Superman 64
Encyclopedia
Superman: The New Adventures, often referred to as Superman 64: The New Adventures or Superman 64, or simply just Superman, is an adventure video game that was first shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1997 (E3 1997), released by Titus Software
on May 31, 1999 on the Nintendo 64
. The game is based on the critically acclaimed Superman: The Animated Series
.
In this game, Lex Luthor
has created a virtual version
of Metropolis
, and Superman enters Lex's interdimensional portal, where Luthor negotiates to Superman that he must fly through his maze of rings scattered across virtual Metropolis in order to save his friends. It is infamous for the negative reception it received from critics and is considered one of the worst games of all time. Despite its critical reception, NPD Group
data shows that Superman was a top seller in North America during the month of June 1999.
Following the overwhelming negative reception the N64 version received, Titus completely redesigned Superman for the PlayStation
. However, due to the expiration of its Warner Bros license, Titus was unable to release the PlayStation version, resulting in its cancellation in 1999.
has created a virtual version
of Metropolis
. During a battle with Lex in his LexCorp
office, Superman
manages to witness the trapping of his friends Lois Lane
, Jimmy Olsen
and Professor Emil Hamilton
within the virtual realm. Superman enters Lex's interdimensional portal, where Luthor negotiates to Superman that he must fly through his maze of rings scattered across virtual Metropolis in order to save his friends. Other villains Superman battles in the game include Parasite
, Darkseid
, Brainiac
, Mala
, and Metallo
.
platformer
. In the single-player mode, players must complete various tasks and puzzles throughout the 14 stages in the game. The game also features two multi-player modes (a racing mode and a battle mode) that can be played with up to four people.
In other levels, referred to as Maze Levels in the game's instruction manual, Superman has uncovered one of his friends from within one of Luthor's outposts, and must escape with them and defeat a boss. These levels are generally more rooted in action-adventure, and make use of puzzle-solving. The game's "virtual Metropolis" in which these stages take place is filled with what the developers called "Kryptonite
fog" in an apparent effort by Lex Luthor to diminish Superman's abilities (which is actually distance fog
and is used as a technique to mask the game's poor draw distance
).
. When the game was finished it received approval from Sony, but the license from Warner Bros. had expired and Titus was unable to secure a new one. The game was never released. Given an exclusive look at the game, playstationmuseum.com stated that they had expected the worst, but they were pleasantly surprised by the "high quality graphics and animation" and awarded the game a rating of 90%.
In 2011, an e-mail interview with Eric Caen by Canadian Let's Player Proton Jon revealed that the plot of the N64 game was mandated by Warner Bros., due to a desire to not have Superman "kick 'real' people".
of IGN
rated Superman a 3.4/10, stating "[Superman] is executed so poorly that it actually serves to butcher the reputation of the prominent action hero." GameSpot
gave the game a score of 1.3 out of 10, making it the fourth lowest rated game by GameSpot, declaring that "This is easily the worst game I've ever played... it serves no purpose other than to firmly establish the bottom of the barrel".
data shows that Superman was a top seller in North America during the month of June 1999.
in Electronic Gaming Monthly
. It was also named second in the G4 series Filter
s "Top 10 Worst Games of the '90s". Nintendo Power
magazine rated it as the worst game on a Nintendo system. On MTV
's Gamer's 2.0, it was rated the No. 1 worst game of 1999. The game also topped GameSpy
's list of the ten worst comic book based video games, as compiled by journalist David Chapman
. On GameTrailers
, it was ranked No. 1 on their 'worst game of all time' list in 2006, just ahead of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600
. The game was featured in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
2009 book for lowest rated superhero game.
Titus Software
Titus Software, later known as Titus Interactive S.A., was a long-running French software publisher that produced and published video games for various formats over its lifetime....
on May 31, 1999 on the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
. The game is based on the critically acclaimed Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series starring DC Comics' flagship character, Superman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB from September 6, 1996 to February 12, 2000. Warner Bros...
.
In this game, Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
has created a virtual version
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
of Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
, and Superman enters Lex's interdimensional portal, where Luthor negotiates to Superman that he must fly through his maze of rings scattered across virtual Metropolis in order to save his friends. It is infamous for the negative reception it received from critics and is considered one of the worst games of all time. Despite its critical reception, NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
data shows that Superman was a top seller in North America during the month of June 1999.
Following the overwhelming negative reception the N64 version received, Titus completely redesigned Superman for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. However, due to the expiration of its Warner Bros license, Titus was unable to release the PlayStation version, resulting in its cancellation in 1999.
Plot
Lex LuthorLex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
has created a virtual version
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
of Metropolis
Metropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
. During a battle with Lex in his LexCorp
LexCorp
LexCorp is the fictional company founded by Lex Luthor in the popular DC Comics Superman series. It made its first proper appearance in John Byrne's The Man of Steel miniseries, which established the post-Crisis Superman setting...
office, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
manages to witness the trapping of his friends Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
, Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and Professor Emil Hamilton
Professor Hamilton
Professor Emil Hamilton is a fictional character in DC Comics' Superman titles. He is generally portrayed as a stereotypical absent-minded professor, with a gray beard and thick glasses and, at times, a "Mr. Wizard" type character...
within the virtual realm. Superman enters Lex's interdimensional portal, where Luthor negotiates to Superman that he must fly through his maze of rings scattered across virtual Metropolis in order to save his friends. Other villains Superman battles in the game include Parasite
Parasite (comics)
The Parasite is the name of several fictional characters that appears in Superman comic book stories published by DC Comics. A supervillain, Parasite has the ability to temporarily absorb the energy, knowledge and super-powers of another being by touch, making him a formidable foe for the Man of...
, Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
, Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
, Mala
Mala (Kryptonian)
Mala is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Superman #65 in the story "The Three Supermen from Space!"-Fictional character biography:...
, and Metallo
Metallo
Metallo is a comic book supervillain and cyborg who appears in Superman stories published by DC Comics. Metallo's trademark is his kryptonite power source, which he often uses as a weapon against Superman. His traditional identity is John Corben...
.
Gameplay
Superman is an action-adventureAction-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
platformer
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
. In the single-player mode, players must complete various tasks and puzzles throughout the 14 stages in the game. The game also features two multi-player modes (a racing mode and a battle mode) that can be played with up to four people.
Single-Player
In the single-player mode, the player assumes the role of Superman who is challenged to complete various tasks and puzzles throughout the 14 stages in the game. Most of the levels in the game are restricted to two types of gameplay; in some levels, referred to as Ride Levels in the game's instruction manual, Superman is instructed to fly through a series of hoops by Lex Luthor; in between, he is also tasked to perform certain feats such as battling Luthor's minions the Dark Shadows and rescuing civilians from natural or artificial disasters, firstly stopping two cars from trapping civilians.In other levels, referred to as Maze Levels in the game's instruction manual, Superman has uncovered one of his friends from within one of Luthor's outposts, and must escape with them and defeat a boss. These levels are generally more rooted in action-adventure, and make use of puzzle-solving. The game's "virtual Metropolis" in which these stages take place is filled with what the developers called "Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
fog" in an apparent effort by Lex Luthor to diminish Superman's abilities (which is actually distance fog
Distance fog
Distance fog is a technique used in 3D computer graphics to enhance the perception of distance by simulating fog.Because many of the shapes in graphical environments are relatively simple, and complex shadows are difficult to render, many graphics engines employ a "fog" gradient so objects further...
and is used as a technique to mask the game's poor draw distance
Draw distance
Draw distance is a computer graphics term, defined as the maximum distance of objects in a three dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine. Polygons that lie behind the draw distance won't be drawn to the screen....
).
Multi-player
The game includes two multi-player modes (a racing mode and a battle mode) that can be played with up to four people. In the battle mode, players must defeat their opponents by throwing various weapons and items at them. In the racing mode, players control a spaceship and rings shoot from the backside of one opponent.Cast
- Tim Daly - SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
- Clancy BrownClancy BrownClarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
- Lex LuthorLex LuthorLex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and... - Dana DelanyDana DelanyDana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
- Lois Lane - David KaufmanDavid Kaufman (actor)David Kaufman is an American voice-over artist and character actor, best known for his roles as the voice of Danny Fenton on Danny Phantom, the voice of Maggie's brother Aldrin on The Buzz on Maggie, and the voice of Marty McFly, Michael J...
- Jimmy Olsen - Victor BrandtVictor BrandtVictor Brandt is an American actor mostly known for his voice-over performances.Brandt was born in Los Angeles, California. He has appeared as an actor in several classic shows such as Star Trek, Mission Impossible and T.J Hooker...
- Professor Emil Hamilton - Corey BurtonCorey BurtonCorey Burton is an American voice actor, perhaps best known as Count Dooku, Ziro the Hutt and Cad Bane in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Brainiac in the DC animated universe and Spike Witwicky and Shockwave in the Transformers universe...
- Brainiac - Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
- Metallo - Brion JamesBrion JamesBrion Howard James was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hours, Tango & Cash, Silverado, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element...
- Parasite - Leslie EasterbrookLeslie Easterbrook-Early life:Easterbrook was born in Los Angeles and adopted by a family in rural Nebraska, where she was raised. Her father later earned a Ph.D and became a voice/trumpet professor at University of Nebraska at Kearney...
- Mala - Michael IronsideMichael IronsideMichael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
- Darkseid
Development
Superman was originally unveiled to the public at the E3 in 1997. According to an interview before the game was released, Eric Caen, co-founder of Titus Software, stated they were attempting to create the first "super hero" based video game where players really behave as a super hero. After the failure of the N64 version, Titus decided to completely redesign Superman for the PlayStationPlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. When the game was finished it received approval from Sony, but the license from Warner Bros. had expired and Titus was unable to secure a new one. The game was never released. Given an exclusive look at the game, playstationmuseum.com stated that they had expected the worst, but they were pleasantly surprised by the "high quality graphics and animation" and awarded the game a rating of 90%.
In 2011, an e-mail interview with Eric Caen by Canadian Let's Player Proton Jon revealed that the plot of the N64 game was mandated by Warner Bros., due to a desire to not have Superman "kick 'real' people".
Critical
Superman has received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, currently holding an overall negative score of 23% at GameRankings. Game reviewers focused their individual scores primarily on over-responsive controls in addition to monotonous gameplay. The flight controls are extremely unresponsive, sometimes requiring multiple button presses for a response. Critics found little redeeming value in the game. Matt CasamassinaMatt Casamassina
Matt Casamassina is a video game journalist who worked for IGN until April 23, 2010. In his time at the site, he was the author of many reviews and previews of Nintendo games. He resides in Los Angeles, California, is married and has two daughters, Zoe and Fiona Jade, and a son named Rocco Archer...
of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated Superman a 3.4/10, stating "[Superman] is executed so poorly that it actually serves to butcher the reputation of the prominent action hero." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the game a score of 1.3 out of 10, making it the fourth lowest rated game by GameSpot, declaring that "This is easily the worst game I've ever played... it serves no purpose other than to firmly establish the bottom of the barrel".
Sales
Despite its critical reception, NPD GroupNPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
data shows that Superman was a top seller in North America during the month of June 1999.
Awards and rankings
The game was rated as number seven in the list of "20 Worst Games of All Time" in a list created by SeanbabySeanbaby
Sean Patrick Reiley , better known as Seanbaby, is an American writer best known for his comedy website and frequent contributions to video game media outlets Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP.com. He is also a regular contributor to the humor website Cracked.com...
in Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
. It was also named second in the G4 series Filter
Filter (TV series)
Filter is an American television series on the G4 cable television channel which follows a countdown format. It was canceled in December 2005, resurrected in a re-formatted form, and then once again was canceled in August 2006. It is currently airing as a commercial break hosted by Candace Baily....
s "Top 10 Worst Games of the '90s". Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
magazine rated it as the worst game on a Nintendo system. On MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Gamer's 2.0, it was rated the No. 1 worst game of 1999. The game also topped GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
's list of the ten worst comic book based video games, as compiled by journalist David Chapman
David Chapman (journalist)
David Chapman is an entertainment writer/producer covering various pop culture interests, particularly the video game and comic book industries. David's freelance work has appeared in a variety of outlets, including GameSpy and the US version of Play Magazine...
. On GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
, it was ranked No. 1 on their 'worst game of all time' list in 2006, just ahead of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
. The game was featured in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is a Guinness World Records book dedicated to video games. The first edition was released in February 2008 in association with the video games world records' tracking organization Twin Galaxies. The second edition was released in 2009...
2009 book for lowest rated superhero game.