For those of you expecting an open-world, superhero adventure recreating a full-on cinematic experience, Captain America: Super Soldier is sure to disappoint. Unfortunately, what you’ll be met with is another generic movie-tie-in filled with repetitive gameplay and a linear structure. This is another cookie-cutter game that follows the structure of hundreds of games released before it.
Don’t expect to re-live scenes from the upcoming movie. Instead, you will play through a restricted single-player campaign focused solely on exploring and fighting your way through Armin Zola’s castle, located high in the Bavarian mountains. Though designed to make you feel as though you were in a labyrinth, you won’t have any trouble navigating your way through the multiple wings and levels that exist, as the linear pathways and corridors pretty much guide you which way to go every step of the way.
Remember the cool scenes from the movie trailer? Captain America busting down doors, guns and shield ablaze? Or riding a motorcycle into a group of Nazis, with explosions all around? Yeah, you won’t do any of that in this game. Instead, you’ll run around destroying countless antennas, anti-aircraft guns, and tanks. Occasionally, you’ll rescue members of the Howling Commandos, but they are hardly memorable interactions. The game throws in a ridiculous amount of collectibles that you can find scattered throughout the castle, from ceramic pottery to important Nazi documents. Of course, these super secret documents are hidden quite well, like right on top of a table or in the middle of the alley pathway. Some of these items do reveal additional background story, like Armin Zola’s diaries and film reels documenting the history. Other than that, it feels like these were thrown in just to give you something else to do in between bashing the skulls of Nazis. Collecting these items and defeating enemies earns you experience. As you level up, you will gain additional abilities (9 maximum), but these hardly effect the moves Cap will perform.
