Very few games manage to set the bar even lower for movie tie-ins, but Clash of the Titans does just that. Based on the remake of the same name and just in time for the…DVD release of the film, this game seems like it might be a bit better than your average video game based on a movie. It has been given a bit of extra development time, which you would think might help, but it won’t take you long before you realize that it didn’t make a bit of difference in the end.
The game’s presentation is absolutely horrible. The graphics seem like they are best suited for a launch PS2 game, and the voice acting (featuring none of the actors from the film) is as dull as the lines they are speaking. It sounds as if the voice actors are simply phoning it in, with none of the characters sounding anything like their big screen counterparts. Although I would also be inclined to believe a lot of them are just part of the development team who have been thrown into a recording booth and told to read lines as emotionless as possible.
The controls work sometimes, which is probably the nicest thing I can say about them. There is often this delay between your button presses and the actions on screen, especially when trying to pull of very precise combo attacks. The action is never too intense that it really matters though, however the camera will definitely not help in your battles against the waves upon waves of generic enemies. You’ll be lucky if it actually stays focused on the enemy you are facing. There is a way to lock onto specific targets, but it, like the camera, is finicky at best.
So the presentation is weak and the controls are a bit off, but how is the overall structure of the gameplay? Well, it works like this. You run into an area with a crowd of enemies, fight your way through them, and then move to the next area with a new group of enemies. There is rarely any variety in both the environments and the enemies you face, and if there are new enemy types that pop up, they are never smart enough to pose any sort of threat either way.
The combat just feels shallow and unresponsive. You never feel like you are actually timing your many combo attacks properly, and if you do land any, it is done by sheer luck. You never get a sense of impact from any of the attacks like you would in games such as God of War or Bayonetta. You can upgrade your weapons, but it does absolutely nothing to help; you will shortly learn that just mashing the same attack buttons works on all enemies no matter what weapon you use or level the weapon has been upgraded to.
Oh, there are plenty of item collecting objectives and fetch quests to “vary” up the gameplay, but I guarantee none of these actually offer any real excitement or challenge. The only fun I ever had with the gameplay is when the bosses come up, because if anything, they offer a nice break from the norm and give you more of a challenge than most enemies you encounter. Sure, a lot of the bosses themselves are not terribly exciting, but they are a hell of a lot better than the mindless drones you face throughout your gameplay session.
It’s pretty much impossible to recommend Clash of the Titans to anyone. If you liked the movie, you might consider giving this one a rent, but I guarantee that it is very hard to find any enjoyment here. If there is anything Clash of the Titans does well, it lowers the already very low standard for video games based on movies by being one of the worst to ever come out. Avoid at all costs.
Pros: The boss battles are kind of fun
Cons: Horrible presentation; very shallow and tedious combat; imprecise controls and camera; lots of pointless item collecting and weapon upgrading
