Somewhere along the line, as a kid you realized that tying a bed sheet for a cape and pretending to fly just wasn’t going to cut it. Thankfully, there were videogames soon enough and the early 16 bit side scroller beat-em-ups immediately come to mind. From then on, the big evolution process gaming went through was no secret and today every fan gets to literally live the superhero, with every page, every panel literally coming to life.
So many heroes, so many origins, so many tie ups, so many years and so many games are what make making a list of the best comic book based videos games hard. But, we can just about manage to narrow it down to an even 10 (in no particular order) of those that successfully stayed true to their adaptations and threw in just that little extra effort to satisfy the ardent comic nerd:
1. Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction:
Publisher: Vivendi – Universal.
Platform: PS2, Xbox, GameCube.
Year: 2005.
You’ve got to face the fact that all you really want out of a Hulk video game is to push your weight (well you could take that literally in this case) and smash everything and anything that comes in you’re path till you feel completely unstoppable. With that in mind, Vivendi put out a game out that lets you break loose as the Hulk in an ideal GTA-esque environment.
Don’t think too much, and while the game doesn’t require the Hulk to cram himself into little vehicles and sell drugs for money, there’s still people running for their dear life as you tear through the city, and cops and military charge in at varying levels to stop you. If you didn’t take the hint from the games title itself, then know that you get to cause destruction in ways you’ve always dreamed of after reading the comics.
For instance, asides being able to plain smash everything in site, you get to crush cars to make giant metal arm weapons and use round gas station signs as bowling balls. This would still be just a small bit of the creativity you can put in to cause utter chaos and you can also further upgrade the Hulks arsenal of moves.
Now there are still people who demand a worthy storyline to go with the madness and Vivendi heard there are prayers as well to deliver one of the most deserving set of story missions, with the coolest appearances from the comics such as General Thunderbolt Ross, the Abomination, Doc Samson, Mercy and Mr. Fixit. The whole package indeed.
You could also try: The game based on the Hulk movie, which let you play as Dr. Bruce Banner in stealth like missions amongst the all out Hulk missions.
2. Ultimate Spiderman:
Publisher: Activision.
Platform: PS2, Xbox, PC.
Year: 2005.
Ultimate Spiderman took a turn from the previous two movie based games to completely emulate the popular comic book series of the same name. The crisp and colourful cell-shaded image the game donned, immediately favoured fans who long waited for another comic worthy adaptation since Spiderman 1 and 2 of the PSX era.
This one made the list over the other Spiderman games simply because it was one of those cases where the developers gave some serious justice to the property they were adapting. Besides allowing you let loose as troubled teen Parker / Spiderman in an open ended New York and get the best of all his acrobatic swings and swift attacks (flawless at that, courtesy of what cell shading brings to the table).
The game would go on to make every fan’s day by letting you play as none other than Spidey’s crazed symbiote infected nemesis, Venom, in a parallel storyline. The only downside would be the entire story mode seeming rather short, but it’s definitely one of those games you would just want to dive back into anytime for the heck of it.
You should also try: The Spiderman 2 movie based (loosely) game, which featured slightly more control options and a storyline that went beyond the events of what we saw in the movie.
3. Batman Begins:
Publisher: EA Games.
Platform: PS2, Xbox.
Year: 2005.
This will soon raise arguments considering the sheer number of other batman games out there, but I would have to let personal bias take control to say, the darker the Batman game, the better. Based on the brilliant movie of the same name, directed by Christopher Nolan (that was followed by the greatest sequel of all time, The Dark Knight), this game has done well to steer away from the “lackluster” tag, that almost every other movie based game would so readily wear on their sleeve.
Sure there’s a lot of criticism that forces Batman Begins back into that category, but the real fan at home knows he got his kicks for the first time in a game that lives up to the Batman legacy of instilling fear in enemies and taking them out when their guard is down. Throwing in a few more stealth elements and a convenient special attack system is what really keeps you playing this game till the end. Needless to say, the soon to be released Batman: Arkham Asylum will most likely shatter every previous attempt to recreating the caped crusader in a video game, but until then, this is as close as it gets.
You could also try: Konami’s quick paced side scroller titled “The Adventures of Batman and Robin” based on the animated series
4. Death and Return of Superman:
Publisher: Sunsoft.
Platform: SNES, Sega Genesis.
Year: 1994.
You can’t possibly be serious about living and breathing comics if you have never come across the epic tale of Superman’s death and return battling the crazed killing machine, Doomsday. Spread across the pages of one of DC’s best selling graphic novels till date, it’s the most captivating story this side of a man who wears his underwear so proudly on the outside and uses a pair of glasses to hide his identity.
What a shame if they’d leave it out of video games considering they really needed something to save face after the long list of shoddy Superman games. Well Sunsoft (and developers Blizzard) took up the challenge at just about the right time and managed to get a decent sidescroller adaptation to the consoles available then, with a game that stayed true to the Man of Steel’s clear set of abilities and then pushed everything a notch further.
To explain that statement, once you defeat Doomsday in the game, you actually get to play as all the other makeshift heroes who claim to be the “real” Superman namely, The Cyborg, The Eradicator, The Man of Steel, and Superboy, just like in the original comics. The question of replay value gets covered once you realize that each of the claimed Superman’s have their own set of abilities, and the game would require you to start all over and finish as all four to get to the real truth.
You could also try: The way outdated Atari Superman game that ends up being more worthwhile than most of the newer Superman games.
5. Marvel vs. Capcom 2:
Publisher: Capcom.
Platform: PS2, Xbox, Dreamcast.
Year: 2002.
Back in the day, when 2D versus fighters were all the rage, Capcom hands down blew away all the competition. Now you’re already thinking Street Fighter, but were talking comics (yes I know there were Street Fighter comics sooner or later but you get the point), so let’s trace back to the first time Capcom tried a Marvel based versus game that used the Street Fighter engine namely, X-Men Children of the Atom.
This game hit enough success to convince Capcom to dish out other arcade favourites like Marvel Super Heroes and X-Men vs. Street Fighter. Hell, they even inspired some genius to come up with his own version of the engine, called Mugen, downloadable for people to create their own versus games and there were also a wide range of downloadable custom characters along with the ones Capcom already created.
All the more hype, and Capcom finally decided to go huge and combine the best of both worlds with the first Marvel vs. Capcom game which was followed by an even better sequel. Long, epic story cut short, you could either go back in time and try out all these games or go straight for the undisputable best, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 which featured all you’re favourites from the past Marvel fighters and more, with all their flashy moves and combos.
Also exclusive to this game was the ability to select three players in your team and button mash away to link moves of all three characters to reach combo heaven. Other than that, all that all you should really be bothered about is the fact that you get to play as so many Marvel characters and this game will always be there when your in the mood for a trash talk fuelled versus showdown with your friends.
You could also try: Well, all the other Capcom Marvel based versus games?
6. X-Men Mutant Apocalypse:
Publisher: Capcom.
Platform: SNES.
Year: 1994.
While were talking Capcom and comics, it’s downright unacceptable to leave their side scrollers sidelined. Most spectacular for its time, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse decided to revisit all those X-men stories based on the mutant slave camp of an island, Genosha. You get to play as any one of five of X-men’s finest, Cyclops, Wolverine, Psylocke, Beast or Gambit in a quest to crush the malpractices of the Island and free your mutant brethren.
Once again, memorable boss fights, comic worthy character animations and specific attacks are what seal the deal, but Capcom definitely added a lot my flavour to set this game apart from its side scrolling counterparts. Well, what they did really was decide to break out of the simple punch and kick format and give the controls a more Street Fighter-like style to make for a wider range of moves. Brilliant.
You could also try: Sega’s X-Men 2: Clone Wars side-scroller that was loads of fun in 2-player mode.
7. Marvel Nemesis:
Publisher: EA.
Platform: PS2, Xbox, PSP, Gamecube.
Year: 2005.
Though most reviews portray this game as a classic example of “what could have been much more”, its high time someone stood up for it just being so different. The brains at EA took a real dark theme, tailor made their own brand of superheroes / villains and threw them all into the Marvel Universe for an all new versus battle fest.
The new characters called as the “Imperfects”, all get their own twisted origins mainly to do with them being failed experiements of one Niles Van Roekel, the main boss in the game. Even though the storyline lacks punch at most parts to just facilitate a long line of versus battles, it’s the very same versus battles make up for that immediately.
The heavily inspired arenas are of the destructible variety and the camera angles really let you move around, setting the stage for a truly comic worthy showdown. An equally suiting combat system makes sure every Marvel character gets to conveniently use powers they’re best know for.
The game also goes on to feature splendid and highly fitting artwork and a whole bunch of unlockables, including playable imperfect versions of all the Marvel characters that gives you your money’s worth in an instant.
You could also try: Honestly, this game is more in its own league and shouldn’t be mixed with other similar versus games, well, at least for now.
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Publisher: Konami.
Platform: Arcade.
Year: 1989.
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (original TMNT creators) are living proof that those ridiculous doodles you sketch from time to time can go along way. Take their idea of giving turtles ninja abilities and a catch phrase spewing attitude that started off as a comic book series, and went on to deal some serious merchandising, films and the most memorable TV shows.
But, all along, the turtles were tailor made for video games and with that realization Konami put out the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game (soon followed up by TMNT 2). Now, while there’s definitely the question of the more recent and better looking TMNT games, none could quite match the pure unadulterated fun this game had in spades.
In fact, it was with this game that Konami realized they had thrown in just the right elements for their side scrollers to hit arcade success and they used the same formula for their future games like the X-Men arcade game and The Simpsons game.
Featuring colourful levels and situations inspired straight from the hit animated TV series, the game allowed you to play in 2 player or 4 player mode as any of the four turtles with their signature weapons and attacks and square off mainly against the evil Shredder and his fun to beat up clan of foot soldiers.
The game also makes sure to include memorable foes like Rocksteady, Bebop and Krang and threw in loads of other appearances while they were at it. Definitely, worth checking out for the nostalgic value alone and although it’s pretty outdated and hard to get, there’s a few sites that actually let you play the entire arcade game online for free.
You could also try: Any of the newer TMNT games.
9. Marvel Ultimate Alliance:
Publisher: Activision.
Platform: PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, Wii.
Year: 2006.
Along with the two X-Men: Legends games, Raven Software developed a third Marvel based game for Activision, but this time they struck gold with an all improved RPG that dug deeper into the entire Marvel Universe as whole. Fit for the occasion, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance featured a lengthy yet explosive storyline aided by some of the most jaw dropping cinematics to ever hit a Marvel game.
The game is worth buying just for the number of Marvel characters you get to play as and face off against. All those dream crossovers that never reached the comics are literally a character selection screen away and you get to command your team of four through levels that make you feel back at home with the original comics like no other game has.
Throw in the usual collecting items, level ups, upgrading abilities and unlockables exclusive to each character and this game is more or less celebrates one of the greatest comic forces of our time. Oh, and there’s co-op too.
You could also try: X-Men Legends 1 and 2 which uses the same engine more or less. No, wait, definitely more.
10. Punisher:
Publisher: THQ.
Platform: PC, PS2, Xbox.
Year: 2005.
So, this third person shooter didn’t deliver as much as we all hoped for, but it kept things brutally straightforward and in the case of one of Marvel’s most badass characters, it works just fine. With a storyline penned by Garth Ennis (DC/Vertigo writer who loves violence a little too much), majority of the games charm would lie in the graphic specially marked interrogation sequences.
These would end up with you executing criminals in the most gruesome of fashions and oh, the number of ways you end up wasting them. The game gets all the more points for most of these executions being rather creative. Also, on the menu for those with an appetite for all things gore, is the Slaughter Mode that’s lets you drop the guns and go all out flinging an endless supply of knives at enemies faces.
This one is for those who appreciate the simpler things in comic book crime fighting like threatening to run a guy’s head through a moving fan to get answers and can pass off as quite an amusing killing spree if you don’t look too much into details
You could also try: Capcom’s early Punisher sidescroller that played much like Final Fight and let you really trash your enemies
That concludes the list and might I remind you this is purely from one comic fan to another and in the world of comics, everyone’s entitled to their favourites. Still, lot of work has been put in to stay fair and I would like to sign of with a hope that next-gen will not only make for better adaptations to what we’ve already seen but also further encourage other comic brands like Vertigo, Image and Dark Horse to put out some stellar titles so that every fan gets his day.
- By Jash Singh Reen