Iron Man (video game)

Iron Man
File:Iron man video game.jpg
Developer(s)	Secret Level (Xbox 360 & PS3) Artificial Mind and Movement (Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, PC)
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Mobile, PC
Release	May 2 2008
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player

Iron Man is a 2008 video game based on the 2008 film of the same name as well as the classic iterations of the character. It was released on May 2, 2008 to coincide with the release of the film in cinemas. The game is developed by Sega, and was released on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PC and Mobile Platforms. It features the voices of Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard and Shaun Toub, reprising their roles from the movie.

The enemies are Advanced Idea Mechanics, the Maggia and the Ten Rings terrorist group. The super villains in the game includes the Melter, Titanium Man and Iron Monger.

Plot

During a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries' new weapon, Tony Stark is kidnapped by the terrorist group Ten Rings, who orders him to build a missile for them. Instead, he and fellow captive Ho Yinsen secretly build the Mark I power armor in the months following his capture. During this time, Yinsen also acted as Stark's mentor, showing him humility and telling him of the horrors his company has caused, making Stark reconsider his life. Stark impressed himself after finishing the armor, calling it "the future". Armed with a flamethrower, Stark uses the armor to defeat several terrorists and destroy their weapons stockpile, but Yinsen is killed during the escape. Stark then escapes from the Ten Rings caves, but his suit is destroyed when he crashlands in the desert. Upon being picked up by the Air Force and returning to the United States, Stark declares that his company will no longer manufacture weapons, a move disapproved by his business partner Obadiah Stane.

With the help of his personal A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark develops an updated and more powerful version of his armor, adding Stark Industries new repulsor technology and flight capability. While testing his new suit at Stark Industries, Tony is informed by his assistant Pepper Potts that armed men are attacking the facilities. Stark then decides to use his suit to deal with the attackers, and notices that they are Maggia soldiers. After the attack, Stark discovers that Maggia is providing weapons for the Ten Rings, and he returns to Afghanistan to battle them. Using his new Mark III "Iron Man" armor, Stark destroys Maggia's weapons stockpiles and an armored vehicle called the Dreadnaught. On the way back home he is confronted by the United States Air Force. A pair of F-22 are sent after Stark--one is damaged during the chase, but Stark manages to save the pilot. He then establishes contact with his friend Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, who learns of Stark's identity and cancels the jets attack.

File:Iron Man 2008 Game Ten Rings.jpg

Iron Man fights against the Ten Rings army.

Tony then returns home, where Pepper Potts discovers what he was doing with the Iron Man suit. Rhodes then starts helping Stark in his fight against Maggia, informing him of a weapons transport in Afghanistan. Stark then follows this transport until it stops at the main depot, where he is confronted by Whiplash, a former worker of Stark Industries that was now working for Maggia. Iron Man manages to defeat Whiplash and destroys all their weapons. Stark then heads to Maggia's compound to destroy the rest of the weapons, and after infiltrating the mansion he confronts Madame Masque, who is killed when a wall falls on her. Stark then discovers Maggia's last weapon: a heavily armed flying fortress. Iron Man then attacks the fortress and destroys it, ending Maggia's evil once and for all.

While Stark was confronting Maggia, his corrupt business partner Obadiah Stane secretly recovered the first Iron Man armor in Afghanistan and started working with Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) to create a power source. After Rhodes informs him that A.I.M. has attacked a nuclear facility in Russia, Stark decides to confront them, also because A.I.M. was Stark Industries top buyers before he stopped manufacturing weapons. Iron Man ends the nuclear energy robbery and detects a strong radiation signal underground. After following this signal Stark is confronted by Boris Bullski, who created a titanium armor similar to that of Iron Man, thus becoming the "Titanium Man". However, Stark is able to defeat Bullski and then returns to United States. Rhodes then informs him that A.I.M. has attacked a military ship in the Artic, and Stark once again prevents them from stealing nuclear energy. During this battle, Iron Man is attacked by the Controller, but manages to defeat him.

After returning to Stark Industries, Tony sends Pepper to hack the Industries computer and find the shipping records, so he can track down the illicit shipments and destroy them. However, the facilities are attacked by A.I.M. forces under the command of Titanium Man, who was sent by Obadiah Stane to steal the Iron Man suit. After discovering Stane's involvement with A.I.M. and the Ten Rings, Stark once again defeats Bullski. Tony then returns to his workshop, where he is ambushed by Stane, who steals his arc reactor to create a power source for his own armor. Stark manages to survive, and is informed by Rhodes that A.I.M. kidnapped Pepper. He then uses his armor to save Pepper from an A.I.M. facility, and prevents the explosion of their reactor. Stark then decides that A.I.M. is a bigger menace than Stane, and decides to confront them first. He heads to their island and destroys their proton cannon, and later confronts and defeats the Melter. Stark then infiltrates a battlesuit factory and destroys it, ending the A.I.M. menace.

Stark then returns to the United States and contacts Obadiah Stane, discovering that he kidnapped Pepper Potts. Tony then heads back to Stark Industries, where he confronts an also armored Stane in the surrounding streets. Stane then flies to the top of Stark Industries, and Stark orders Pepper to overload the arc reactor at the building to damage the Iron Monger suit. The plan works, and Stane is defeated. After the defeat of Maggia, Advanced Idea Mechanics and the Iron Monger, Tony Stark decides to continue helping mankind as Iron Man.

Characters

• Tony Stark/Iron Man (voiced by Robert Downey Jr.): A billionaire industrialist, genius inventor, and consummate playboy, he is CEO of Stark Industries, a chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military. He builds a suit of power armor to escape the Ten Rings terrorists after being kidnapped while performing a weapons test in Afghanistan and decides to help mankind as Iron Man.
• Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (voiced by Terrence Howard): A pilot friend of Stark, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the military in the department of acquisitions. He assists the Iron Man in his fight against Maggia and A.I.M.
• Dr. Ho Yinsen (voiced by Shaun Toub): Stark's fellow captive in Afghanistan, Yinsen is a surgeon who has traveled the world and was kidnapped by the Ten Rings terrorist group. He saves Stark from death when Stark was injured by shrapnel, and uses an electromagnet to suspend the shards he couldn't remove before they reach Stark's heart. He assists Stark in creating his armor and keeping it a secret from their captors. He also acts as Stark's mentor and his death was one of the principal reasons behind Stark's decision to change the direction of his company.
• Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger (voiced by Fred Tatasciore): Stark Industries' second-in-command, who wants total control of the company. When Stark declares he will no longer manufacture weapons, Stane steals the blueprints for the Mark I armor to create his own, bigger version. He starts working with A.I.M. and steals Stark's arc reactor to create a power source for his armor. The Iron Monger later confronts the Iron Man atop Stark Industries and is defeated.
• Pepper Potts (voiced by Meredith Monroe): Tony Stark's personal secretary and budding love interest. She helps the Iron Man when he decides to destroy all Stark Industries weapons stockpiles.
• J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Gillon Stephenson): Tony Stark's personal A.I., which assists him in the construction and programming of the Iron Man suit. He also acts as Stark's guidance system and helps him every time.
• Boris Bullski/Titanium Man (voiced by Dimitri Diatchenko): An ex-KGB member and now agent of Advanced Idea Mechanics, Bullski created a titanium armor similar to Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, even capable of generating a force field and energy blasts. He confronted Stark in a nuclear plant in Russia and later at the Stark Industries facilities. The Titanium Man was defeated in both occasions.
• Bruno Horgan/Melter (voiced by Gavin Hammon): Horgan was once an industrialist who specializes in providing munitions to the United States government, and a competitor of Stark Industries. After declaring bankruptcy, he discovered that one of his faulty devices is capable of casting a beam capable of "melting" anything composed of iron. Horgan then adopts the alias the "Melter", and starts working with Advanced Idea Mechanics, building a giant proton cannon in one of their islands. The Melter later confronts the Iron Man in a room under the destroyed cannon, and is defeated.
• Marc Scarlotti/Whiplash (voiced by Zach McGowan): After being fired by Stark Industries, Scarlotti starts working with Maggia to get revenge on Tony Stark. He possesses the ability to stretch his arms as well as firing energy from his hands, and can also create a shield around himself. He encountered the Iron Man when he was destroying the Ten Rings weapons stockpiles in Afghanistan and was defeated after a brief battle.
• Whitney Frost/Madame Masque (voiced by Courtenay Taylor): One of the Maggia families leader, who have previously had a relationship with Tony Stark. When the Iron Man attacked her mansion to destroy their weapons stockpiles, she confronted him, and was killed by fallen debris.
• Basil Sandhurst/Controller: An A.I.M. agent, the Controller commanded an attack on a U.S. military ship in the Artic. When the Iron Man tried to stop his actions, the Controller used his powers to confuse him. However, Stark manages to outsmart him and stop his attack.
• Raza: The terrorist who orders Tony Stark to build a Stark Industries missile system for his organization, the Ten Rings. He confronted the armored Stark during his escape attempt.

Bonus features

Armors

File:Iron Man 2008 Game Mark I.jpg

The Mark I armor in the game.

Apart from the movie armors, there are various different Iron Man suits that can be unlocked after completing specific missions in the game. The armors are the following:

• Mark I: Tony Stark crafted the first-ever Iron Man suit as the prisoner of militants in Afghanistan. With the help of Yinsen, he constructed this key instrument to his heroic escape.
• Mark II: Tony constructed the Mark II with an emphasis on exploring flight potential. As the first suit of Iron Man armor built at Stark Industries, the Mark II armor was soon replaced by the Mark III.
• Mark III: Designed for customization, the Mark III armor can be equipped with a variety of enhancements.
• Classic Mark I/Tin Can Comic Book: This first-ever Iron Man suit was built during the character's initial appearance in Tales of Suspense #39, and this design originates from the interpretation from Iron Man Vol. 4 #5. An exclusive gold colored variant is included in the PSP version.
• Classic: Iron Man's first iconic armor debuted in Tales of Suspense #48 and underwent several subtle cosmetic changes before finalizing its look in Tales of Suspense #66. It was the first suit to feature the trademark palm-mounted repulsor rays.
• Silver Centurion: Sporting new colors, Tony used this suit during his fight with Iron Monger, his days as a West Coast Avenger, and in the first "Armor Wars" storyline.
• Extremis (PS3 & Xbox 360 only): Used during major events such as Civil War, and appearing during the "Extremis" story arc, this armor represents Iron Man's modern look. In this suit, he has achieved new levels of power.
• Hulkbuster (PS3 & Xbox 360 only): The name says it all. This, the first version of Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor, appeared in Iron Man #304, and greatly boosted the hero's strength and durability, enabling him to fight the Hulk one on one.
• Ultimate (PS3 only): In the Ultimate Universe, an alternate version of the Marvel Universe, Tony Stark requires the help of an entire specialized crew to help maintain this bulkier Iron Man armor.
• Titanium Man (PSP only): The Titanium Man armor can be unlocked after clearing the story missions on any difficulty. It is just a bonus armor, and the character movements and voice remains the same.
• Stealth (PSP only): An exclusive "stealth" type of Iron Man suit included in the PSP version.

Unlockables

The game features various bonus objectives and challenges to be completed, and also an upgradable weapons system. There are also unlockable armors and concept art about the main character, environments, vehicles and enemies.

Because Sega was also developing a game based on The Incredible Hulk, Robert Downey Jr. making a cameo appearance as Tony Stark on that movie and the presence of the Hulkbuster armor in the game, there were some rumors that the Hulk was going to make an appearance in the Iron Man video game. However, this was proven to be false.

Critical reception

The Nintendo DS, Wii, PS2 and PSP versions all received average critical scores between 50% and 60% on Gamerankings and Metacritic. These versions were generally well received by the fans, but also suffers from gameplay, graphics and controls frustrations. The UK based Official Nintendo Magazine rated the Wii version of Iron Man 15%; one of their lowest ratings to date.

The Xbox 360 version received an average score of 48% on Gamerankings and Metacritic, and the PS3 version received an average score of 42%. These versions were critically panned for frustrating controls, lackluster graphics, and repetitive gameplay, with Eurogamer awarding it 3/10 and IGN 3.8/10.

External links

• Official game website