional levels feature
small annoying side
missions, like rescuing
civilians or destroying
select objects, in order to
proceed through the level.
It’s always a good idea
to toss in some mission
elements in a combat
heavy game such as this.
but these missions end up
becoming more of a chore
than the much needed
diversion from battle.
Other negative
aspects of Justice League
Heroes include cheesy
and overused dialogue
from the voice actors, a
lack of better multiplayer
options besides two
player co-op, and an
unbelievably short single
tale. Csupo has long been
involved in the behind the
scenes magic of nearly
two-dozen animated
films and television
series. Josh Hutcherson
is no newcomer to the
industry either with a
nearly equal number of
roles as his director has
credits. In fact Josh is set
to lead another family
friendly contender this
Spring with Firehouse
Dog.settoopen in March.
Anna Sophia may be most
familiar to audiences
as the gum-smacking
Violet Beauregarde in
2005’s Charlie & the
Chocolate Factory. Robb
too has been busy in the
industry, with 7 credits
i
player campaign, which
actually could be seen
as a mercifully positive
aspect for people who
find themselves being
forced to play through it
to write a review for their
campus paper
The few redeeming
values that the game
actually possesses are its
role playing elements of
upgrading characters and
powers, the inclusion of
two-player co-op (albeit
no other modes), and
secret shields hidden
throughout levels
which allows gamers to
purchase and unlock new
characters and costumes.
Even though it isgreat
to see and unlock more
JLA members to play
with, like both popular
Green Lanterns Kyle
Rayner and Hal Jordan,
overall the abundance of
game-killing flaws amass
and destroy any chance
of making Justice League
Heroes a redeemable
game. For the superhero
enthusiasts that insist
otherwise, either pursue
this game as a weekend
rental only or go check
out the Marvel licensed
games like Ultimate
Alliance instead.
Waters l&tlinjj
di
(out of 10)
now behind her and 5
more completed or in
postproduction.
Disney has finally
begun returning to its
roots, revitalizing the
1960’s family friendly,
live action film. This
film may appear to be a
second rate copy,
but it certainly has its
own merits, and is well
worth taking the kids or
a date to.
A