Superhero games have been on the rise in recent years, with massive hits like Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series and PlayStation exclusive Marvel’ Spider-Man leading the charge. The technology is better than ever before to craft gaming experiences that faithfully simulate what it would be like to be many of the high flying characters found within the pages of comic books from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and others.
Of course, long before this modern surge in comic book games, there were older efforts that did an admirable job at adapting the source material to the video game medium. From jade giants to friendly neighborhood wall crawlers, many of these releases were well-received at the time, but may be starting to show some age in both the graphical and gameplay departments. Considering that video game remakes are all the rage right now, there are a handful of classic superhero games that deserve to receive a similar treatment.
The one thing that a player would understandably expect from a game based on Marvel’s green goliath would be to be given the ability to smash everything in sight, and thankfully, this title did just that. Perfectly living up to its subtitle, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction was a stellar showcase for interactive environments and destruction physics at the time. In fact, much of the on-screen carnage and gameplay mechanics paved the way for developer Radical Entertainment’s Prototype, another similar open-world action game.
Quite simply, the main gameplay loop and formula for the game nails a true Hulk experience, and doesn’t need to be tweaked all that much. If modern developers are scratching heads trying to figure out how to make a new Hulk game, players would surely accept an updated version of this classic title in its place.
Video games and shooting stuff with big guns go together like bread and butter, so The Punisher is perfect for video games. Armed with big weapons and a mean attitude, Frank Castle’s life is dedicated to bringing down all the criminal scumbags of the world, something which the 2004 release on the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox, simply titled The Punisher, perfectly captured.
Even more remarkable was that this game was a movie tie-in, a mix often infamous for resulting in cheap, cash-in products. The Punisher was anything but subpar, featuring solid third person gunplay, brutal finishing moves, and a fun storyline that actually tied itself into the larger Marvel universe as a whole, with cameos from Black Widow and Nick Fury.
One genre that continues to live on as gaming generations pass by is the beat ’em up, due to its simple yet flashy action, resulting in often being listed among the best multiplayer games. Developed by Konami back in the early 90’s, X-Men was a big arcade hit that has been ported to other devices over the years, but a proper re-release is long overdue for this excellent adventure starring Marvel’s merry band of mutants.
If a fellow 90’s Konami beat ’em up can return back with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, then surely the gaming landscape has room for an X-Men comeback. If anything, a remaster for this arcade classic can help promote when the X-Men inevitably join the Marvel cinematic universe.
For those who prefer a darker narrative and more hard hitting gameplay, The Darkness and its sequel rank among some of the most underrated first person shooters from the seventh console generation, superhero-related or otherwise. The storyline and set pieces are a perfect blend of old noir thrillers and gothic supernatural fantasies, providing a great mixture of more outlandish escapism with a dash of gritty realism.
The gunplay is simple yet satisfying, and controlling the The Darkness’ many paranormal powers should feel like second nature to fans of the abilities seen in the Bioshock series. A third installment was never put into development, but hopefully a HD remaster of the first two games would be enough to generate interest in this dark but unabashedly fun series of comic-based shooters.
The wall crawler is without a doubt one of the most popular superheroes of all time, which makes it all the more fitting that his first outing on the PlayStation helped usher comic book gaming into the 3D generation. Drawing heavily from the comics lore, the storyline in Spider-Man felt like a day in the life of the web slinger, having to tangle with a series of deadly villains and twists around every turn.
Although Insomniac’s new series of Spider-Man games have undoubtedly perfected the gameplay experience for this Marvel superhero, this classic title still has its place with plenty of charm and action packed levels. A simple visual upgrade, with some added goodies in a remaster could be a nice holdover for Spidey fans until the sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man swings onto the PlayStation 5.
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