Superman Returns

 Xbox 360
Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 48
  3. Negative: 20 out of 48
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Game Almighty
    48
    Note to self: When a good Superman game finally comes out, see if the Captain can do that “around the world to go back in time” thing from Superman II so he can bring me a copy NOW!
  2. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    47
    If Superman spent more time flying around the city and zero time fighting repetitive enemies, his game would be way better. [Jan. 2007, p.102]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. GameSpot
    45
    After the thrill of flying around Metropolis wears off, Superman Returns is nothing more than a below-average, repetitive movie tie-in that doesn't even do the movie tie-in part well.
  5. IC-Games
    45
    The problems are even more compounded because, on the 360, this is supposedly a next generation game, it simply isn’t. Even Superman will struggle to save this disjointed effort from the bargain bin and only hardened collectors should seek out this disaster.
  6. Xboxic
    40
    Yea, there’s an incredible, lush environment for Superman to engage in, but it is completely barren when it comes to crime for him to face off against. In Superman Returns, Kal-El’s greatest villain is boredom. The curse lives on.
  7. DailyGame
    40
    Think of Superman Returns as an insanely boring exercise in flying from one end of Metropolis to the other -- non-stop and for 10 hours -- while waiting for the next "battle 10 robots" or "battle eight dragons" or "battle six radioactive gargoyles" button-mashing sequence to ensue.
  8. GamingTrend
    39
    If the value of the game didn’t suffer enough from the lifeless gameplay, the painful dialog and storyline, and the cumbersome controls, the game also suffers from some fairly significant bugs.
  9. eToychest
    38
    It's not nearly as bad as the notoriously awful "Superman 64," but it's yet another chunk of kryptonite plaguing his video game career.
  10. Talk Xbox
    32
    The repetition and horrible encounters make Superman Returns: The Videogame drag along at a snails pace. I’m sure many gamers will be ready to call it quits after the first hour. Simply put, this title does not offer nearly enough to warrant a $60 purchase.
  11. Edge Magazine
    30
    By even the lowest expectations Superman Returns is a staggering shortfall. [Jan 2007, p.86]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Jolt Online Gaming UK
    30
    Superman Returns: The Videogame is an embarrassment to video games, not to mention the Superman franchise, and is a new low for the quality of movie tie-ins.
  13. 1UP
    30
    Locking on to a specific enemy is a crapshoot. The character faces are bad enough that we were actually shocked to find that they had the rights to use the actors' likenesses. We could write a book about everything wrong with Superman Returns.
  14. Eurogamer
    30
    Superman Returns is so criminally lacking in any inspiration, though, and is such a dismal waste of the licence that you'll want to curl up and rock yourself into a trance. At least then your mind can entertain you with thoughts of what a good Superman game might be like.
  15. GameDaily
    30
    Repetitive, unlikable gameplay squashes everything. Flying around with the Man of Steel becomes about as entertaining as putting a helmet on your head and ramming into a brick wall at top speed.
  16. 360 Gamer Magazine UK
    30
    Putting aside the sub last-gen graphics, the stunning lack of variety in the gameplay when you have seventy years of material to drawn upon is unforgiveable. There is no other way to view Superman Returns: The Videogame as a cynical cash-in that makes a mockery of a character that deserves so much more.
  17. Game Revolution
    25
    Bryan Singer built his movie around an emotional core; Superman Returns is an empty gaming experience that needs tuning, heroics and a conclusion worth fighting for.
  18. The A.V. Club
    25
    A making-of documentary on how such a precious franchise was so flagrantly mishandled would be far more entertaining than anything the game has to offer.
  19. GameCritics
    25
    It is a game that utterly fails to capture any of the elements that make its source material so enduring and beloved.
  20. G4 TV
    20
    They made the world, but forgot to put a game in it. There's so little friction here that a sharp gamer can easily blow through the game in four or five hours.
  21. WHAM! Gaming
    20
    The controls are about as responsive as a corpse in the city morgue and the moody camera handcuffs you at every turn.

Awards & Rankings

90
#90 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2006
38
#38 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2006
7
#7 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2006

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 56 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 56
  3. Negative: 19 out of 56
  1. ESS180
    Nov 14, 2010
    1
    This is the worst game i have ever played. I only got up to the second level!

    It's really hard! Also it is boring. Terrible all in    This is the worst game i have ever played. I only got up to the second level!

    It's really hard!

    Also it is boring.

    Terrible all in all terrible    … Full Review »
  2. BatmanRising
    May 26, 2012
    10
    This game has brilliant exploration. It is an absolute joy to just fly around and explore. The powers are fun to use and although it hasThis game has brilliant exploration. It is an absolute joy to just fly around and explore. The powers are fun to use and although it has flaws, the game is great.… Full Review »
  3. danuffo
    Sep 29, 2021
    1
    English: Too bad frames so it feels slow, low textures, too dark, the game causes depression. If you want to know more details read theEnglish: Too bad frames so it feels slow, low textures, too dark, the game causes depression. If you want to know more details read the spanish review.

    Español:
    El juego por lo que veo tiene baja iluminación, se siente muy poco fluido se siente lento como si fuera a 15 frames por segundo, las texturas son muy básicas da la apariencia de un juego de PlayStation 2 en fase beta(sin ofender a esta asombrosa consola).
    Tampoco fue traducido ni doblado para el mercado de Hispanoamérica donde hay más hablantes de español pero sí en España donde solo un bajo porcentaje habla el mismo idioma ¿osea?    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »