Where to watch Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters (2011) – Vid
2 1/2 Stars
Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is well, actually better than I expected. That doesn’t say much of course. Anyone who plays videos games knows that blockbuster adaptations normally disappoint. Green Lantern: ROTM is better than most but still manages to fall short of any ‘wow’ factor.
The game takes place shortly after the power ring was acquired by Hal Jordan, however, any background on how he received his powers is mostly glossed over. As a player you are expected to already know the universe or at least be ready to jump into action almost immediately. Overall the plot offers little to the game. The cut scenes themselves lacked emotion and were pretty stale for the most part. It is nice that they brought in Ryan Reynolds for the voice acting, but hopefully he is more convincing in the movie than he is in the game.Since the game is based on a comic book with a movie tie-in you would think they’d have spent some time developing an intriguing plot. Unfortunately they did not, so if you’re looking for an interesting plot driven game then this should not be on your list. If however you are just looking for some mindless arcade style hack and slash action then you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
The gameplay is classic beat‘em up style with obvious borrowings from the God of War series (think less puzzles and more mindless action). The power system in the game is entertaining enough and unlocking additional powers/upgrades kept me pushing through the levels. Hal Jordan has a number of hard-light constucts at his disposal including swords, baseball bats, chain-gun, a mech suit, and more. Your standard arsenal features a quick melee attack, a strong melee attack, and a long range grab and throw. With all this at your fingertips it’s pretty easy to stack up some impressive combos. As you stomp out Manhunters the rings power meter increases. This meter is drained by using the construct powers mentioned above. In addition, to the hack and slash levels there are also levels that have you controlling Hal as he flies (seemingly on rails) through the sky. These levels require little more than blasting and moving around in clutter-filled screen. I personally could have done without the gameplay switch up and thought the flying levels were a step in the wrong direction. A two player co-op action option is available at any time and I strongly recommend having a friend play through with you. Doing so gives a true arcade feel to the game.
Bottom Line: Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters offers a fun game play experience with little thinking required. The missions are repetitive but the variety of upgrades will keep you smashing away. Outside of that everything else in the game is frankly lackluster. I wouldn’t recommend you purchase this game unless you planned on doing a lot of co-op with a friend. Otherwise rent it, beat it, and return it.
Published by: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developed by: Double Helix
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS
Reviewed on: PlayStation 3
