Iron Man (Wii) Review

Investing in a game based on a licensed movie or product can be a risky experience. With my time at this site, I’ve had the task of reviewing numerous licensed games on both the Wii and the DS. The quality of such games varies from the passable to the downright abysmal. It’s a theme I’ve discussed on several occasions in the past. Licensed games are often rushed to tie in with the release of a major motion picture as a means of harnessing the popularity of the movie and turning it in to sales. It is disappointing that licensed games usually always end up being pretty mediocre, because they often involve characters we love. With the recent release of the major motion picture Ironman, a number of video game releases across various consoles have occurred. After spending some time playing Ironman on the Wii, has my opinion changed? Read on to find out.

Ironman on the Wii loosely follows the plot of the movie. You play as Tony Stark, an industrialist and wealthy businessman whose company deals in weapons. During a business venture to Afghanistan, Stark is captured by militants and is held captive with orders to build a missile. However, Stark builds a powerful iron suit that he uses to escape. Upon returning to the U.S, Stark modifies the suits (and Ironman is born) and begins a new chapter in his life determined to destroy all the weapons his company created. However, Stark’s business partner, Obadiah Stane, is unpleased by Stark’s choices and ends up building a suit of his own, becoming a powerful foe for Ironman. A quick synopsis indeed, but nonetheless the basic plot behind the game. Weapons manufacturing, powerful suits, and lots of explosions sounds great, but unfortunately the gameplay doesn’t quite stand up.

The first thing that is wrong with the gameplay is it’s ease. I played on normal mode and only died once, which was more a result of not concentrating then anything else. You see, Ironman has an incredibly powerful suit with incredibly powerful weapons. Ironman can also fly and hover in the air for long periods of time meaning your enemy, most of which are lone soldiers with machine guns, have little chance of actually inflecting any damage. There are more difficult enemies, such as tanks and a few boss fights, but even those can’t really much Ironman in terms of power.

There are only 10 missions in the game too, each of which take no longer then about 15 minutes to half an hour to complete. Factor in the ease at which you can progress and you’re left with a short, unsatisfying experience. You can easily fly/hover through many levels without even engaging in combat with enemies. They will rarely hit you anyway so you can just ignore them and focus on the levels objectives. Taking out enemies is so easy anyway as you just need to shoot in their vicinity and it always seems to kill them. There is just not enough challenge for most gamers, though young children might enjoy the easy of which Ironman can be played.

As you progress through the game, you can unlock new additions to Ironman’s suit, be it weapons, armour, or propulsion (aka flying) related. You can also manipulate the amount of power the suit allocates to each of these components. If you need more weapon power, you can focus energy on the weapons system. If you need your armour to stand up to the incredibly smart and powerful enemies (sic), you can focus it on the armour. It’s a good idea in theory, but because the game is incredibly easy anyway, there is little need to really do it.

The flying and ability to hover in the game are positives, as they mean you can progress through levels pretty quickly. Generally, both flying and hovering work pretty well and there were times when I did enjoy flying around the level destroying whatever I could in my path. The Wiimote moves an onscreen gaming reticule that is used to shoot the enemy. Certain other moves (e.g., punching, opening some doors) are intiated by shaking the Wiimote or nunchuk. If the enemy were more challenging and the objectives more interesting (same old thing here: destroy this, follow this, etc), then the game would be more enjoyable. But as it is, it is a poorly put together game that is far too easy and fails to impress on any level.

Graphically, the game is the artistic equivalent to spewing up in the guitar after a long night drinking. Well, that might be a bit harsh but the game looks and feels like an average effort on a PS2 let alone the Wii. Character models are bland and blocky, the scenery is made of flat trees and shrubbery, and even the animation is a little jerky at times. I will say that the cut-scenes look pretty darn good. Robert Downy Jnr. provides the voice of Ironman (as in the movie) so the cutscenes are actually more entertaining than the game. Sound wise, the game does include some decent tracks, such as the Ironman theme, but it also includes a lot of boring, repetitive tracks that do little for your aural appetite.

In all, Ironman is another poor game that has had a rushed development in order to be released almost at the same time as the motion picture. It is far too easy, looks and feels outdated, and offers very little in the way of challenge. At a RRP of $80, your money is most definitely best spent elsewhere. In fact, spend $15 and see the movie instead – it will entertain you far more then Ironman on the Wii.

Graphics 4.0

Gameplay 4.0

Sound 5.0

Tilt 3.0

Value 4.0