From it's first launch in 2003, Superman: Countdown to Apokolips was received negatively.

I bought this game shortly before my ninth birthday and with little knowledge of the criticism, spent hours upon hours playing it. I found the cartridge many years later, when I was 14/15 and managed to beat the game within a matter of hours.

Now I'm taking the opportunity to critically examine a game that I had once thought perfect. It may not hold up to GBA standards, but I want you to know that for many, Superman: CtA was not the dull, repetitive game that it is currently known to be.

So, let's dive in!

Graphics - 7 / 10
The simple, clear graphics draws the attention of the player away from the scene and to Superman and his enemies. This elimination of distractions improves the game and makes game-play simpler and easy to learn. 

However, the lack of detail does leave the levels barren, which takes away from the fun. On the other hand, the scenes do look like a comic book, so the design looks intentional.

The greatest disappointment in the graphics comes from fighting sequences. Superman's powers laser vision starts off as a thin beam but turns into a large circle when hitting an object. The bullets look like slow, silly beams of light. While these are inconsequential for game-play, they do make the game less appealing. 

The viewpoint of the game is commendable and is a slight redemption of the designers. It allows for clear visibility of Superman during flight, allowing for anything around Superman to be seen. However, this one correct measure alone is not enough to make up for graphics.

The graphics do serve their purpose but have much room for improvement, so graphics rate 7 / 10.

Sound / Music - 4 / 10
The electronic music played throughout the game gets boring very quickly. I would never keep the music on for more than 20 minutes for this reason alone.

On the other hand, the music, itself, is not bad. With it's superhero themed sections, the type of music does fit with the game. However, particular sections of the songs do get repetitive, making them tiresome.

The flaws of the music are negligible compared to the sounds of the actions. The laser power is Superman's most powerful attack and the sound effect is akin to slamming down the lower end an electronic keyboard. Needless to say, on levels where the laser was the only way to win, my sound would be muted.

While the music was not particularly bad, the horrid sound effects bring the score down.

I rate Sound / Music a 4 / 10.

Addictiveness - 9 / 10
The addictiveness of this game holds up its overall quality. While some parts are mindlessly repetitive, the game is incredibly addictive.

The game's shortness allows it to be beat in one sitting, but strategy is required. It's finding out the strategy that makes the game more difficult and addictive. This strategic component allows one to think about possible solutions when not playing.

The simple passwords allows particular levels to be accessed from any GBA cartridge, which fuels group addictions.

I certainly have not played my last game of Superman: CtA.

So a 9 / 10 is most appropriate.

Story - 5 / 10
The story is simple and easy to follow. Superman battles villainous criminals working for evil Darkseid. Smaller events, such as the kidnapping of Louis Lane, serve to lengthen the story.

The largest criticism of the story-line would, in fact, be its simplicity. A larger, more complex story-line would likely help the game overcome criticism of the graphics and sound. 

While the story-line is based on the comic book series, there is no need to have read them before-hand as the needed information is provided in the game.

So while the story serves it's purpose, it falls far short of its potential and does not pique one's interest. 

I rate the story 5 / 10. 

Depth - 3 / 10
At first glance, the depth is basically nonexistent. The game is incredibly small with only 8 levels. Experienced games beat the entire game within an hour, despite its difficulty. 

However, dialogue during levels and added events, such as the villain Mannheim and the kidnapping of Louis Lane, add to the depth marginally.

Since the game has depth, albeit very little, a 3 is deserved.

Difficulty - 8 / 10
The difficulty both redeems and detracts from the game. While this does seem like a paradox, both are, in fact, true. 

Without it's current difficulty, the game would be a joke with an inept story-line, horrid sound effects, and mediocre graphics. The difficulty makes the game addictive and entices users to keep playing once a level is beat. 

The difficulty detracts from the game by the way it was added. Much of the difficulty comes from harder bosses and more criminals to fight. Until one finds the correct strategy, one faces continuous losses from death. These deaths do make the game tiresome at first.

However, more experienced players face less deaths, but suffer the challenge of figuring out suitable tactics for defeating bosses, which can take a couple of hours on a new level.

One redeeming quality is the simplicity of the controls. They are not irritating nor hard to learn. Any new player can quickly start playing and learn the controls. This factor does reduce the difficulty marginally.

Because bosses are difficult and newer players will be killed often and quickly, difficulty deserves an 8 / 10.

Overall - 6.0 / 10
A normal average yields a 6.5 but a higher difficulty score does not mean a better game, especially with the mixed reasons for difficulty in this case. So the overall score falls to 6. 

I do not wish for anyone to take that number to mean that this is a bad game. If you're looking for a game without much complexity or difficulty to learn, this game might suit you. If you are looking for a game that only takes a few hours to beat versus several days (or months), then I completely recommend playing this game. 

Thank you for reading!

I like the way you wrote this because it was "critically examined". The only slight issue that I had was with the wording of each sentence at the end of every category. I thought that they were redundant with the use of the word deserved and how most of them started with something like "Understandably,", "Clearly," or "Thus,".

Rewrite those sentences to feel less forced and I think this would be perfect for a featured review.

(I was looking for a new game to play but I don't think this is it.)

thephantombrain : Thank you for the help!

I removed and reworded those sentences so there are only very few left. I do see how they got repetitive, so I'll be sure to keep this in mind for future reviews.