In a summer where Age of Ultron and Ant-Man are hitting theatres and Arkham Knight is coming to steal my life away, it only seems fitting to look back and find some of our favourite superhero games to fill the comic void between releases… if you really need to fill in those two weeks with more comic book stuff (I do). Try as I may, I couldn’t keep it to just 10, so here’s the best 11 out there!
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11 – MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2
Let’s start it off is an arcade game that I dropped way too many quarters on (I think I may have just dated myself)! I know the popular consensus is that the third entry is the superior game, but let me explain this one. As a younger version of myself playing MVC 2, I spammed a series of special attacks from War Machine, Iron Man and Wolverine to get a come from behind victory over a grown ass man in front of about a dozen other people in a heated tournament in a crowded arcade. It was exhilarating! This was only one such event and I also witnessed even more thrilling matches in this games heyday. I never even came close to anything like that in the third one, even if it is the more polished game. So, here we are.
10 – inFamous 2
Not exactly your traditional superhero game, it is still undeniably one of the best. Returning as Cole MacGrath, this open world game was a lot of fun as you unlocked new abilities, beat the hell out of gang members and fought other Conduits. Another big plus was the different abilities that you could unlock depending on the choices you made, demanding multiple replays. Improving on what worked in the first, this game brought you into an exotic locale and a super powered world without all the baggage of getting into a comic book setting. It also showcased just how awesome electric powers could be and why Electro is such a great Spider-Man villain!
9 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
With a 4-player arcade co-op, this was a ton of fun to play with random strangers as you screamed out for them to take the top when they swung into your area of the screen and stole your pizza slice. It was also a great game to throw down on the SNES and have equally upsetting conversations with your friends. It also featured insanely frustrating levels (the sewer), superior voice work (Manhattan, 3 AM) and jokes that still find an audience today (Oh, my toe!). Showcasing most of the villains from the TMNT universe and levels that put you all over New York, this game still stands as the best Turtles adventure you will play. It was even popular enough to get an updated version, albeit a much shorter one, a while back which was very nostalgic for this guy.
8 – X-Men Origins: Wolverine
This won’t be the last time Raven Software crops up on this list but this will definitely be the bloodiest entry. This movie was abysmal. There, it’s been said. This game, on the other hand, was awesome! If you’ve ever wondered what Wolverine’s claws would do to a real person, fire this bad boy up and tear people to literal pieces! You can also check out Logan’s healing powers as he gets stabbed, shot and burned and then watch as his body regenerates. Basically, the intro of this game makes up for most of what made you angry about the movie version. I’m waiting on the Deadpool movie to fix the rest of it.
7 – Injustice: Gods Among Us
With a dimension jumping story, Injustice introduced a brand new world and (still ongoing) comic series that features some pretty cool alternates of our heroes. A bad Justice League, a still awesome Batman, a hero(ish) Joker and all the JL characters you could think of as you fight your way through this awesome adventure. The fight mechanics are actually pretty intricate, making it a pretty decent fighting game on top of it being a great story as well. It was also surprisingly violent, which I discovered while playing with my 4 year old nephew. Go ahead, ask him if he thinks Aquaman is lame – he’ll set you straight.
6 – X-Men: Arcade
Another entry that may or may not date me, but this game is another 4 player arcade co-op that taught me the dangers of carpal tunnel and spending your entire allowance on a single sitting with a game before I hit puberty. I always hated running out of money before finishing the game, but I did become a master of navigating the Savage Land because of my limited funds at 10! If you could rally 3 friends to come throw down on this one, it was going to be a great day. Since we’ve decided to remaster every game under the sun these days, why aren’t we doing something about bringing this one back?!
5 – Spider-Man 2
I feel very strange putting a second movie tie-in on this list, but give credit where credit is due I suppose. Spider-Man has had a rough go trying to get a quality game of his made. Which is weird because, again, movie tie-in! With an open world concept, you could web sling around the city, completing missions, helping out civilians being mugged or children with a lost balloon while carrying out the main story line that involved you fighting a number of classic Spidey villains. There was also one facet of the game that every other web slinging game has missed – this one had races. Yeah other Spider-Man games, races. That’s what you’re all missing! Seems obvious to everyone but developers of Spider-Man games. Lesson learned guys, lesson learned.
4 – X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
The mutants sure are making a strong showing on this list! I guess they’re good for more than solid summer blockbusters and poignant social commentary in action filled comic books! This one puts all of the greatest mutants in your hands as you roll out on your own or with a friend and take the field with 4 mutants. You play through a very well thought out story with twists and turns that takes you to some iconic X-Men locales and has you answering X-Trivia and giving your mutants the strongest and best powers to defeat your foes. There’s a plethora of guest appearances and even a few surprise characters – if you play your cards right. Raven Software defined a genre with this game and still has me aching for the third installment that they left a cliffhanger for at the end of the game.
3 – Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Hello again, Raven Software! This took everything that made Rise of the Apocalypse great and then had you use not just mutants, but pretty much everyone else in the Marvel Universe. Another co-op team up game (man that really works for superheros!), the Avengers, New Avengers, X-Men, X-Force and pretty much every combo of heroes you can think of are represented in this game. It also has a nerd-tastic storyline that takes you all over the Marvel Universe, quite literally! The invasion of Asgard is still one of the most memorable cut scenes in any superhero game and inclusion of the Watcher was just the icing on the cake!
2 – Arkham City
This list has mostly been populated by Marvel games, but no list would be complete without a good Batman showing! Let’s see here – Classic Dark-Deco style? Check. Iconic voice acting? Check. Lengthy list of villains? Check. Storyline that makes you want to push forward, collectables be damned? Check. A lengthy list of collectables that makes you replay it because you went for story over collectables? Check. Open world? Check. Your friggin Batman? Check. That really adds up to be the best superhero game ever, doesn’t it?
1 – Arkham Asylum
Oddly, it doesn’t! Arkham Asylum has beat it by THAT much! With everything that makes Arkham City great, add in a storyline so good it puts all pre-Nolan Batman movies to shame with collectables that that reveal even more of the story, it was enough to put it over the top of its sequel. It also revolutionized combat for Batman by (kind of) simplifying it with a dual button combat system. The free flow fight style as well as the Predator combat worked so well in this game because of its tight, contained spaces, something that was lost in the open world of Arkham City. This game also features those incredibly tense Scarecrow scenes that culminated in the amazing platformer levels that were equal parts visually compelling and fun to play. The first is always best, but I suppose we’ll see what Arkham Knight brings to the table. As of right now, superhero gaming doesn’t get better than this.
