Thor video game needs some hammering out

As is the tradition with big summer blockbuster movies, "Thor: God of Thunder" is the video game companion to the big screen debut of Marvel's Asgardian god-turned-superhero.

The game's story is something of a prequel to this summer's movie. It begins with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim breaching the rainbow bridge and laying siege to Asgard. As Thor, the player will travel the nine realms, battle familiar faces from the comic books and save Asgard.

The game's combat borrows heavily from games like "God of War" and "Dante's Inferno." You have your light and heavy attacks that you can chain into combos along with grappling maneuvers and magical abilities.

This is a standard beat-'em-up title up that will appeal to younger fans of the movie. Fans of Thor will enjoy playing as their favorite Marvel superhero, defending the nine realms from the enemies of Asgard.

Its clunky combat, poor visual presentation and repetitive nature, however, will likely put off most players looking for a solid experience.

Note: This article only addresses the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. The similarly titled Wii, DS and 3DS games were developed under different studios and bear little resemblance to the high definition editions.

"Thor: God of Thunder" is available now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.