Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters

Review

Common Sense Media says

Great visuals and smooth controls in solid action game.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is a sci-fi action game that contains a good deal of fighting (both hand-to-hand and long-range combat), though most of the violence is directed toward robots (and a few living aliens). The battles can get pretty intense at times. There is also a smattering of mild profanity, and one scene that indirectly suggests sexual behavior.

  • Positive messages1
    The story’s overarching theme is about the power of will being greater than that of fear. Green Lantern may literally use his willpower to energize his ring and defeat his foes, but he’s also figuratively using that inner strength to conquer his own fears. Also, the co-operative nature of the two-player mode encourages teamwork and joint problem-solving.
  • Positive role models3
    Hal Jordan never asked to be a protector of the universe; he’s just sort of thrown into the role. But he accepts his responsibility and treats his job seriously. He’s loyal and self-sacrificing when it comes to protecting innocents or his fellow Green Lanterns.
  • Ease of play3
    The nature of Green Lantern’s power allows him to perform a whole lot of special maneuvers, and here in the game, there are a lot of controls to remember. However, you get to set moves to different buttons yourself, which makes it a whole lot easier to remember what to press. All in all, the game is surprisingly easy to learn and the controls work very smoothly. The easiest difficulty level is forgiving enough for novices to make it through the full game without too much trouble.
  • Violence3
    Green Lantern can use the energy from his power ring to create anything he can imagine, and what he imagines here are giant hammers and baseball bats, swords, boxing gloves, explosive mines, and rapid-fire Gatling guns –- all of which he uses to dispatch his enemies. The vast majority of the enemies are robots, and their destruction is accompanied by loud clangs and booms. During some flying levels, you’ll target enemies through a reticule. Some boss battles can be long, drawn-out fights.
  • Sex1
    One female character wears a revealing outfit, and there is a story sequence that implies two characters have slept together (though nothing is shown on screen to that effect).
  • Language2
    The words "ass," "hell," and "damn" appear in the dialogue.
  • Consumerism3
    The game is a tie-in to the new Green Lantern feature film, which is itself based on a long-running comic book series. The game disc features trailers for the film and also for an animated Green Lantern movie available on DVD.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
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What's it about?

GREEN LANTERN: RISE OF THE MANHUNTERS, while set in the universe of the Green Lantern film (and featuring the same star, Ryan Reynolds, as the hero, Hal Jordan), is separate from the story told in the movie. In the game’s plot, Hal Jordan, who has just joined the intergalactic peacekeeping organization, the Green Lantern Corps, is witness to an attack on the Corps’ homeworld by an army of robotic assassins. These robots, the Manhunters, were the forerunners of the Corps, but turned evil. Hal and a few of his colleagues must defend the universe from the rogue Manhunters and figure out if a traitor among the Corps is behind the attacks. A second player can jump in at any time to take on the role of Sinestro, Hal’s fellow Green Lantern.

Is it any good?

 

In terms of its overall look, gameplay, and storyline, Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is an exceptionally good movie tie-in game. The graphics are fantastic (and, with special glasses included, can be viewed in 3-D on any HDTV); the controls work incredibly smoothly; and there’s a great deal of suspense and mystery worked into the plot. Part of the draw of the Green Lantern character has always been the diversity of his powers –- he can use his ring to create anything. And while you’re obviously limited within the confines of the game, you’re given a pretty broad array of powers to choose from. You’ll earn more as you play, and can cycle between them at any time. Rise of the Manhunters isn’t a truly spectacular game -- the developers could have worked more variety into the missions (far too many involve shutting down teleportation gates) and the robot goons are not the most compelling villains – but it’s a very good game. And frankly, that’s far more than we usually expect from a movie tie-in.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the violence in the game. As a superhero story that will inherently appeal to younger audiences, do you think there is too much violence in the game? Or is intense fighting something to be expected of the genre?

  • Families can also talk about the nature of cooperative play. Does playing a video game side-by-side with a friend or family member help you to relate to that person better? Can it cause problems? In what ways can co-op gaming help build a spirit of cooperation and teamwork offline?

This review was written by Christopher Healy

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This review was written by Christopher Healy
Topics:superheroes
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:Warner Bros. Games
Release date:June 7, 2011
Price:$49.99
ESRB rating:T for Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
This review was written by Christopher Healy

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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