Justice League Heroes

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Justice League Heroes
Cover art for Justice League Heroes PS2 and GBA
Developer(s) Snowblind Studios, WayForward
Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Distributor(s) Eidos Interactive
Release date(s) Flag of Canada Flag of United States Oct 17, 2006 (PS2, Xbox, DS, GBA)
Flag of Canada Flag of United States Nov 28, 2006 (PSP)
Genre(s) Action RPG
Mode(s) Single Player, Co-op
Rating(s) T for Teen (PS2, Xbox, PSP)
E10+ (DS, GBA)
Platform(s) Xbox, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS and GBA
Media DVD-ROM, UMD, DS Game Card, Game Boy Advance Cartridge

Justice League Heroes is a console game released in the fourth quarter of 2006 across 3 different platforms. It stars the superheroes of the Justice League from DC Comics universe and pits them against a variety of famous DC Universe supervillains.

The game is an action role-playing game, developed by Snowblind Studios for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PSP.

While it is not based on the animated series on Cartoon Network, many have noted that the line-up is similar to the JLA group from that show as well as the original (circa 1960) roster.

Two handheld Justice League Heroes games were released at the same time for the GBA and Nintendo DS systems. The Nintendo DS game shares a similar visual style and gameplay mechanics to the console game, but serves as a prequel to its story. This version was developed by Sensory Sweep Studios. The GBA version is titled Justice League Heroes: The Flash and focused primarily on The Flash. The game featured 2D sidescrolling action gameplay (similar to 16-bit era games) and a sidestory to the console game's plot. This version was developed by WayForward Technologies.

Contents

[edit] Summary

The game is based on the Justice League of America, an iconic superhero team that debuted in 1960 and features most of the best known superheroes from the DC Universe, including Superman , Batman, and Wonder Woman among others. Each level consists of two members of the Justice League (usually predetermined by the plot of the game but sometimes a choice is given to the player over which characters to use) battling a variety of villains and their henchmen. When the game is being played by a single player, the player can freely switch between both of the two Justice League members and play as whichever one he or she prefers. In a two player game, the players can only switch which characters they control by mutual consent. There was another Justice League game in development from Midway Games that was cancelled in 2004 but according to Warner Bros. this game is "totally unrelated to the current project." [1]

Upon starting a new game, there are seven different characters that the player has immediate access to but more characters (as well as alternative costumes) can be unlocked throughout the course of the game. These unlockable characters can only be used on levels in which the player(s) can choose which characters to take whereas the costumes can be used anytime.

In the months prior to release there was much fan speculation and rumour as to which characters were in the game as well as to which characters were immediately available and which were unlockable. While Snowblind Studios eventually, as marketing for the game began, announced which seven characters were immediately available to the players, neither they nor Warner Bros. addressed the rumours and speculation as to the unlockable characters. Eventually, however, a picture was put up on the Snowblind Studios website that showed graphical renderings of previously unannounced characters and it was taken by most to imply that these new characters would all be unlockable.

[edit] Characters

The main set piece battles, advertising, and cut scenes from the game portray the seven characters who are unlocked at the beginning of the game. These are the aforementioned Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, as well as the Flash, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Martian Manhunter and Zatanna. In addition to these characters there are also other characters who are unlocked in game by purchasing them with tokens collected in the game world. These unlockable characters are Aquaman, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Huntress, and Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner. The PSP version of the game also has Black Canary and Supergirl as exclusive unlockable characters.

The core roster of seven characters closely parallels the classic founding roster from multiple versions of the Justice League - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Martian Manhunter, a Flash, a Green Lantern, and one other character. In the Comics the seventh character is Aquaman and in the Animated continuity the seventh character was Hawkgirl. Both these are available as unlockable characters. On their production blog for this game WB producer Jason Ades explained that the choice of Zatanna came about because they wanted the seventh character to be female and to be highly "game-able" (i.e had to work well within the game engine).

Each of the seven main characters has a least two skins that can be purchased in the same manner as the unlockable characters. These alternative costumes vary the characters game stats by small amounts and recreate classic or alternative costumes from the character's history. For example Superman and the Flash can be made to look like their older counter parts from the Earth-Two universe while one of the alternative costumes for Batman is the famous blue and grey costume with the yellow shield behind the bat logo on his chest. The unlockable Green Lantern have exactly the same powers as John Stewart and are effectively just a costume change and voice change.

[edit] Powers

Superman: Ice breath, super punch, man of steel, heat vision, flying strike
Has good long range and close in attacks, making him possibly the most versatile character in the game

Batman: flash bang, batarang, dark knight, grapple claw, bat attack
Specialised in hand to hand combat.

Flash: Charge, whirlwind, speed force, pinball attack, supersonic evade
Hit and run character, can attack both single and multiple enimies but lacks the power for attacking turrets or guns

Wonder Woman: ricochet, flying charge,lasso snare, lasso capture, lasso spin
Has a good long range attack. Lasso powers make her better suited attacking large groups of enimies than bosses.

Zatanna: Heal, time stop, firebolt, transform, protect
In addition to a powerful low energy long range attack, Zatanna provides support, defense and health for her teammate.

Green lantern: plasma bolt, detention,protection dome, sledgehammer, grinder
Has a long and short wave attacks, as well as the ability to protect himself or imprison an enemy for a short time.

Martian Manhunter: Mind burst, mental pulse, shape shift, phase change, phase strike
Good for taking out large concentrations of weaker enemies fast.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The game starts with Batman and Superman foiling an attack on S.T.A.R. Labs by robots controlled by Brainiac. After the two superheroes defeat what they think is Brainiac, they discover that they have merely been diverted by a duplicate whilst another has raided the vaults of the Lab, taking Kryptonian DNA and a chunk of meteorite. Meanwhile, Zatanna and J'onn Jonzz (the Martian Manhunter) face off against Queen Bee and her drones, who are being assisted in their gradual conversion of Metropolis by some of Brainiac's robots. After Metropolis has been saved, the League responds to a series of attempted nuclear missile hijackings; firstly, The Key attempts to hijack a missile before he is subdued by the Flash and John Stewart (the Green Lantern), followed by an attempt by Killer Frost which is foiled by Zatanna and Wonder Woman. Despite the League's efforts, one missile is launched undetected during a world-wide communications blackout caused by Brainiac.

However the League realise it has been upgraded; capable of breaking Earth's orbit, the missile has actually been fired at Mars in an effort to free the White Martians, who will invade Earth upon being rewoken. Superman and J'onn J'onnz travel to Mars to stop them from escaping; but this has been yet another diversion from Brainiac who, anticipating their success, took the opportunity to steal vital equipment from the White Martians. Brainiac has also freed Gorilla Grodd from imprisonment, who intends to take revenge on his jailors and humanity with use of his Earthquake Machine. Whilst Wonder Woman assists Superman in stopping the few White Martian vessels that managed to escape Mars and J'onn Jonnz returns to the Watchtower, the rest of the League (including any unlocked characters the player may have accessed by this point) work together to stop Grodd. Alone on the Watchtower, J'onn is ambushed by Doomsday who takes him prisoner and takes over control of the Watchtower whilst Brainiac steals a Mother Box from the League's vaults. Regrouping in an emergency bunker, the League manage to retake the Watchtower, free J'onn and defeat Doomsday, before confronting the real Brainiac in his lair.

Seemingly defeated, Brainiac suddenly returns to life as the Mother Box he has stolen activates - and screaming, he is absorbed into Darkseid, released from an interdimensional prison, who has been manipulating Brainiac all throughout. Confronting the League, Darkseid - his powers augmented by the Mother Box - seemingly kills all but Superman with his Omega Beams, transforms Earth into a new Apokolips and holds Superman prisoner in a Kryptonite jail. However, the Mother Box - a sentient machine - has in fact manipulated Darkseid's powers to instead send the League into another dimension, complete with both teleports to allow them to escape and radiation that will allow them to survive Darkseid's Omega Beams. Regrouping, the League return to Apokolips Earth, rescue Superman, and defeat Darkseid in his throne room, imprisoning him once again in his interdimensional prison and restoring Earth to normal.

Spoilers end here.

There are an additional 2 supervillains unique to the GBA version of the game: Circe and Professor Zoom.

[edit] Voice actors

[edit] DS Review

The DS version was not received as well by many fans, with Nintendo Power giving it a 3.5.

[edit] Trivia

  • In the cutscene where Batman & Superman arrive in Metropolis, Batman is first seen fighting a thug. When Batman catches the thug's punch and then hits him, a sound effect similar to those from the 1960's Batman series can be heard as each action occurs.
  • Only Superman & Wonder Woman have 3 alternate costumes. However, Wonder Woman's third costume is only available at the end of the game, and mandatorily used instead of her default costume.
  • The game includes a number of references to DC Comics. At the very beginning, to the left, a sign shows the image of Etta Candy, a Wonder Woman supporting character. The Watchtower recorder makes mention of The Riddler, Lois Lane, Perry White, Solomon Grundy, Booster Gold, Ganthet, Plastic Man, Vandal Savage and Doctor Light. Also among the Watchtower's recordings is a joke involving Wonder Woman's invisible jet, as well as a message to Zatanna from her "secret admirer." The message is spoken backwards (similar to her spell casting) and is therefore hard to decipher.
  • In the pre-completion main menu screen, the camera pans around the Watchtower, as some ships arrive, leave or fly past the complex. Superman can also be seen flying past the Watchtower.
  • Even though the game was based off of the DCAU, the characters look moe like they appear in the comics than in the cartoon.

[edit] External links

 v • d • e Justice League
Creators Gardner Fox
Characters List of Justice League members
Related teams Justice League Elite | Justice Society of America | Outsiders | Super Buddies | Teen Titans | Young Justice
Headquarters Secret Sanctuary | Justice League Satellite | Justice League Watchtower
Ongoing series Justice League of America (vol. 2) | JLA: Classified | Justice | Justice League Adventures / Justice League Unlimited
Previous series Justice League of America | Justice League International | Justice League Europe | Justice League Quarterly | Justice League Task Force | Extreme Justice | JLA
Other media Cartoons: The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure | Super Friends | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited

Live Action: Legends of the Superheroes | 1997 TV Pilot
Video Games: Justice League Task Force | Justice League: Injustice for All | Justice League: Chronicles | Justice League Heroes
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