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“Tony Stark built it in a cave” this quote from the recent Ironman movie have become a meme in certain circles on the Internet, unfortunately a more accurate quote and one line question could be hard to find since this game really does feel like someone built it from scraps in a cave. Want to know why I feel this then read on after the jump.

Movie tie ins with games and vice versa have always been riddled with problems in attempts to capture the cinematic feel within the game of the thrill factor and fantastic set pieces from the game into a move rendition most fall flat on their digital faces.

Being a Marvel fan and Ironman being a favourite of mine I dashed out to see the movie and when given the chance to play the game of the movie I set aside my usual reservations and loaded the game up. Next time I do that feel free to give me a slap, not a hard one mind you just a light rap on knuckles will do.

All seemed well and the main screen and options menus look crisp and matched the feel that you would expect from the game, but then when the game started it felt more like all the processing power of my Xbox had been used to simple power the menus. Graphically the game looked and felt not like a brand new offering from the next gen stables but something that would of felt happier on the original Xbox, with an almost unacceptable level of image tear while playing.

Taking the initial Ironman prototype from the movie and using the escape scene from the same as your opening level does give you the opportunity to learn the control styles at a pace that is manageable, since you can only use certain features while you wait for your comrade to “boot up” the various suit features. But the most noticeable thing about playing the games is the horrible camera control which seemed to simple not want to look where you’d want it to look with a twitch reaction that would put a gun fighter to shame. This was bad enough on the ground but throw in following missions where the next gen of Ironman suits had the ability for flight and the most you can hope for is a mild dose of motion sickness.

The game play itself soon become boring and repetitive and while your given the option to upgrade your armour as your progress it really doesn’t lend much to the game as after using these new powers 3-4 times you’ll soon become bored. While I have not played the game long enough to unlock the silver centurion or hulk buster armours, I really have not felt the need to play any more then I already had.

As much as I hate to have nothing outstandingly positive to say about a game it seems Ironman has joined the ranks and file of the un-fun, which for any game to fail to even be entertaining must surely be a bad result. All in all I would give this game a very disappointing 2 out of 10 but it has also reminded me of why movie/game crossovers really should be avoided.

Rating 2/10

This review was written based on the Xbox 360 version of Ironman by Sega the opinions expressed within are the views of the reviewer alone. All pictures remain the property of their owners.

Ebony Phoenix