Iron Man = Superman Returns

Anybody who played the lame "Superman Returns" videogame from Electronic Arts in late 2006 (Variety review here) will remember what it's like to marry great technology (Supes flying around Metropolis with completely awesome) with atrocious level design (basically, there was nothing fun or intersting to do in Metropolis).

It seems like Sega and Secret Level don't remember that, or took the wrong lesson, because the "Iron Man" videogame has the exact same problem: awesome powers and controls for the main character joined with the most boring and banal level design imaginable. As soon as you're no longer impressed just by making Iron Man fly, hover, and shoot all his different weapons, you'll notice how bored you are.

Here's the first paragraph of my review that just ran in Variety:

"You are a one man army," promises the slogan for Sega's adaptation of Marvel and Paramount's "Iron Man" movie. Problem is, one-man armies need something to do besides fly through generic environments fighting hordes of generic enemies. "Iron Man" mars its solid technology and smooth controls with consistently awful level design, resulting in yet another mediocre movie-based game whose only hope for sales will come with the pic's heavily hyped opening weekend.

And you can read the whole thing here.