Let’s face it, superheroes are a major part of our lives these days – be it films, comics or occasionally games! Since I’ve played a fair few superhero games in my time I thought I’d compile a list of some of the best and worst that are out there so that you wont have to waste your time with utter garbage just because you might like the hero *cough* Ironman 2 *cough*
Good: DEADPOOL (2013)
Deadpool is one of those characters that somehow manages to be beloved by almost everyone! A lunatic with a pair of swords, a huge arsenal of guns hidden…somewhere in his skintight red jumpsuit, a complete lack of respect for the forth wall and a face that makes him look like he face planted a belt sander Deadpool has taken the internet in particular by storm and it was only a matter of time before he got his own game. Deadpool handles like most other hack and slash games with the added benefit that the main man himself injects his own brand of humor throughout and obviously heals from any and all damage over time. However, when hurt Deadpool doesn’t go without a few scars. You can watch in real time as your suit is ripped apart and bullet wounds and scars cover his (admittedly JACKED) body while he insults your lack of competence in controlling the merc with a mouth. Not many games based on source material get the character so right but Deadpool does a fantastic job!
Bad: Ironman 2 (2010)
I mentioned it earlier and I can’t believe I’m actually giving it a second mention but here we go. Ironman 2 is possibly one of the worst games I’ve played which is a real shame since the first game based on the first entry in the now MASSIVE Marvel Cinematic Universe was a decent play. 2 lets itself down in so many areas it’s hard to know where to begin but I’ll spin the wheel of disappointment and what do you know it’s landed on graphics! You’d think in a game where a key component is flying around large open areas at high speed they’d make sure the draw distance was halfway decent but no, get any more than 25ft away from anything and it reduces to a play doh’ version of it’s self so the game can keep running at what it believes is an acceptable frame rate.
Not even having Samuel L. Jackson voice Nick Fury was enough to save this sinking ship of a game with all the bad reviews and poor sales its not hard to understand why Iron Man 3 didn’t get a console tie in game.
Good: Injustice (2013)
Now I love the DC universe AND I love the Mortal Kombat series. Crossing the two doesn’t always work out (more about that later) but Injustice is a fantastic game! As a superhero game it weaves a dark and interesting story focusing on an evil dictator Superman and the resistance against him with many emotional scenes and a real respect for the source material that a lot of franchises fail to capture. As a fighting game though Injustice is anther stellar entry in Netherealm’s history leading the way in brutal and rugged slug fests. Though obviously a step down from MK’s blood filled battering the battles in Injustice don’t hold back and you’ll be hard pressed to find anything quite as satisfying as watching Superman uppercut Batman into the upper atmosphere before jackhammering him back to Earth!
Bad: Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe (2008)
Now let’s get this in now MK Vs DC isn’t a BAD game. It’s a solid fighting game with a few features that really help it stand out but it’s definitely a low point for both franchises. Again the gameplay overall is fine nothing to complain about but the story is fairly agonizing to get through and the fact that most DC heroes refuse to kill puts them at odds with the standard Mortal Kombat characters who kill each other for a pastime! The real problem was aiming for a teen rating with the fatalities now being similar to the violence you see in a Hunger Games film that is to say non existent but heavily implied. So you start the game getting hyped to watch Scorpion burn Batman’s arse to a toasty medium rare and what do you get? Scorpion turning Batman into a school science class’s skeleton. So get it if you want an okay fighting game to soak up a few hours. DON’T get it if you want any kind of excitement or violence…get Mortal Kombat X instead.
Good: Spiderman 2 (2004)
Yes. I saved this for impacts sake… Spiderman 2 is perhaps the best superhero game and easily the best movie tie in game of all time! What did we want? To be able to swing around New York City just like Spiderman does in the films. What did we get? Just that and a lot more! The game loosely follows the plot of the film while adding several side stories featuring plenty of Spiderman’s lesser enemies like Shocker and Mysterio that make exploring the city all the more enjoyable. An experience and leveling system is in place to make sure you always have a new skill to use in battle or sick backflip to throw into your usual swinging routine, to keep things interesting! I spent far too long in my early teens exploring the city with the red and blue spider obsessive and webbing as many bad guys to lampposts as possible to make sure the citizens of New York knew just how violent their savior was… there’s a chance I wasn’t really role playing the character properly but dammit I’m not going to let those car thieves off with a warning!
So there we have it some of the best and worst the superhero genre has to offer obviously there’s more to choose from like the Arkham series or some shockers like Superman 64 (please don’t subject yourself to Superman 64!) There’s a lot more to come in the future for our favorite heroes and villains so let’s wait and see if they’re good or bad and then we’ll just have more memories to look back on with fondness or dread! (Oh how sick would a Judge Dredd game be!!)