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| Superman: Shadow of Apokolips | |
|---|---|
 North American PS2 cover art | |
| Developer | Infogrames Sheffield House |
| Publisher | Infogrames[a] |
| Producer | David Abrams |
| Designer | Michael Traquair |
| Programmer | Ian Badcoe |
| Artist | Mark Sweeney |
| Composer | Red Mustard Productions |
| Platforms | PlayStation 2,GameCube |
| Release | PlayStation 2 GameCube |
| Genre | Action-adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips is avideo game that was released in 2002 for thePlayStation 2 andGameCube consoles. It was developed byInfogrames Sheffield House, published byInfogrames under theAtari brand name, and released in conjunction withWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment andDC Comics. It is based on the television seriesSuperman: The Animated Series.
BelievingIntergang to be starting up again, Superman learns that beings causing chaos throughout Metropolis are a group of robots using Intergang's old methods. These "Interbots" have access to high-grade weaponry, which is powerful enough to injure or even kill Superman. These bots are commanded byLex Luthor, who is secretly working withDarkseid.
Finding that the weapons come fromApokolips, Superman sets out to destroy the robots, and their weapons, having to fight a multitude of enemies that Luthor sends after him.Parasite,Metallo, andLivewire contracted to kill Superman to allow the bots free rein to obey Luthor's wishes.
The game featured designs reflecting the look and feel ofSuperman: The Animated Series. The story was advanced by cutscenes featuringcel-shaded animation that emulates traditional animation. The series' voice cast reprised their roles for the game, featuringTim Daly asSuperman,Dana Delany asLois Lane,Lori Petty asLivewire,Malcolm McDowell asMetallo,Michael York asKanto, andClancy Brown asLex Luthor.Kevin Michael Richardson andBrian George respectively replaceMichael Ironside and the lateBrion James asDarkseid andParasite.
In September 2000,Infogrames acquired the license to publish and developSuperman video games fromTitus Interactive under a new deal withWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.[6]
AtE3 2002, Infogrames revealedShadow of Apokolips as a PlayStation 2 title, based onSuperman: The Animated Series, alongside its unrelatedXbox companion gameSuperman: The Man of Steel, which was based on the comic books.[7]
Infogrames published a GameCube port of the game in March 2003.[8] The GameCube version, also handled by Infogrames Sheffield House, includes three selectable difficulty settings,Widescreen,Progressive Scan andDolby Pro Logic II support, cheat codes, a free-roam mode, enhanced boss AI, and a "making of" movie featuring the game's development and beta elements.[9]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | (PS2) 65.46%[10] (GC) 64.37%[11] |
| Metacritic | (GC) 66/100[12] (PS2) 64/100[13] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [14] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 6.8/10[15] |
| Game Informer | (PS2) 7/10[16] (GC) 6.5/10[17] |
| GamePro | [18] |
| GameSpot | (PS2) 6.4/10[19] (GC) 6.2/10[20] |
| GameSpy | (PS2)[21] (GC) [22] |
| GameZone | 6.9/10[23] |
| IGN | (PS2) 7/10[24] (GC) 6.5/10[25] |
| NGC Magazine | (NGC) 60/100[26] |
| Nintendo Power | (NGC) 3.2/5[27] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine |  [28] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C−[29] |
| PlayStation World | (PS2) 3/10[30] |
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips received "mixed or average" reviews, according toreview aggregatorMetacritic. Prior to release, an air of apprehension surrounded the title due to the failure ofSuperman (1999).GameSpot praised the game's presentation, saying "...the Man of Steel has never looked or moved better", while panning the mechanics behind the game: "He's faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and can be trapped in walls because of poor collision detection: He's Superman!"[19]IGN felt it was the superior title to theXbox counterpart,Superman: The Man of Steel, but calling it an "average superhero game".[24]Entertainment Weekly, however, gave the game a C− and wrote: "What keeps the game from taking off is the overly simplistic episodic nature of the missions set before you...The wacky control configuration also makes your heat vision, ice breath, X-ray vision, and superspeed incredibly difficult to use on the fly".[29]
GameRankings gave the game a score of 65.46% for the PlayStation 2 version[10] and 64.37% for the GameCube version,[11] whileMetacritic gave it a score of 64 out of 100 for the PS2 version[13] and 66 out of 100 for the GameCube version.[12]
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips is due for release on PlayStation 2 on the 22nd of November, so look out for it on retail shelves shortly!