S-Man

S-Man is (sort of) a re/demake of the 1979 Atari game "Superman", which I played and loved as a kid. Most of the elements of the old game are here, and I tried to keep the same feel and general style of the old game. The only thing missing from the Atari game is the subways, which I couldn't figure out a way to include, and probably wouldn't have anyway. Superman in a subway? Goofy. I've also replaced the x-ray vision of the old game with a heat vision ray.

You can play the original Atari 2600 game here.

The CRT shader can be deactivated in the ESC menu, if you prefer your pixels crisp.

Beware: this is an early BETA... you may be thwarted by villainous bugs!

Controls
Z (A Button) -- Run / Fly faster
X (B Button) -- Heat Vision

(What’s the ’S’ stand for? Strong! Smart! Stellar! Superlative! All the good S-stuff! S-Man!)

You are S-Man, a super-human alien from the long-dead world of Nypton, sent to Earth as a child to use your powers to help bring peace to humankind… and bust bank robbers and burglars in your spare time, apparently.

Armed with the abilities of flight, super strength, invulnerability, and a powerful heat-vision ray, you have sworn to protect Earth, and, most importantly, your beloved home city of Cosmopolis.

You begin the game as your alter-ego, Kent Clark. S-Man will not use any of his powers while in this persona, for fear of revealing his true identity. In order to transform into S-Man, step into the phone booth nearby the bridge to make a quick change while preserving anonymity (and modesty!).

Luth Lexor & his henchmen

Luth Lexor, criminal mastermind, is S-Man’s arch enemy. Lexor knows that only S-Man stands between him and his goal of total global domination, beginning with S-Man’s home city of Cosmopolis. 

Lexor has enacted an evil plan to terrorize Cosmopolis by destroying the Cosmopolis Memorial Bridge, while filling the skies with satellites armed with nyptocrite rays which will render S-Man powerless to stop him.

To help him in his plan, Lexor is accompanied by five henchmen. Armed with machine guns, they will wander the city wreaking havoc, until captured and tossed in the slammer by S-Man.

You can jail the henchmen and Lexor by running into them while flying to grab them, then flying them through the bars in the front of the Cosmopolis City Jail, on the western side of town.

Watch out for Lexor’s nypto-ray.

If hit by a nypto-blast, you won’t be your usual S-self but you will still be invulnerable. Bullets will still bounce off you, but they will slow you down. You will not be able to fly, nor use your heat vision, until your power is restored by the TLC of your friend, Laney Lowes

Laney Lowes

In your alter-ego as Kent Clark, junior reporter for the Daily Globe newspaper, you have a bit of a... flighty romance with the lead reporter at the Globe, Laney Lowes. Lowes is the only person who knows that Kent is really S-Man!

Laney Lowes is also the only person who can save S-Man from nytpocrite radiation. Lowes will find you if you get irradiated by a nypto blast, and will restore your powers. You can get dosed by nypto radiation from the satellites which Luth Lexor has released over the city, or from the nypto-ray of Lexor himself.

Heat vision

You have a heat-vision power which is useful against Lex and his nyptocrite satellites. One blast of heat vision at the very core of a satellite will destroy it. Hit Lexor in his heli-pack to disable his nypto-ray and slow him down. Lexor is a crafty opponent, however, and will not stay compromised for long.

Your heat vision power depletes and replenishes rapidly, so use it strategically. Your current heat vision level is shown in the upper right below the game timer. The vision bar will turn green if you are nypto-irradiated, to indicate the power is temporarily lost.

Winning

Your time is shown in the upper right. The timer starts when Lexor and his henchmen blow up the Cosmopolis Memorial Bridge, and the game ends when all five henchmen and Luth Lexor are in jail, all three pieces of the bridge have been returned to their proper place, and S-Man has assumed his Kent Clark persona and returned to his day job at the Daily Globe.

The downloadable version of the game will remember your best time (coming soon).

Landmarks and shortcuts

There are several landmarks which are identifiable within the otherwise unremarkable Cosmopolis skyline. Each landmark is connected to another landmark somewhere in Downtown. S-Man can save time on his mission by taking advantage of these shortcuts. 

While at or near a landmark, fly upward, off the top of the screen, and you will immediately fly across town to another landmark. Learning which landmarks connect with which others is an important part of lowering your game time.

The Helicopter

Coming soon.

Tips

• You fly faster the higher you go, but you’re also more likely to run into nypto-satellites.
• The color of the sky changes from one side of the city to the other, and can help you stay oriented.
• If you fly outside of the Downtown area (off the left or right side of the scene), you will immediately be transported to the center of town (near the phone booth and bridge).