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IGN Review of Thor: God of Thunder
Thor isn't the worst game I've played, but it's certainly the worst I've played in a long, long time. To say the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of this game lack the creative gameplay and visual approach that their DS and Wii counterparts (respectively) feature is only presenting part of the story. Aside from being monotonous, dull and uninspired, Thor completely lacks polish in almost every way imaginable. This game is the reason movie-to-game adaptations have such a bad reputation.
Thor the video game is a brawler, sending players to do battle across various realms of the World Tree. Thor, in his rash, headstrong, warrior-like mentality, seeks retribution when a friend of his is thought dead. Through some machinations by Loki, Thor's actions lead to a deadly assault on Asgard, and when Thor realizes his people are in jeopardy, he rushes back to save the day. The story is a prequel of sorts to the movie, allowing developer Liquid Entertainment to conceptualize and realize worlds that Marvel Studios couldn't touch with its first Thor film. Though it's certainly commendable that all of the developers followed this common strategy of avoiding being tied to the movie's plot, it must be said that what's here is thin. You won't care about Thor, you won't care about Loki, and you generally won't care about the fate of Asgard.
The developer managed to add some complexity to the straight-forward button-mashing mechanic. In addition to melee and long-range attacks, Thor is able to summon magic in the form of lightning, wind, and thunder "spells." Experience points are earned in combat as well as through a built-in achievement system that features level and game-specific rewards. Building Thor into a powerhouse is a strong enough concept that certainly adds depth to the usual beat 'em up formula.
But that's about all this version of Thor manages to do well. To be honest, I didn't finish Thor. About three-fourths of the way through the game I had endured all that I could endure. This game is that excruciating.
Combat is a complete mess due to horrifically shoddy controls, a poor camera, loads of glitches, and lackluster level design. There often seems to be a disconnect between when you're pressing a button and what Thor actually does, and his move set is so wildly chaotic that you never feel like you're in control.
Hit detection is all over the map. What should be a swing and a miss -- by you or an opponent -- is often not the case. What should be a four hit combo might only register one attack. Forget about being agile, as well. Dodging projectiles is not as easy as it ought to be. Something will seem to miss you by a mile, only to hit you anyway. Clunky animation and glitches pile on top of this horrific affair, resulting in enemies that sink into the ground or Thor floating in the air as he falls down dead. Fear the "sinking enemy" issue, as it happens regularly, and in the wrong conditions you'll be unable to kill that critical last foe, preventing some sort of obstacle from being removed so you can proceed.
In an effort to add more strategy to combat, the folks at Liquid added a "grapple" mechanic that allows you to grab hold of enemies in order to execute devastating attacks. The concept is certainly awesome, as the moves are genuinely cool looking, but pulling them off is awkward, requiring you to run to a very specific point and hit a button during a brief window. Why can't I grab enemies anywhere? Surely a God of Thunder can do that?
Thor can move around larger enemies, but sometimes the developers require unmercifully quick reaction speeds to do this maneuvering, resulting in much frustration. The icon showing the necessary "grapple activation point" will also blend into the ground, rendering this often-required action completely inaccessible. I found myself running around mashing the grapple button in desperate hope of kicking off the attack.
Instances of glitches and poor quality control occur the more you play the game. One sequence involving Thor running across a collapsing bridge was so problematic I couldn't tell if the developer intended for me to leap over the rubble that was getting in my way or if I was supposed to wait there until I fell below without any real hope of getting back up, because Thor effectively couldn't jump high or far enough to save himself, despite not dying. In a few cases I found myself intentionally leaping off platforms in the hopes that the game's "save you from falling" sequence would get me past a troublesome platforming sequence. It's probably good to mention at this point that Thor typically doesn't jump when you tell him to jump.
Also, Thor can't fly outside of cutscenes and in limited, prompted cases. Why? Did Liquid forget it was making a game about the God of Thunder? He does fly in the movie...
To be fair, the game does have a couple other redeeming features. When you can actually line up a shot, throwing Thor's hammer at an enemy, particularly when powered up, is incredibly satisfying. (Though, to be honest, it's probably more because it saves you from the hassle of direct combat.) A couple of the bosses are pretty cool, though they still lack some polish.
Above all, one of the most disappointing parts about this game is that you generally just don't feel like Thor. You sort of look like him, but by and large you're fighting creatures that look very generic in battles that could have fallen out of any other action game.
©2011-05-10, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Thor the video game is a brawler, sending players to do battle across various realms of the World Tree. Thor, in his rash, headstrong, warrior-like mentality, seeks retribution when a friend of his is thought dead. Through some machinations by Loki, Thor's actions lead to a deadly assault on Asgard, and when Thor realizes his people are in jeopardy, he rushes back to save the day. The story is a prequel of sorts to the movie, allowing developer Liquid Entertainment to conceptualize and realize worlds that Marvel Studios couldn't touch with its first Thor film. Though it's certainly commendable that all of the developers followed this common strategy of avoiding being tied to the movie's plot, it must be said that what's here is thin. You won't care about Thor, you won't care about Loki, and you generally won't care about the fate of Asgard.
The developer managed to add some complexity to the straight-forward button-mashing mechanic. In addition to melee and long-range attacks, Thor is able to summon magic in the form of lightning, wind, and thunder "spells." Experience points are earned in combat as well as through a built-in achievement system that features level and game-specific rewards. Building Thor into a powerhouse is a strong enough concept that certainly adds depth to the usual beat 'em up formula.
But that's about all this version of Thor manages to do well. To be honest, I didn't finish Thor. About three-fourths of the way through the game I had endured all that I could endure. This game is that excruciating.
Combat is a complete mess due to horrifically shoddy controls, a poor camera, loads of glitches, and lackluster level design. There often seems to be a disconnect between when you're pressing a button and what Thor actually does, and his move set is so wildly chaotic that you never feel like you're in control.
Hit detection is all over the map. What should be a swing and a miss -- by you or an opponent -- is often not the case. What should be a four hit combo might only register one attack. Forget about being agile, as well. Dodging projectiles is not as easy as it ought to be. Something will seem to miss you by a mile, only to hit you anyway. Clunky animation and glitches pile on top of this horrific affair, resulting in enemies that sink into the ground or Thor floating in the air as he falls down dead. Fear the "sinking enemy" issue, as it happens regularly, and in the wrong conditions you'll be unable to kill that critical last foe, preventing some sort of obstacle from being removed so you can proceed.
In an effort to add more strategy to combat, the folks at Liquid added a "grapple" mechanic that allows you to grab hold of enemies in order to execute devastating attacks. The concept is certainly awesome, as the moves are genuinely cool looking, but pulling them off is awkward, requiring you to run to a very specific point and hit a button during a brief window. Why can't I grab enemies anywhere? Surely a God of Thunder can do that?
Thor can move around larger enemies, but sometimes the developers require unmercifully quick reaction speeds to do this maneuvering, resulting in much frustration. The icon showing the necessary "grapple activation point" will also blend into the ground, rendering this often-required action completely inaccessible. I found myself running around mashing the grapple button in desperate hope of kicking off the attack.
Instances of glitches and poor quality control occur the more you play the game. One sequence involving Thor running across a collapsing bridge was so problematic I couldn't tell if the developer intended for me to leap over the rubble that was getting in my way or if I was supposed to wait there until I fell below without any real hope of getting back up, because Thor effectively couldn't jump high or far enough to save himself, despite not dying. In a few cases I found myself intentionally leaping off platforms in the hopes that the game's "save you from falling" sequence would get me past a troublesome platforming sequence. It's probably good to mention at this point that Thor typically doesn't jump when you tell him to jump.
Also, Thor can't fly outside of cutscenes and in limited, prompted cases. Why? Did Liquid forget it was making a game about the God of Thunder? He does fly in the movie...
To be fair, the game does have a couple other redeeming features. When you can actually line up a shot, throwing Thor's hammer at an enemy, particularly when powered up, is incredibly satisfying. (Though, to be honest, it's probably more because it saves you from the hassle of direct combat.) A couple of the bosses are pretty cool, though they still lack some polish.
Above all, one of the most disappointing parts about this game is that you generally just don't feel like Thor. You sort of look like him, but by and large you're fighting creatures that look very generic in battles that could have fallen out of any other action game.
©2011-05-10, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved