Justice League: Chronicles

By the turn of the century, we started to understand that video games based on our favorite media franchises were a waste of time. However, it would seem that Justice League: Chronicles didn't get the memo. To say that its predecessor was an average video game would be kind. Somehow, the publishers thought it would be a good idea to make a second one.

We won't waste anyone's time here. Justice League: Chronicles is not a good game, nor is it going to offer any sort of joy to fans of the franchise. It's the epitome of how video games are rushed out to align with significant parts of the TV or film series. You'd think with one game already in the bag, the developers and publishers would have learned from their mistakes. Somehow, Justice League: Chronicles got worse.

It's Not Very Super, Is It?

Where do we even begin trying to describe the poor effort put into the game? First of all, there is absolutely no backbone to support any of the ideas, mechanics, or narrative that the initial presentation seems to suggest. All you are going to get here is a few characters to play within poorly-designed side-scrolling platformer environments.

It's really a shame that a series as high-caliber as the Justice League gets such little rapport in the video game world. For the majority of the game, you'll be swapping between characters and mundanely beating up anyone who gets in your way. There's only a little animation to bring superhero flair into the mix, and every character does the same thing.

At some point during development, somebody probably realized how awfully bland Justice League: Chronicles was. Some varied levels change the perspective of the hero and present a little bit more of a challenge. However, they are few and far between and still have the chunkiness and poor-design traits of the complete game.

Simply put, everything about Justice League: Chronicles misses the target by a mile. The narrative is uninspired, the visuals are dated, and the core mechanics barely function. How such a game would even be allowed to go to market is beyond me. At the very least, it's beginning to enlighten gamers not to invest in popular franchise games.

A Stain on Justice

'Justice League: Chronicles is just another offering in an era where developers think anything will do. It will sell by its name alone, so no need to budget for a more quality video game. Sadly, this isn't the only game to follow this process either around the time. Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis is one of many that springs to mind.

Pros:

• A pure representation of how not to make a popular franchise game

Cons:

• Clunky mechanics
• Repetitive and mundane gameplay
• Characters are hard to control with scuffled reactions and terrible collision detection