Captain America: Super Soldier (Wii) Review

A German group named Hydra is fighting a war against the USA in a World War II-like setting, and they have taken control of a castle to carry out nefarious experiments, concocting a serum to create Super Soldiers for Red Skull and help them win the war against the West. It’s up to Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, to save the day. Captain America: Super Soldier starts off with a scene in the trenches during the war with a couple of soldiers getting into a spot of trouble while discussing the existence of the so-called Super Soldier, Captain America. As they are attacked by the enemy, it’s time for you, as the Captain, to rush in and rescue them, then lead them to safety. This puts you in your first combat situation, which controls very much like Batman: Arkham Asylum. During combat you throw punches and kicks as general attacks, using the analogue stick to point to the direction of a different enemy if needed, and when the Z button flashes above enemies that are about to attack from behind you are able to launch a counter offense. So far, so simple.

Captain America’s shield also comes into play. Where some enemies can be hit by a simple kick or punch, others will dodge. By throwing your bulletproof shield to knock them out with a shake of the Wii Remote, though, the perfect opportunity to defeat them is always within grasp. The shield can also be launched by aiming with the Wii Remote pointer and tapping the C button. It’s not the only use for the nunchuk’s smallest button; holding C activates a focus mode, letting you hit multiple objects or enemies depending on the amount of focus stars you have available. This mode slows down time to deal with enemies easily, but the Captain loses focus once he is hit. The shield can also destroy hidden walls to reveal passageways, destructible items such as fuse boxes to disable machines, and can be hurled at buttons to solve puzzles.

The final use of the shield is the most obvious: it guards Captain America from bullets and, as the deflector is upgraded, plasma rifles and lasers, allowing projectiles to be bounced back at enemies. Once the experience meter, positioned beneath the health bar, is filled up by collecting experience stars, a menu prompts ability upgrades. The First Avenger’s shield, combat and cap are all subject to improvement: upgrading the shield bumps up defence and the damage dealt out when thrown; combat increases your fighting abilities, giving Captain America more strength, combos and finishing moves; and topping up the cap powers up focus mode and the health meter. None of these upgrades affect the other in terms of usability and all upgrades can be collected by the end of the game.

Experience stars are gained by completing tasks, defeating enemies and breaking objects throughout levels. Some enemies and boxes also drop health which is needed when it comes to some bosses, and hordes of enemies. Around each level there are a number of hidden objects to collect or destroy that unlock artwork from the game and comics: three prisoners of war from the army, ten destructible Red Skull bombs, and one hidden treasure. There are also a number of Zola Challenges, in which the scientist challenges Captain America to complete a task within a certain time limit. Bonus experience points are handed out upon completion, but you can always opt out of them. The puzzles aren’t too difficult to solve, although it will be hard to complete every extra task given throughout the levels.

Normal combat applies when it comes to boss fights, though finishing them off is a matter of using the correct on-screen prompts. Many of these involve waggling the Wii Remote and/or nunchuk. This can cause problems if you’re a person who has fast reactions, since even moving the Wii Remote or Nunchuk when prompted to use the other results in failure, and the enemy getting a cheeky hit on you. The direct opposite happens on other occasions where the motion is not sensitive enough.

Captain America: Super Soldier controls well. Aiming your shield with the pointer never fails, although there are some Red Skull bombs that are placed in impossible places to aim at, even in focus mode. Sometimes enemy attacks are unavoidable, but it’s always possible to defeat them, and melee attacks never fail. The camera never moves into unworkable angles, but if you need to adjust it then that’s possible with the D-pad or pointer.

The character styles are reminiscent of Battalion Wars on GameCube, only taller, but the environments are small and fairly plain with some of the same corridors repeated throughout different levels. The music in each level is very much what you’d expect from a comic book game, with the more intense music rolling in during battles. Voice acting is good in both cutscenes and throughout the levels, and members of Hydra use speakers placed throughout the levels to either order grunts about or tell Captain America that he is about to die in various ways. The sounds from these speakers are sometimes too quiet to hear, but there are subtitles that always go along with what they’re saying.