Superman Returns

Superman Returns for Nintendo DS is a 2006 action game from Electronic Arts, based on the Superman Returns film but built as a distinct handheld adventure. Rather than adapting the console versions' open-city format, this Nintendo DS release presents Metropolis as a strategic, hexagonal game board. Players guide the Man of Steel across the city while confronting threats inspired by the film's world and by Superman's wider comic-book cast.

The single-player campaign revolves around protecting Metropolis instead of keeping Superman alive. Superman is portrayed as invulnerable, while the city has a condition meter that falls when disasters and hostile activity are left unresolved. Each turn gives Superman and his opponents room to move across the map, creating a race to reach trouble spots, limit damage, and pursue villains before Metropolis takes too great a hit.

Reaching a disaster space shifts Superman Returns DS into a timed 3D action sequence. Superman can fly through compact city environments and use recognizable powers for the problem at hand, including heat vision, super breath, and X-ray vision. Missions can ask him to rescue civilians, locate dangerous vehicles, stop fires, destroy enemy equipment, or deal with other immediate hazards before the timer expires.

Villain encounters use a different kind of challenge. When Superman lands on an opponent's space, the game stages a prompt-driven battle in which button presses must be entered at the right moment to land attacks. These action tests sit between the city-map turns, so the campaign alternates between deciding where Superman should go and completing the rescue, destruction, and combat scenarios that follow.

The Nintendo DS controls use the D-pad for Superman's movement, face buttons for powers, shoulder buttons to change flying altitude, and the touch screen for camera control. That arrangement reflects the game's emphasis on flying through individual missions after choosing a route on the map. The story draws from the 2006 film's premise of Superman's return to Earth while adding comic-book adversaries and emergencies for the campaign.

Superman Returns also includes wireless multiplayer options built around its disaster challenges. One mode lets players with their own copies compete on the map-based game, while a single-cartridge option focuses on standalone disaster events. Collecting Krypton crystals unlocks a gallery of Superman comic-book covers, providing an extra goal alongside the campaign. Released in North America on November 20, 2006, this version stands apart from the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360 games despite sharing their title and movie license.