'Thor: God of Thunder' (DS) Review - Hammerin' It Out

When a superhero inspired blockbuster hits theaters, it's bound to make its way to video game platforms as well, and such is the case of Paramount Pictures' latest superhero movie "Thor." The Son of Odin is making his console debut on multiple platforms, each made by different developers, as Sega spread out the responsibilities for its latest licensed game. While the console versions of "Thor: God of Thunder" turned up as the excepted third-person hack-and-slashers, the DS received some special treatment, as the development was handled by little screen specialists WayForward.

THE BASICS
Filling the shoes of the Norse god, Thor, you have to defend your homeland, Asgard, from an invading troll army, and find out who or what is behind the invasion. Packing the power of thunder and your trusty Mjolnir, you have to battle your way through multiple lands and tackle numerous enemies that fans of the comic book (but not necessarily fans of the movie) should recognize. Instead of opting for overdone 3D visuals of its console counterparts, the DS version of "God of Thunder" is a thowback, 2D beat-em-up, reminiscent of certain 16-bit classics.
THE HIGHS
One Amazing Looking God
WayForward has a knack for making their DS games look amazing, and "Thor" is no exception. The animations on Thor and the enemies are smooth, the character art that appears during dialog scenes is well done, and the dual screen bosses look impressive. Overall, "Thor" packs a God-sized punch worth of graphics into a little package.
Dual Screen Bad Guys
The extremely large boss battles of "Thor" make great use of the vertically stacked screens of the DS, possibly better than any other game to date. While none of the bosses are particularly challenging, they offer a welcome break from the levels, and repeatedly prove to be the best designed parts of the game.
THE LOWS
New Load, New Load Out
As you progress through the game Thor can unlock power-ups called "Runes" by destroying platforms throughout the levels. Up to three Runes can be equipped at a time allowing Thor to dole out and sustain more damage, as well as upgrade Mjolnir. While the feature is a great addition to the gameplay, it lacks one key feature; the equipped Runes don't save when you turn the DS off. It's extremely frustrating to have to go in and reconfigure everything every time you start a new game, and it can actually lead to multiple deaths if you don't remember to do it right when you restart.
Smash, Punch, God-Power, And Repeat
The basic gameplay in "God of Thunder" is reminiscent of some beat-em-up classics, however, it runs into the same problem that entire genre suffers from: it gets really boring after a while. Level after level the enemies and landscapes are only a slight variation on the one before it, offering only a minimal amount of change throughout the entire game.
As Linear As They Come
Heading from left to right is pretty standard for 2D platformers, unfortunately, "God of Thunder" sticks strictly to that format. While the gameplay doesn't suffer too much from this tried and true formula, it would have been nice to see a bit more exploration throughout the levels. Chalk this one up to a huge missed opportunity.
THE VERDICT
Old school fans will be thrilled to see Thor get the classic 2D treatment. However, those thrills may be fleeting. While it is fun to trek through multiple lands beating down baddies, the gameplay doesn't change up enough to make it a really worthwhile outing. If you’re a longtime fan of the comics, or if all you're looking for is a short, mostly mindless diversion then the DS version of "God of Thunder" might be for you. However, if you're expecting something on the level of "Contra 4" starring one of Marvel's finest you may find yourself a little disappointed as you're bashing your way through thousands of trolls.