Developer: Double Helix (PS3, PS2, 360, Wii, PSP; “Silent Hill: Homecoming”) and Fall Line (DS; “Hannah Montana: Music Jam”)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Available on: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS
Reviewed on: Xbox 360

Growing up in the 80’s I can say I am a BIG  G.I. Joe fan. I remember having all the G.I. Joe action figures (even the one with the Kung-fu Grip) So I was ready, willing and excited about the movie and the game.

Set up as a sequel to the movie, this third-person shooter lets you (or you and a co-operative friend) mix and match different members of the JOE team (a list that includes Duke, Snake Eyes, Heavy Duty and Shipwreck, among others) who basically run around and shoot things, stopping occasionally to punch them or grab a power-up. and run in with guns blazing, destroying various objects and slaughtering thousands of evildoers; you never run out of ammo. The game lacks online play, but drop in/drop out offline co-op lets you and friend rip Cobra a new one. Each character has a unique special move, and the ability to don the movie's Accelerator Suit grants you with temporary invincibility and added firepower.

it’s based as much on the ’80s cartoon as the new movie—the game has a retro feel. In some ways, this plays like that old arcade shooter “Contra,” except you can run up and down, not just left to right. There’s a fixed camera set way above the action, and your primary guns never run out of ammo or need to be reloaded, so you can just hold down the trigger button and let the spray of bullets do all the work.

The problem is, instead of feeling old school, the game just feels old. There are some modern touches—you can duck for cover, and said cover is destructible—but these are only minor additions. As a result, the game just feels like a relic from the original PlayStation era, when games first moved from 2D to 3D but people still made them kind of 2D-ish.

And would it have killed the voice actors to show some enthusiasm? Sure, the lines are as cheesy as they were in the old cartoon, but that doesn’t excuse the woman voicing Scarlet from sounding like she’s reading off cue cards.

I could go on, but you get the point: this game is sloppy, poorly designed and deeply flawed. I strongly suggest, however, that you make it a weekend rental. Despite the furious shooting, The Rise of Cobra doesn't have enough depth to justify its exorbitant $49.99 price tag. On top of that, you cannot adjust the camera, shoddy controls make using vehicles unnecessarily frustrating and pick-ups sometimes hang in mid-air (JOEs can't jump). And while it's fun annihilating stuff, the brainless combat gets old quick. So while G.I. Joe : The rise of Cobra provides momentary thrills, it's little more than an overpriced and shallow romp through drab looking levels full of idiotic bad guys.

Had this been a $10 or $15 game you download off Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Store, it would’ve been a fun, mindless shooter.
“G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra” has more problems than it knows what to do with, but still manages to be kind of fun…in a rather low-rent kind of way.
Bottom line: Knowing this game isn’t very good is half the battle.

OVERALL RATING 5.2 out of 10.0