Zounds! A movie-tie-in advergame that is a 16-bit platformer and doth not suck? And one that doth has been made by retro king Big Pixel Studios! Yea, verily! I personally may be a bigger fan of the Distinguished Competition, but any game that lets you control a Norse God that flings lightning and hammers around is certainly worth a look. Yes, it's Thor: Bring The Thunder, just released on the main Marvel site. Indeed, I've heard that the company has just released a 150 million dollar movie for the sole purpose of promoting this game. Was it a waste of money? By Odin's beard, I say thee nay!
Thor: Bring the Thunder has you play through 4 campaigns of 11 levels total, coming into contact with some of Thor's greatest friends and foes, including Sif, Enchantress, Kurse, Jane Foster, Absorbing Man, and others. Guide Thor with the [arrow] keys around worlds like Asgard, Midgard, and other realms, defeating baddies as you go. [Z] launches a short-ranged but powerful hammer smash, and [X] for a less-powerful, but much longer ranged and cooler hammer throw. Collect enough lightning bolts, and a full-screen lightning attack can be released with the [spacebar]. Gather apples for extra health and points, but watch out for spikes, trolls, and other villains. SO SAYS THOR!
Thor: Bring the Thunder calls to mind old-school DOS platformers, in terms of general play mechanics, impish charm, and slightly-frustrating difficulty. Indeed, the Odinson could give both Commander Keen and Halloween Harry a run for their money when it comes to slippery jump timing. Gameplay is fast, furious, and fun, with levels that are just long enough to keep you wanting more. Fans of the character will appreciate the various nods to the comic throughout, and even those who aren't will enjoy the Megaman-styled graphics and epic score (though the latter does clash with the chirpy sound effects). While some of the features are a little pointless (Survival Mode gets repetitive fast), overall, Thor: Bring The Thunder makes for a short, sweet experience that made me as happy as reading a good Walt Simonson romp.
Looks fun and who can ignore a reviewer that name drops my fav. Thor artist. I still have all of the Simonson Thors in my Mum's attic (My dad found my spiderman collection and sold them all...sob sob.)
For those who have problems running it on FF, try Chrome.
Hmm, all of Marvel.com appears to be broken for me. I'm just seeing un-formatted hotlinks on a basic color background, tons of broken images, and no attempt to load .swf files.
It might be a Mac thing. I'm getting this problem on updated versions of FF, Chrome, and Safari.
Gorgeous graphics, but boring level design and concept and slightly broken jump mechanics. 1-3 is a perfect example: a long walkway with nothing in it leading up to the first baddie. What's the purpose? Simply to bore the player.
The jumps are imprecise, making the one-hit-kill spikes impossible to avoid. Mega Man had tricky jumps but razor-sharp jump control let the player excel. Thor seems to have jumps so sloppily designed they feel random.
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