Using all of his many powers (including heat vision, flight and x-ray vision), you must fight your way through air, sea, underground and indoor levels of bad guys, bosses and puzzle elements in order to reach Lois and destroy Lex's mission.

The Low Down:
In 1998, BlueSky Software began working with French developer Titus to bring Superman, based on the WB animated series, to the PlayStation. At that time Titus had almost finished work on the N64 version of the game in France with their own team. Originally, the plan was to take the N64 game and port it over to the PlayStation. All that was to be done was to take the art and reformat it to run in a PlayStation engine.  Then the Superman N64 game was released. One reviewer stated "This game exists for the sole purpose of firmly establishing the bottom of the barrel”. (http://www.gamespot.com/n64/adventure/superman64/review.html)

A decision was made to retool Superman for the PlayStation to be a better game than the N64 with a new story and new gameplay.  Unfortunately, it was soon realized that this was a game that, due to technical limitations of the time, could not be done to reflect what was happening in the animated TV show. The PlayStation at the time could not draw very far, so flying outside through a city was nearly impossible. Additionally all of the large scale combat and physical feats that made the animated TV series so exciting were limited on the system (ie. destructible objects, physics, characters being thrown and or carried, etc.)  To account for these limitations, the story changed so that Metropolis was covered with a green kryptonite fog.  Thus in the end, Superman did most of his flying indoors.

After about a year of development, Superman was again re-designed.  In April of 1999, the Columbine shooting happened and was a big blow to the industry as the media were using video games as a contributing factor for the shootings. Scuttlebutt has it that Titus suddenly changed the game from fighting Lex Luthor’s henchman to fighting robots. Supposedly the developer was not allowed to have shootings of human beings anymore or realistic looking weapons in the game. This changed a lot of what the gameplay was going to be into a more switch pulling, puzzle based game which was very different from the animated show and the N64 version.

Unfortunately the license from Warner Brothers had expired. Essentially, Superman continued to be developed with no assistance from DC comics or Warner Brothers.  The plan was to surprise everybody with a finished product.  After almost 2 years of development, Superman reached a milestone: it received approval for release from Sony and issued a product code of SLUS-00712.  Many retail outlets were accepting pre-orders for the game and advertisements were created (see below).  By the time the game was completed, Titus was unable to secure the license.  Superman for the PlayStation was officially laid to rest.

PLAYSTATION MUSEUM EXCLUSIVE REVIEW:
When The PlayStation Museum was given a chance to review Superman, the worst was expected based on the experience of playing the N64 version.  BlueSky Software, most notable for Vectorman and Joe Montana Football, were developing the game.  Upon booting the game, the player is treated with a pleasant Full Motion Video of Superman in action.  Sighs of relief were expressed when the game actually began.  This definitely isn't the N64 version by a long shot.

The graphics are sharp and colorful; true to the animated TV series.  The textures used in the game are very well done and are more advanced than most other PlayStation games in this genre.  Superman moved with fluid motion and the resemblance to the actual cartoon is uncanny.  Within minutes the user will gain total control of Superman, unlike it's N64 counterpart.  It features all the powers that make the Man Of Steel such a favorite - flight, invulnerability, x-ray and heat vision, super strength, super speed, super breath, and a nasty aversion to kryptonite.

After the initial shock of the high quality graphics and animation, the user will soon realize that the game focuses less on action and more on the puzzle element.  Level 1 requires minimal force to destroy Lex's robots, but the intent is to have the user gain experience in manipulating Superman's powers.  The main objective on level 1 is to destroy the Kryptonite fog machines.  The next level has Superman saving damsels in distress who are trapped in a Kryptonite cells.  Superman must search for the keys to the cells meanwhile avoiding robots and other traps.  Subsequent levels will have Superman don a suit to swim through water channels or battle Brainiac in space.  It is worth it to note that each level is designed different from the last.  Rarely will the gamer see textures repeat in later levels.  Sound effects in the game are minimal, but stay true to the animated series. 

The puzzle element to this game was a complete surprise, but in the end it works out for the best.  Throughout video game history, Superman has been regarded as a failure.  The problem with other Superman video games to date is that the focus is on action from a comic book character who can practically do anything and go anywhere.  The PlayStation Museum will be the first to state that the BlueSky Software's version of Superman is the best Superman video game based on the animated TV series ever created.  The puzzle elements and superior graphics are the deciding factor in rating this game 90%.

PlayStation Museum revelation: Superman is littered with secret codes in the game such as clearing kryptonite or showing coordinates.  There are even codes to select a level, language, or start a demo.  But the one Easter egg that shows the developer has a sense of humor is the ability to change the splash screen to a picture of Lois Lane ripping her shirt off revealing her bra and the words "Keep your shirt on."