Even in our darkest hour, there is always a light that will shine to get us out of our tunnel of misery. The Green lantern corps is a symbol of hope through out the universe and Hal Jordan has been selected to be apart of that hope to save not only his world but all of the cosmos. If you are ready to dawn the responsibilities of a Green Lantern, then say the oath and continue on for this review!
Thanks to the sacrifice of Abin Sur who passed on the Green lantern power ring to the test pilot Hal Jordan; his world has changed as one of Earths new heroes. The purpose of the Green Lantern Corps is that they are the Universe guardians or in other terms galactic police. Their mission is to bring hope and uphold justice through the known galaxy. It is a big responsibility to uphold what their power rings represent and of course the oath that goes with powering their rings. The oath goes as followed so repeat after me! “In Brightest Day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight, let those who worship evils might, beware my power…GREEN LANTERNS LIGHT!” Oh that felt good to say, now on to the rest of the story dealing with the Guardians first protectors. I introduce to you the Manhunters, they are a robotic force that were the Guardians first line of defense against evil, however the Manhunters were too good at their job and tried to take over. It is up to you and your fellow Lanterns to stop the Manhunter’s mysterious threat on planet Oa and uncover their true purpose. The good news is that this is not a direct movie game, it is a continuation it seems which is a great thing. I hope you are ready for this epic battle on the ground and in space.
The gameplay mechanics are pretty simple where you have your heavy and light attacks, grabs, and special abilities with your ring powers. If you don’t know about what the power rings can do then luckily you are reading this review written by a well-educated comic book enthusiast. The rings can form any object or figure from your thoughts, so having a wild imagination comes in handy. In the game you will be able to form a war hammer, buzz saw, grapple claw, rocket punch, gaiting gun, and many other cool weapons. And when the game goes into space, it turns into a shooter.
If you have a certain ability unlocked, you can hit the top shoulder buttons to activate that your super ability. In Hal Jordan’s case since he was a fighter pilot, he forms a fighter jet around his body. The combo system is very fluid and keeps the game interesting connecting each move and your special abilities. For example, you can go from a light attack into your buzz saw attack to get a 25 hit combo. The reward for performing well are upgrade points, which unlock more upgrades for your character. The upgrade points can unlock more moves, weapons or the ability to upgrade your stamina/health. The points come in handy since the enemies gets bigger and tougher.
Another great thing to mention is the awesome co-op element of the game. It has a nice local drop in/out co-op gameplay element, where you can team up Hal Jordan and Sinestro. The great thing is that each player has its own points and can upgrade individually without interfering with each other. That element alone is amazing since most co-op games have players sharing lives, loot and upgrades. Allowing players to individually upgrade their characters allows players to combine their points better which improves attacks against enemies. It makes teaming up even better and makes going through story mode much more enjoyable. The graphics are impressive, there are no glitches or frame drops during gameplay and since it’s played locally. You never have to worry about losing connection during battles. The voice acting is very impressive, especially having the original actors from the movie and their likeness, I am impressed that the visual came out this well.
The cons would be the fact that there is no online play, frankly this only needed local gameplay . The game is not that long, I would say even on the hardest difficulty roughly 6 to 8 hours long. This game would be a great addition to the library, however for the $60 price it is a bit much even with the co-op. I did have fun solo but my enjoyment was amplified with a buddy, so that alone makes me question as to whether or not I would have enjoyed playing by myself? A game that is more enjoyable with co-op than it was solo is a bit of a downer in my book.
I have to admit that this game shocked me greatly, but I have to say my verdict is “RENT”. I can’t get passed the fact that you or your kid would get bored if there is not another person to join you in co-op. The story is interesting enough, but as a single player with local co-op, but sadly the price is not justified. Check out some gameplay footage and a gallery below. I do hope you give this game a try and see for yourself, because it is actually pretty decent and as always keep that hope strong, stay frosty Lanterns!
