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Amazing Superhero Games

Superhero games offer some of the best graphics, characters, and plot lines in the video game world.

By Patricia SarkarPublished 8 years ago 12 min read
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Because of their charismatic nature, superheroes are characters that often translate to many art forms such as film, TV—or in this case—video games. In fact, it’s pretty typical to want to take on the role of your favorite superhero, and video games give you the explicit tools to do so. However, superhero games have a reputation for being generally terrible. Therefore we have filtered through all the usual dreck and pulled out some of the best so that you may live out your hero fantasies in the digital realm.

Easily cited as one of the best superhero video game series every created, the Batman Arkham Trilogyerrr... series if you include the mobile exports and 2015's Batman Arkham Knightfeatures three games starring Batman. The project was developed by Rocksteady Studios.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was released in 2009 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms. The game follows a long-running storyline from the comic books, in which the Joker tries to control Arkham Asylum and trap Batman with all of the criminals he has put away. Batman is then forced to fight his way through the inmates to catch the Joker. The game was met with much critical acclaim.

The success of Batman: Arkham Asylum led to the follow-up game titled Batman Arkham City, which also debuted on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011. This game was also met with critical acclaim, including a tie for highest-rated video game of 2011 on Metacritic. Batman: Arkham Origins was not met with the same overwhelming support. Given the awful reception of the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight, it’s not surprising that it was intended to be the final Batman: Arkham game.

Based loosely on the film of the same name starring Tobey Maguire, the Spider-Man 2 game released in 2004 was widely released for several platforms, such as the Nintendo DS and the PSP. The console games were considered innovative because they used physics-based algorithms to simulate Spider-Man’s web slinging in three dimensions. This differed greatly from the jumping and flying traditions of previous Spider-Man games.

As for the storyline, the console games begin with Peter Parker trying to balance his life as Spider-Man. After Spider-Man thwarts the plots of the Black Cat and the Rhino, he faces the threat of Doctor Otto Octavius. He becomes Dr. Octopus after he attempts to recreate nuclear fusion and loses control to his created metal arms. Spider-Man saves his aunt May from Dr. Octopus before having to face off against Mysterio. After a few altercations with Mysterio, Spider-Man is able to refocus on Dr. Octopus. After a long battle on the train, Spider-Man is able to shock Dr. Octopus back into control over his body. Afterward, he lives happily ever after with Mary-Jane.

The PC version of the Spider-Man game still involves Doctor Octopus as the main villain, but detours with other villain choices, including the addition of Puma. The game was received favorably on the consoles with many critics loving the web-slinging mechanics. However, the PC/MAC version was received less favorably.

While Prototype was not based on any pre-existing series, the game still features the makings of a superhero in the form of an amnesiac shapeshifter named Alex Mercer. Mercer must stop the outbreak of a new plague that mutates people into violent monsters called Blacklight. In terms of shapeshifting, Alex has the ability to turn into anyone by absorbing them into his body. A six-issue comic book was released alongside the game that reveals more about Hope Idaho, Elizabeth Greene, and the outbreak of Blacklight.

Prototype was well received when it was released, including scores in the 70s across platforms on Metacritic, as well as topping sales on Xbox 360 and Steam. As of March 2012, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide. Most of the hype for Prototype appears to be related to the movement style, character moves, and abilities.

Taking a break from the typical cross-platform release format, Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich is a PC real-time practical roleplaying game. The game is a sequel to the original Freedom Force released in 2003. The Freedom Force characters were created by Irrational Games artist Robb Waters.

The basic storyline of Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich follows the Freedom Force as they try to restore the historical balance that has been disrupted by villain Nuclear Winter. The historical disruption happens when he goes back in time and tries to steal nuclear weapons from the Cuban Missile Crisis to start WW III. The Freedom Force is able to thwart the original plan, but then discover that because of another disturbance, the Axis Powers won WW II. The Freedom Force returns to the past in order to restore the balance while fighting the villainous Blitzkrieg.

As the industry has probably realized, there’s nothing comic book fans love more than when a group of their favorite superheroes get together to battle their favorite super villains. As such, it’s not surprising that Marvel Ultimate Alliance arrived on several consoles in 2006.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance involves gameplay where players select teams of four from 22 playable characters. Players get special bonuses for forming pre-existing universe groups like the Avengers or the X-Men.

As for the storyline, players encounter several major villains including Dr. Doom, MODOK, Crimson Dynamo, Mysterio, Mandarin, Mephisto, and many others. The main story ends with the team saving Earth from Dr. Doom using the M’Kraan Crystal and the Muonic Inducer.

Reviews for Marvel Ultimate Alliance were generally favorable with scores in the 70s and 80s on Metacritic. Most of the love for the game is due to the extensive amount of characters available for play or that show up in the game at some point as an NPC.

Released on the Gamecube, Playstation 2, and Xbox, X-Men Legends gives players the ability to become a young mutant named Alison Crestmere. Alison has the ability to summon and control volcanic activity, and learns to use her powers at the X-mansion. Eventually she is able to go on missions with the X-Men as they attempt to stop Magneto’s plan to blanket the Earth in darkness.

The game received positive reviews, with rankings in the 80s across platforms on Metacritic. Most of the praise for the game regards its use of cel-shading, which makes the characters feel like their comic book counterparts. Reviewers were also happy with the powers of the characters and melee combat. The game was largely successful upon release, which led to the sequel called X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.

If you visit any video game/nerd forum, you’re likely to find fans debating who would win in a fight between characters from two different universes. Perhaps the result of that everlasting debate is the fighting game called Marvel vs. Capcom. The first Marvel vs. Capcom surfaced in 1998 for several console platforms including the Playstation, PS3, Xbox 360, and the long-dead Dreamcast. Marvel vs. Capcom first surfaced in 1996 in the form of the game X-Men vs. Street Fighter, which was available on the Sega Saturn and the Playstation. One year later, a game titled Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighters was released for the arcade. Finally, the first game titled Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes surfaced in 1998. Several games were released after its success, such as Marvels vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Marvel vs. Capcom Origins.

Though it does not have any storyline to follow, Marvel vs. Capcom does feature the typical style of selecting a character to use in battles to fight other characters in two out of three fighting contests. Most of the Marvel vs. Capcom games were released for distribution in arcade machines and then were later released on consoles. The latest game, Marvel vs. Capcom Origins, was released for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Given the standard format, if you like fighting games, there’s a good chance you will like Marvel vs. Capcom.

Originally developed in 2013 for Windows, Marvel Heroes is an online multiplayer superhero game. Players choose from over 100 Marvel characters and face off against Doctor Doom, who has obtained the Cosmic Cube. HYDRA has released several supervillains from their cells in Queens. Players then spend the game rounding up the escaped villains across several famous Marvel locations. The game was rebranded as Marvel Heroes 2015 when it received an update. After the update, the game attained a much higher score on Metacritic than its original mixed reviews. In fact, Marvel Heroes 2015 was awarded “Most Improved MMO” by fan votes on MMORPG.com

Returning to the world of who would win in a fight, Injustice: Gods Among Us is a 2013 fighting game set in the DC Universe. Specifically, in an alternate version of Justice League’s universe, Superman establishes a new world order after the Joker tricks him into killing Lois Lane and destroying Metropolis. Batman then steps in with other members of the Justice League to end Superman’s totalitarian rule. Critics rated Injustice: Gods Among Us extremely well, giving the game scores in the 80s across platforms on Metacritic. It appears that the most pleasing aspects of the game are the fighting mechanics and the extensive amount of characters available from the DC universe. In particular, it appears that the game captures the spirit of who would win in a fight between certain DC characters.

Taking on the desire that every Hulk fan has to smash, Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a Nintendo GameCube game (eventually exported to the PS2 and Xbox) that was developed by Radical Entertainment. Players get to control the Hulk in an open world environment, eventually facing off against Devil Hulk, Mercy, and the Abomination. Specifically, the Hulk is being hunted down by The Division, a specialized branch of the NSA, and players must unravel the mystery of why. Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction received positive reviews across platforms on Metacritic. The game was praised for its graphics, sound, boss fights, movements, and weapons customization. Most importantly, there’s plenty of Hulk smashing.

DC Universe Online is a free-to-play MMO developed by Daybreak Game Company. In the game, players create a new original character that interacts with the heroes and villains of DC. In a war-torn future world, Lex Luthor commands an army of super villains that includes the Joker, Harley Quinn, Circe, Deathstroke, Black Adam, and Giganta. The heroes they face off against are led by Batman. Players then get to choose which side to join as they work across different time periods to either prevent or encourage the massive war of the future. So far, the game has received positive reviews, with improvements in the world established across platforms. As of August 2014, the game had over 18 million users and was the number-one revenue- generating free-to-play title on the PS3 and PS4.

Following the releases of Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman was the first of the Lego universe games to feature an original story. The original story in question features Batman and Robin fighting crime through Gotham after the city’s most dangerous villains escape from Arkham Asylum. The villains split themselves into three groups of fiveeach group with its own agenda. The game received solid reviews across platforms, with most critics praising the game for replay value and the large number of locations in Gotham. Besides the general fun of Legos, if you’re a fan of Tim Burton’s Batman, you’ll notice that the game features the same soundtrack.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a video game featuring Marvel superhero Spider-Man. The game blends together four universes from the Marvel Comics multiverse, allowing the player to play as four different Spider-Men. The game was released on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and Nintendo DS. The story centers around an artifact known as the Tablet of Order and Chaos. When it is shattered into pieces during a fight between Spider-Man and Mysterio, it causes problems with multiple Marvel Universe realities. Madame Web calls on four versions of Spider-Man from four realities to assist her in bringing the realities back into balance: the Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099, and Ultimate Spider-Man. Shattered Dimensions received fairly positive reviews from critics. Reviewers generally praised the idea of bringing four Marvel universes together, and were excited by the voice acting.

After the success of Lego Batman, it only made sense that Lego Marvel Super Heroes would follow. The game features gameplay similar to other Lego titles, such as Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. The game alternates between various action-adventure sequences and puzzle-solving scenarios. The handheld version of the game by TT Fusion was released under the title, Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril for iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita.

Players have the option of controlling over 180 characters from the Marvel Universe. Galactus is the main villain of the game, and the main locations include a Lego NYC and Asgard. Lego Marvel Super Heroes received generally positive reviews upon release. In particular, critics loved the game’s humor, variety of missions, characters, and open-world gameplay.

Based loosely on both the backstory of the movie and an original plot created by Raven Software, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a video game released for several platforms including the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and the DS. If you’re not familiar with the Wolverine origin story, it follows Logan’s transformation from his bone claws to his procedure of bonding to adamantium, courtesy of William Stryker. After realizing that Stryker is out to get him, Logan escapes the facility only to learn that his girlfriend’s death was orchestrated by Stryker. The origin ends with Logan losing his memories after being shot in the head by Stryker. Much like the film, various versions of the game received mixed to negative reviews. Critics appreciated the violence that is characteristic of Wolverine, but disliked the somewhat repetitive action.

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About the Creator

Patricia Sarkar

Raised on a steady diet of makeup and games. Eager to share my experiences with the world and make a difference, article by article! :)

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