And so, we come to the second part of our Super-Hero celebration, which isn't a celebration at all - it's a ghastly parade of super-heroic horrors. Psyche!
It can't be easy creating games featuring characters who sometimes possess the powers of gods, and fly at supersonic speed, and can do - y'know - more or less anything.
But still... it's remarkable just how wrong some games have been over the years. Suffice to say, the default position of most super-hero games is "beat 'em up".
Appropriately, this tawdry selection looks as if it's been beaten up with the ugly stick.
It can't be easy creating games featuring characters who sometimes possess the powers of gods, and fly at supersonic speed, and can do - y'know - more or less anything.
But still... it's remarkable just how wrong some games have been over the years. Suffice to say, the default position of most super-hero games is "beat 'em up".
Appropriately, this tawdry selection looks as if it's been beaten up with the ugly stick.
5. THE INCREDIBLE HULK: THE PANTHEON SAGA (PlayStation)
The Pantheon Saga is one of the more forgotten Hulk stories, so it was quite the surprise to recall it was ever transformed into a video game... and even more of a surprise to have it transformed into such a horrible video game. It was a sort of side-scrolling, Final Fight-esque beat 'em up, but in 3D - so some of the levels had you walking into and out of the screen (though Hulk didn't so much walk as look like someone with arthritic knees gliding on ice).
What made it so wrong, apart from the appalling visuals, and the complete disconnect from the character's comic book adventures, is how underpowered The Hulk felt - lightly tapping his enemies multiple times, rather than punching them into outer space, or into clouds of red mist, as he should be.
What made it so wrong, apart from the appalling visuals, and the complete disconnect from the character's comic book adventures, is how underpowered The Hulk felt - lightly tapping his enemies multiple times, rather than punching them into outer space, or into clouds of red mist, as he should be.
4. WATCHMEN: THE END IS NIGH (PS3/Xbox 360)
So. You succeed in getting a license to make a game based upon the film that's based upon probably the greatest comics series of all time.
You have the opportunity there to make something that's a commentary on super-hero video games, in the same way that Watchmen was originally a commentary on super-hero comics - a political and artistic satire that may have been translated semi-successfully into a movie in a literal sense, but lost much of its deeper meaning in the process. Here was a chance to readdress that balance, and create the definitive super-hero video game.
So, you could do that. Or you could just make a really average beat 'em up that's not about anything in particular other than punching thugs in the face, in a succession of rain-slicked alleyways. Guess what they went for?
You have the opportunity there to make something that's a commentary on super-hero video games, in the same way that Watchmen was originally a commentary on super-hero comics - a political and artistic satire that may have been translated semi-successfully into a movie in a literal sense, but lost much of its deeper meaning in the process. Here was a chance to readdress that balance, and create the definitive super-hero video game.
So, you could do that. Or you could just make a really average beat 'em up that's not about anything in particular other than punching thugs in the face, in a succession of rain-slicked alleyways. Guess what they went for?
3. SPAWN: THE ETERNAL (PlayStation)
We appreciate that Todd McFarlane's Spawn comic has its fans, and has somehow attracted a number of big-name creators over the years, but they're always wresting with the fundamental horribleness of the original character concept; that ghastly 90s mishmash of cape, chains, and demonic possession. Just awful. It says it all that McFarlane's first action figure take on the character came with a plank of wood with a nail in it.
More awful still was this sort of Tomb Raider-esque beat 'em up - coming at a time when the creators' imaginations were some leagues ahead of where video game visuals were at. Given that it was based upon such a stylised comic book aesthetic, there's a certain irony in this being one of the worst-looking games of all time. Ghastly.
More awful still was this sort of Tomb Raider-esque beat 'em up - coming at a time when the creators' imaginations were some leagues ahead of where video game visuals were at. Given that it was based upon such a stylised comic book aesthetic, there's a certain irony in this being one of the worst-looking games of all time. Ghastly.
2. SUPERMAN (Nintendo 64)
Based upon the warmly-regarded Superman: The Animated Series, it's fair to say that Superman 64 (as it's more commonly known) isn't just one of the worst super-hero games ever - it's one of the worst games ever, full stop.
The flat, texture-less visuals were presumably intended to reflect the art deco look of the show, but just ended up looking unfinished - a fact not helped by excessive use of the N64's fogging feature to disguise a lack of draw distance. Given that the title character has supervision, this was more like playing a game starring someone with severe cataracts.
The flat, texture-less visuals were presumably intended to reflect the art deco look of the show, but just ended up looking unfinished - a fact not helped by excessive use of the N64's fogging feature to disguise a lack of draw distance. Given that the title character has supervision, this was more like playing a game starring someone with severe cataracts.
1. CATWOMAN (PlayStation 2)
Catwoman should be an interesting character for a video game, given that she inhabits the grey area between hero and woman. Unfortunately, like the godawful movie this is based upon, this fails on almost every level. Coming across like a sort of bondage Tomb Raider, albeit without any of the subtlety of design which made that series such a hit.
Crippled by appalling controls and a camera system that seemed to do whatever it wanted (and what it mostly wanted was to frustrate and irrigate the player). Interestingly, while Halle Berry may have wanted nothing to do with it, various thug and cop voices were provided by Hank "Chief Wiggum" Azaria and Jeremy "Hawkeye" Renner. Fact!
Crippled by appalling controls and a camera system that seemed to do whatever it wanted (and what it mostly wanted was to frustrate and irrigate the player). Interestingly, while Halle Berry may have wanted nothing to do with it, various thug and cop voices were provided by Hank "Chief Wiggum" Azaria and Jeremy "Hawkeye" Renner. Fact!
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