G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Play Magazine

It’s not without its flaws, but Joe manages to pack in plenty of third-person, fast-paced arcade-flavored fun. Addictive co-op, power-ups galore, and thumb-numbing action make it much more a modern-day Contra than another lame licensed effort.

Game Chronicles

The Rise of Cobra is not without its faults, but if you scratch the surface just the slightest you’ll find a surprisingly fun game that will put your reflexes and arcade gaming skills to the ultimate test.

Deeko

It's camp value, sure, but camp value wrapped in a game just as fun as playing with the action figures that inspired it.

ZTGameDomain

I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I could have with a game if I stopped worrying about everything it didn't do, and just enjoyed what it did. Even with its problems Rise of Cobra is an entertaining, and fun experience for fans of the subject matter.

XboxAddict

All in all, this is a very good game, while with its flaws, overall submerses the gamer into the world of G.I. JOE.

GamingXP

If you play this title in the coop mode, it can offer some hours of quite good entertainment. If you try out this game alone, you won’t play very long.

GameFocus

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a typical movie tie-in game and will likely appeal to kids or the kid within. If you are after a few hour of mindless distraction, there are far worse ways of spending it then on this game but the missed opportunity inherent in this G.I. Joe game is truly unfortunate.

Planet Xbox 360

The game is a much better rental or title that is best left to borrowing from a friend who was fooled into buying it due to their ‘80’s nostalgia.

Extreme Gamer

With all the gameplay problems in The Rise of Cobra and its oddly missing online co-op play, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra falls into the rental category rather than a full out purchase. Until the price drops, I’d hold up for a movie ticket, or a few good hours of watching old Joe cartoons.

Xbox360Achievements

GI Joe is a fun shoot ‘em up for a short while, but then you will realize that you can get pretty much the same kind of action from any number of arcade titles. The action soon gets repetitive and you will have no urge to play the game again, at least having a buddy along for the ride makes things a bit more bearable.

AceGamez

If this was an Xbox Live Arcade title, then the score would be a little bit higher than it is, but as a full price release, there's just not enough content, and too many problems, to bump GI Joe up into the higher brackets.

Games Master UK

An enjoyable if throwaway action game that weighs in at a not so throwaway price. [Sept 2009, p.81]

GameDaily

So while G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra provides momentary thrills, it's little more than an overpriced and shallow romp through drab looking levels full of idiotic bad guys.

Da Gameboyz

Overall GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is your typical movie based game. It lacks depth, feels rushed, and is not worth the price of admission.

Gaming Age

I personally would have preferred a classic “Joe” title, since nostalgia seems to be in these days, but for what’s it’s worth, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra video game is exactly what you would expect from a film to game translation, nothing more, nothing less.

Cheat Code Central

The co-op functionality and the vast array of collectibles are nice additions on the surface, but being unable to play with friends online and not unlocking anything substantial keeps the experience lackluster.

IGN

As a fan of G.I. Joe, I expect a videogame version to make me feel like a Real American Hero. This didn't come close. The gameplay is unexciting and the visuals uninspired.

Gamervision

Even for a movie tie-in, GI Joe feels like a rush job. It’s not a terrible game by any means; the game mechanics mostly work, there’s plenty of variety to the characters, scores of things to unlock, and even playable Cobra characters like Storm Shadow and Firefly. It’s just that everything it does has been done much better by many different games.

WonderwallWeb

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a big disappointment for all fanboys of the original show. Worth a rental first before you even consider buying.

Gamer Limit

A typical shooter that barely resembles any iteration of GI Joe I’ve ever seen.

Gameplanet

It's difficult to say anything positive about the single-player, but there's a bit of fun to be had with the co-op. Overall however, Rise of Cobra is yet another disappointing movie tie-in.

GameZone

The campaign mode is really short, the graphics are ugly, and the sound is passable. The only reason to play this game is to pad your gamer scores or if you are an extremely die-hard G.I. Joe fan.

TeamXbox

In the end, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is like vanilla ice cream. It is fine for what it offers, but is plain and blah compared to what you could be having. Even for someone who didn’t get into the G.I. Joe fad, I didn’t expect to find a plain vanilla G.I. Joe.

GamePro

While I wasn't expecting too much from G.I. Joe as a whole, I walked away with the impression that, while it wasn't absolutely horrible, it really didn't leave much of a lasting impression either.

XGN

Unfortunately the game has not become the game it could have been. The only thing that earns a satisfactory is the sound and that's all. Maybe, if the game ever makes it's way to 30 euro's and you're looking for a fun co-op, this one is recommended.

MEGamers

With annoying camera, repetitive gameplay, and brain-dead AI team mates, this is the perfect Christmas gift for someone you dislike.

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

Fleetingly daft fun but this is too expansive, too charmless and too hard. [Nov 2009, p.91]

MondoXbox

Very simplistic gameplay mainly aimed at kids and casual gamers, mediocre graphics and several problems in controls and camera management ruin a game that maintains as its only bright spot the co-op mode, unfortunately only offline. Forgettable.

Cynamite

An awful game based on a mediocre action-movie. Gets dull very soon and has too many glitches.

RealGamer

Overall, this game is a very basic shoot-‘em-up that lacks any sort of cerebral engagement, and hence feels very lightweight and far too easy to play.

Official Xbox Magazine

Definitely inspired by old co-op coin-ups like Ikari Warriors, minus any ambition. [Oct 2009, p.75]

Worth Playing

The problem is that the entire game feels cobbled together and misses the target on a lot of very important things, like fun.

Gamer 2.0

The most enjoyable part of the game would have to be the unlockable Public Service Announcements from the old cartoon show. But chances are, you could save the cash and look them up online. And, trust us, you would be very well served by saving that cash.

Boomtown

At the end of the day this is just another lacklustre movie tie in really, it had some good ideas badly executed, but if you are a fan of the movie you may get a few hours enjoyment out of it.

GameSpot

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is full of things that make you go "hmm." Why do midlevel checkpoints update your score but not save your game, forcing you to restart from the beginning if both characters die? If you're going to steal from Gears of War, why steal the slow-walking, earpiece-cradling mission updates?

VideoGamer

It’s messy, it’s stale, and traces of it will linger with you for days. And the worst part of it all? You paid for this garbage.

Console Monster

Disappointing.

DailyGame

There's nothing redeeming about this game other than some decent surround-sound effects and the closing credits.

Everyeye.it

G.I.Joe: Rise of the Cobra is one of the worst games ever seen during this generation, with ugly graphic and sound and an insubstantial gameplay.

SpazioGames

G.I. Joe: la nascita dei Cobra is embarrassing. It's totally unplayable and technically shameful, an atrocious action-game. There is nothing to save, so keep distance from this game. One of the worst experiences of this generation.

Game Informer

Those patient enough to suffer through the initial gameplay inadequacies are rewarded with horrible, low-quality cutscenes, a “special” Accelerator Suit ability that often drains during said cutscenes, unreachable power-ups that hover just out of grasp, the worst vehicle controls I’ve used in years, and voice overacting that makes the guy who says “killing spree” in Unreal Tournament sound understated.

GameTrailers

This game is an abomination that has absolutely no business being sold at a price point approaching full retail. Like so many other movie adaptations before it, The Rise of Cobra feels like it was meant to capitalize on gullible fans. Lucky for you, we’re here to warn you to steer clear.

1UP

The Rise of Cobra's biggest problems aren't in the way it uses the license -- the problems are that, on anything but the lowest difficulty setting, the game is unnecessarily unforgiving and uses a completely counter-intuitive health regeneration system.

Gamers' Temple

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra The Video Game is just plain awful. Whatever you do, though, don't let me stop you from seeing the movie. You'll love it.

Eurogamer Italy

Unbalanced, not working camera, anonymous level design and technically far from next-gen. Have we to go on or you need something else to go out for a pizza with your friends using your dirty 60 Euros?

Eurogamer

A lazy and predictable slog through 20-year-old game design, stultifying 'action' and glaring, ridiculous omissions. There's no defending it on the grounds of being a kids' game, since most astute children will likely find this turgid, unengaging blast every bit as tedious and repetitive as their adult counterparts.

GameSpy

A pointed lesson to other designers that including co-op, especially local co-op, is a great value-add to even an otherwise totally worthless game.

Play.tm

Showing a complete lack of faith in either their own control system or their intended audience's ability, Double Helix have seen fit to implement a far too effective automated targeting system which does its best to remove every last element of skill from proceedings.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

A boring, brain-dead waste of time. [Oct 2009, p.82]

Edge Magazine

If there's a benefit to the game's focus on local co-op multiplayer, it's that players can stand suicide watch over each other for when the awfulness of it all finally overwhelms them. [Oct 2009, p.97]

X360 Magazine UK

Has no redeemable features, is almost devoid of quality and should be avoided at all costs. [Issue#50, p.95]

Teletext GameCentral

A shamefully poor tie-in, even by normal standards, that totally ignores the potential of the license.

Giant Bomb

Every little thing about it, from the bland presentation to the dead-simple gameplay, conspires to make the final product incredibly lame. It has the depth of a bad downloadable game with the price tag of a full-on retail release. It's the worst of both worlds. And now you know.

DarkZero

Who am I kidding? I’ve tried, but this game is just rubbish. Utter crap. Another steaming pile of movie-based compost to throw on the pile. Avoid this game like your brain depended on it.

Level7.nu

Movie licensed game have a long and not so rosy reputation of being less that stellar, at best, with a fem major exceptions. The videogame adaptation of the movie G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra is no such exception. The visuals looks like a poor remnant from the previous generations of consoles, the controls are shoddy, the camera is appalling and the list goes on. Even the cooperative mode manages to be a total dud. Avoid at all costs.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Even as the credits roll, it’s tough to shake the nagging feeling that this experience should have been a $10 downloadable game, or should be the game you unlock as a bonus after finishing the real game.

GameShark

Between the camera and targeting woes, generally clunky gameplay, and a complete inability to capture the essence of what makes the G.I. Joe franchise fun and exciting in the first place—the game is a complete failure.

Game Revolution

The shooty stuff is okay, the cover is fine, the difficulty is all but nonexistent given your inability to die, but the worst part of all of this, the real slap in the face, is that it costs FIFTY !@#$ING DOLLARS

Gaming Nexus

There's no reason to buy G.I. Joe as long as there is at least one other game on the store shelf.