After the miserable failure that was Superman 64, there were 2 brand-new Superman games just three years later in 2002. Atari had created Superman: Shadow of Apokolips for PS2 and Gamecube which was based on Superman: The Animated Series. However they also made Superman: The Man of Steel around the same time for Xbox which was based on the original comic books.

The plot of the game is based on the story found in the comic Superman: Y2K. Instead of Lex Luthor or General Zod being the main bad guy, it was the lesser-known villain Brainiac 13. The story involves Metroplios getting upgraded to become a “city of tomorrow” and B-13 coming back to harvest its technology. Other Superman villians such as Lex Luthor, Bizarro, Silver Banshee, Metallo, and more also make appearances.

The game is mostly time-based objectives involving Superman flying around extinguishing fires, fighting robots, or other heroic duties. Superman’s powers are also in the game with his arctic breath, heat vision, x-ray vision, and a few more at your command. And of course, many super-villains appear during the boss-fights.

Despite a plot was generally well-received, Superman: The Man of Steel failed to achieve positive reviews. Critical reaction was mixed to negative, as many reviewers stating that they were frustrated with terrible controls and boring missions. Never played the game myself, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss a super-adventure.