Justice League Heroes [PS2]

This fall, nearly every superhero to ever don a Speedo will be fighting evil in action-RPG capacity. DC has a power-packed stable, to be sure -- with icons like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all going to battle for the brand. Likewise, Snowblind Studios practically owns the action/RPG genre, having developed the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series and the Champions of Everquest titles. With all this going for Justice League Heroes, there's still something foul in Metropolis.

The game pits a dynamic duo against the forces of the diabolical Brainiac. Unlike X-Men Legends and its customizeable foursome, you're often saddled with two specific characters for the duration of a level. This is to tie in the plot and CG cutscenes, so it's a little more forgivable. However, the storyline feels like it's bound to 1954's Comics Code Authority. That means white-bread superhero stuff, fighting loads of lifeless robots and repetitive drones, and little in the way of humor. Writer Dwayne McDuffie may have an impressive comic resume, but he is so confined by the archaic archetypes in Justice League Heroes that everything is dull, dull, dull.

Gameplay is either typical for the genre, or worse. Most characters can fly, but having to battle hovering enemies mid-air is like trying to hit a fastball with a piece of uncooked spaghetti. Combos attempt to inject some strategy into your button-mashing, but are too often broken up by fleeing enemies or just bad aim that they rarely come to fruition. For having purportedly speedy guys like The Flash and Superman on the roster, Justice League Heroes moves at a mortal pace. On the positive side, the camera is really good and requires little to no manual adjustment -- even when zoomed in.

Levels are full of objects to wield and throw -- if your character has the strength. This makes Superman the better character in his teaming with Batman, and Martian Manhunter superior to Zatanna. The flip side would normally be that the weaker heroes have stronger specials, but that didn't seem to be the case. Everyone has their share of good special attacks and abilities, well worth memorizing and using.

As stated before, the enemies you battle aren't very inspiring. Some levels only have two different types, which gets old fast. Puzzles and objectives don't pop up too often, as the game instead is more focused on getting from point A to point B. Funny, then, that level designs are quite linear. You will be "saving" lots of civilians -- the word is in parenthesis because they inexplicably turn into collectable coins to snag and spend on unlockables. Are they trying to pay you off or something?