Daredevil

It’s not easy being a superhero and even more so when the superhero in question is Daredevil--Marvel comic’s first blind crime fighting hero.  To coincide with the new movie of the same name, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Encore lets gamers don the red devil suit and clean up New York’s seedy Hell’s Kitchen from crime lords and nasty thugs . . . and it’s all on your Game Boy Advance.  What’s that you say?  Sounds good?  Well then, heroes, read on then.

Without diving too deeply into the story (I’m sure the movie will do that for me . . . and far better too), you assume the role of Matt Murdock who, as a boy, was involved in an accident that left him blind.  The accident, though, had a life changing effect on the boy in that whatever blinded him also sharpened his other senses to inhuman levels.  Later, loosing his father to gangsters, Murdock vowed to get rid of the many criminals that haunt Hell’s Kitchen.  Now Murdock is a defender of the innocent as a lawyer by day and a hero clad in a red suit by night.

The game follows the movie’s main premise in that it takes Daredevil through his fight with the ultimate crime lord called the Kingpin as well as his friendship with a female vigilante that calls herself Elektra.  Here the Kingpin makes Daredevil an offer: eliminate rival gangs and get paid top dollar for it.  Naturally our hero doesn’t accept but, with the help of an assassin called Bullseye, the Kingpin takes out his rivals and publicly makes it look like the he’s paying Daredevil anyway.  As Daredevil, you set out to finally put the Kingpin in his place while going up against an assortment of thugs.

And Daredevil does go up against a number of opponents on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and various other settings.  This is a game with many levels (twenty-three levels to be exact), some that even take place on top of moving vehicles during heavy traffic or on the rooftops of various buildings.  Like any action platform game, you basically fight through each level that contains a fair amount of enemies as well as breakable crates and power-up items such as invisibility, health or DD Tokens used to unlock the game’s many secrets. 

The game is basically a jump, punch and kick action game that has Daredevil moving through a level beating up mafia and ninja thugs and bosses like the Sewer King.  You can also use your billy club that can be used to swat at enemies or, if you grab a club power-up, throw it at an enemy.  The one feature in the game that is innovative is the Radar Sense feature (like Spider-Man’s Spider Senses, you’ll know when Daredevil can use his power).  Daredevil can easily switch to his Radar Sense, which is used to find invisible power-ups items or even invisible enemies.  There is a part where you’re in the darkness and the Radar Sense is used as an advantage against the enemies that are blinded by the darkness.  Too bad that this feature isn’t used very often.

The problem is that the fighting controls are limited to just that--punches and kicks with just one or two combos.  Due to the poor opponent AI, the many foes you encounter (especially the ones wielding knives and bats) are quicker with the punches than Daredevil is.  Still there are easy ways to fool enemies.  Gamers will find themselves kneeling and punching because the enemy AI doesn’t know what to make of a target that isn’t standing up.  Boss fights are even worse, especially the first two boss fights.  Elektra, for example, jumps on a crate, making her an easy target. 

Visually, Daredevil is not a bad looking game at all.  The various New York locations throughout the game are nicely done and filled with plenty of background details that really do stand out.  With buildings scattered in the backgrounds, these streets house plenty of eye-catching details like various storefronts and rooftops with giant billboards.  Interiors are just as nicely detailed as well, with the Kingpins swanky office complete with tiled floors and impressive decorations.  The characters, on the other hand, lack the same kind of attention placed on the backgrounds.  It’s hard to tell a thug apart from an innocent bystander that happens to be caught in the middle of a fight.

Sound-wise, though, Daredevil manages to make good use of the GBA’s sound capabilities.  Not only does the game’s soundtrack set the right mood, it changes during cut scenes and level changes.  Still, the highlight of the sound is the background noises.  You can actually hear the New York traffic with its honking vehicles and rushing traffic.  You can hear the pain when a thug gets a fist in the face.  When a thug throws a grenade, the sound of its explosion is less cartoon-like than the sound of grabbing power-up items.

Alas, even with all the interesting elements of the comics and movie, Daredevil has too many flaws in its gameplay that ultimately holds it back from its true potential.  While not an entirely bad game, you can’t help but feel that things could have been a lot better with a little more thought and innovation.  The game has its fun moments, but these moments are sparse.    

 
Gameplay: 5.0
The game’s weakness is its gameplay that not only lacks innovation but also fighting moves that can keep the game from being just a simple walk-up-to-thug-and-kick action game.  There are just one or two combo’s Daredevil gets to use and they’re not at all too impressive, although the use of his billy club and Rader Sense are actually pretty well implemented here.  Some enemies require you to use your Radar Sense to actually see--a surprisingly effective element of the game that should have been used for often throughout the game.

Graphics: 6.9
While not the best looking game on the Game Boy Advance, this is still a game with plenty of colorful and nicely detailed graphics.  There are stages where Daredevil fights foes on the tops of moving vehicles and the vehicles themselves are so nicely detailed that they won’t fail to impress.  Even underground you’ll find lots to look at and even more so when Daredevil activates his Radar Sense that changes your surroundings color.

The main characters are distinguishable on screen, but they lack the visual punch that comes with seeing superheroes and super villains on screen.  They do, though, pay homage to comic books by adding the POWs and BIFFs seen in comic books when a superhero slams his fist into a thug.     

Sound: 7.5
Daredevil also has the best sounds I heard in a GBA system starting with the good soundtrack that’s never annoying or bothersome throughout the game and its transitional cut scenes.  This is followed by its wonderful sound effects that add a nice touch tot he gameplay.  Depending on your location, the background sounds follow throughout the level.  For example, if you’re in the docks, you’ll hear the sounds of seagulls and the soft dings of the boats.  In the streets, you’ll hear the madness that is New York traffic. Fights and things like breaking crates also sound good.   This is really a job well done.

Difficulty: Medium
The fighting mechanics are not the game’s strong points and this is evident the minute you take on a bat-wielding thug because getting a good shot in requires you to take a number of hits first.  There are also times when more than two henchmen gang up on you, a fight that would have been more than welcome had you enough combo moves to take them on.  Yet the confusing part about all of this is that the boss fight is just a question of putting you in a spot where you can just keep punching the boss without getting hit in the process--and I thought Daredevil was the one that was suppose to be blind.

Concept: 6.0
A game based after a blockbuster comic book superhero is nothing new considering that movies like Spider Man and the X-Men generate a lot of fanfare from loyal moviegoers and gaming fans.  Many of the games, such as Spider-Man: The Movie, have actually made for some pretty great games.  Daredevil’s movie tie-ins are evident in the game, which adds movie stills and character profiles depicting the actors that portray them in the film.  This game also has dozens of secrets gamers can unlock throughout the course of playing the game that does add a nice replay value.

Overall: 5.0
Unfortunately, Daredevil is one sloppy action platform game that really doesn’t do the Man Without Fear any justice.  This is too bad, really, considering the fact that the game has decent visuals, great sound and an assortment of interesting characters.  Comic book and video game fans alike will not find much to like about this game.