Here's a thing: we're terribly sleep-deprived at the minute due to staying up late every night to watch Daredevil on Netflix (and then going out afterwards to commit vigilante assaults until the early hours). It was very good. Though a bit less good towards the end, and the climactic battle that the whole series had been building towards was (SPOILERS) basically a cosplay ninja beating up a fat asthmatic in an alley.
Also, we preferred the black costume. Street-level super-hero outfits should be simple - not covered in studs and straps, and machine-hewn rubbery armour bits. Pfft.
Anyway. Between that and Avengers: Age of Ultron being released later this week, we're stoked-up into such a frenzy of super-hero excitement that if we strained hard enough we could probably poo a cape.
To celebrate this feat of improbably human biology, we're going to run down our 5 Favourite Super-Hero Games - and our 5 Least Favourite Super-Hero Games. First up... here come the splendids.
Also, we preferred the black costume. Street-level super-hero outfits should be simple - not covered in studs and straps, and machine-hewn rubbery armour bits. Pfft.
Anyway. Between that and Avengers: Age of Ultron being released later this week, we're stoked-up into such a frenzy of super-hero excitement that if we strained hard enough we could probably poo a cape.
To celebrate this feat of improbably human biology, we're going to run down our 5 Favourite Super-Hero Games - and our 5 Least Favourite Super-Hero Games. First up... here come the splendids.
5. BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY (PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U/PC)
Did you see that Batman Vs Superman trailer the other day? That was a bit dark and depressing wasn't it? It didn't exactly get us excited for the film. Indeed, it mostly just gave us a huge knot of anxiety in our stomachs, and made us want to gnaw our own hands off. Call us old fashioned, but Superman shouldn't exist in a world that dark and grim; he should be about optimism and hope, and running around in pants and tights, like a perverted, Brylcreemed gymnast.
We read an absurd quote the other day about the decision to have Superman snap General Zod's neck in Man of Steel. Apparently, that was because the filmmakers wanted to show where Superman's aversion to killing came from. Well, we dunno about the rest of you, but we assume most people don't have to murder anyone to develop an aversion to killing. We would've hoped that Superman's Smallville upbringing would've instilled that value in him.
Then again, who knows what goes on in Kansas? Maybe those wheat fields are soaked in the blood of countless senseless slaughters, or maybe the filmmakers are just trying to apply Christopher Nolan's overrated Dark Knight grimness to a character who should be the absolute opposite.
See, that's Batman's territory - and the perpetual twilight of the Arkham games get that spot-on, and succeed in capturing the absurdity of Gotham's rogue's gallery, and Batman's incongruous detective skills. Arkham City is probably the best of the bunch (though Arkham Knight is looking promising).
We read an absurd quote the other day about the decision to have Superman snap General Zod's neck in Man of Steel. Apparently, that was because the filmmakers wanted to show where Superman's aversion to killing came from. Well, we dunno about the rest of you, but we assume most people don't have to murder anyone to develop an aversion to killing. We would've hoped that Superman's Smallville upbringing would've instilled that value in him.
Then again, who knows what goes on in Kansas? Maybe those wheat fields are soaked in the blood of countless senseless slaughters, or maybe the filmmakers are just trying to apply Christopher Nolan's overrated Dark Knight grimness to a character who should be the absolute opposite.
See, that's Batman's territory - and the perpetual twilight of the Arkham games get that spot-on, and succeed in capturing the absurdity of Gotham's rogue's gallery, and Batman's incongruous detective skills. Arkham City is probably the best of the bunch (though Arkham Knight is looking promising).
4. HULK: ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION (PS2/Xbox/GameCube)
Realistically, if someone got pumped with a huge dose of gamma radiation they'd probably get some real bad cancer and that. However, we doubt that would make for a very interesting super-hero comic, even if they did decided to run around the streets in naught but a pair of fashionably-distressed purple jeans.
What do you want from a game where you control a massive, green, rage monster possessed of superhuman strength? You want to be able to smash stuff up - and that's what Ultimate Destruction got down pat. Set in an open world - where cars and buses were tossed aside without thought, and buildings could be demolished with a round of applause - it saw the big guy face off against Russian lizard-Hulk The Ambomination. For most of the game, Hulk was pretty much unstoppable. That's how it should be.
What do you want from a game where you control a massive, green, rage monster possessed of superhuman strength? You want to be able to smash stuff up - and that's what Ultimate Destruction got down pat. Set in an open world - where cars and buses were tossed aside without thought, and buildings could be demolished with a round of applause - it saw the big guy face off against Russian lizard-Hulk The Ambomination. For most of the game, Hulk was pretty much unstoppable. That's how it should be.
3. INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U/PC)
Look... look... it's Batman Vs Superman before Batman Vs Superman was even announced. You can even "Kick Your Opponent Into The Bat Computer".
We like Injustice for its plot, for its exhaustive roster of DC Comics characters - including less obvious inclusions, such as Solomon Grundy, Raven and Lobo - and its solid gameplay. However, we admit to having reservations about the costume reworkings, which made everything seem a bit over-designed and fiddly (y'know, like that Daredevil suit we whinged about earlier).
Still, if you ever want to bear witness to the unlikely scenario of The Joker kicking Superman through a wall... Injustice is your go-to-game.
We like Injustice for its plot, for its exhaustive roster of DC Comics characters - including less obvious inclusions, such as Solomon Grundy, Raven and Lobo - and its solid gameplay. However, we admit to having reservations about the costume reworkings, which made everything seem a bit over-designed and fiddly (y'know, like that Daredevil suit we whinged about earlier).
Still, if you ever want to bear witness to the unlikely scenario of The Joker kicking Superman through a wall... Injustice is your go-to-game.
2. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (PS2/Xbox/PC)
Marvel's Ultimate comics line started strong - The Ultimates was a huge influence on the first Avengers movie, and the early issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four apparently form the basis from Josh Trank's upcoming Fantastic Four movie (albeit, judging from they trailers, it's another one that's been dragged through Christopher Nolan's Grim N' Gritty-Dark Knight-O-Matic Machine).
Alas, somewhere along the way, Marvel's grand experiment went off the rails and lost its focus. Only Ultimate Spider-Man has remained consistent - albeit with Peter Parker giving way to Miles Morales. But now, even that looks like it's about to be cancelled.
Anyway. This is all preamble to say that the Ultimate Spider-Man game got what made the comics so great - just as The Ultimate Spider-Man comic got what made Spider-Man great in the first place. From swinging around a huge open world New York, to juggling the responsibilities of super-hero life with those of a 16 year-old boy (girlfriends, schoolwork, making Minecraft videos...), it felt about as credible as a super-hero game has ever got. Not least because it even had a plot by Ultimate Spider-Man comics writer Brian Michael Bendis.
Alas, somewhere along the way, Marvel's grand experiment went off the rails and lost its focus. Only Ultimate Spider-Man has remained consistent - albeit with Peter Parker giving way to Miles Morales. But now, even that looks like it's about to be cancelled.
Anyway. This is all preamble to say that the Ultimate Spider-Man game got what made the comics so great - just as The Ultimate Spider-Man comic got what made Spider-Man great in the first place. From swinging around a huge open world New York, to juggling the responsibilities of super-hero life with those of a 16 year-old boy (girlfriends, schoolwork, making Minecraft videos...), it felt about as credible as a super-hero game has ever got. Not least because it even had a plot by Ultimate Spider-Man comics writer Brian Michael Bendis.
1. LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER-HEROES (Almost everything)
Admittedly - like all the licensed Lego games - might not be the most authentic game in terms of tone, but Lego Batman 2 is a relentless Easter egg-fest for any DC Comics fan. Seemingly peering into every last corner of the DC Universe, it successfully captures the sheer absurdist joy of what makes comics super-heroes great.
The Lego format might be getting slightly stale now - frankly, it's feeling a bit like they just re-skin the levels and characters - but Lego Batman 2 is exciting, funny, and possibly the best Lego game to date. Where do they go from here? A Lego Minecraft game, surely? Boom. You can have that idea for nothing.
The Lego format might be getting slightly stale now - frankly, it's feeling a bit like they just re-skin the levels and characters - but Lego Batman 2 is exciting, funny, and possibly the best Lego game to date. Where do they go from here? A Lego Minecraft game, surely? Boom. You can have that idea for nothing.
RSS Feed
