To gamers, writers, publishers, artists, and developers comic books and video games tend to go together in harmony. The artists and writers can work together to either recreate a popular story, or they can branch out to develop something new. The publishers and developers work to the best of their abilities (most of the time) to showcase the power a certain character has, or the gadgets at their disposal. In the end we as gamers (usually) benefit.
Whether it’s coming from roaming the halls of Arkham Asylum, crawling the skyscrapers of New York City, or fighting off Galactus to save the world, all those elements come together like a perfect sandwich. However in many instances, the bread is rotten, the cheese is too crunchy, the drink you wash it down with has gone flat, or they committed the ultimate offense of making the game for the movie instead of the character itself.
Still though, just in time for the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, I present to you gamers, comic book fans, and hopefully someone that has some power in a company…
The Top 5 Comic Book Characters That Deserve A Game
Honorable Mention-The Punisher: It’s been done, but the Punisher game was just okay, but what made that game . Frank Castle deserves better. I would suggest the origin of how Frank Castle becomes The Punisher. Torture would still remain however if you go too far, you need to find another way to get a lead as to who’s trying to kill you and why. I see a mix of crime solving, interrogating suspects, deciding if they live or die (brutally), and a good amount of shooting.
5) The Incredible Hulk: Let’s get one thing straight, Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction was AWESOME!!! No other game in the history of the big green guy gave a gamer the genuine feel of unrivaled, raw power. However Ultimate Destruction was released in 2005. And while Marvel vs. Capcom 3 delivered a brief display of that power, personally I think it’s time Hulk gets to go out on his own in HD throwing tanks, punching missiles back at helicopters, using cars as boxing gloves, and doing that “smashing” thing The Incredible Hulk is known for.
4) The Walking Dead: With both zombies being very popular, and the television show on A.M.C. doing very strong ratings it might be a great time to cash in with a game based on the comic book. Though to give it justice, they shouldn’t make this a traditional zombie game. What L.A. Noire is to Grand Theft Auto, The Walking Dead should stand alone based on decision making, survival, and the occasional “kill zombies to get out of here” type game. Take an element of Heavy Rain where a main character can die, and branch that off into how it effects your group. Make a Walking Dead game the “survival game”, rather than the “kill zombies” game. Although zombie game with a popular following already might have a lot going for it, so it might just be a “kill zombies” game.
3) Power Man & Iron Fist: These two are lesser known characters of the Marvel universe, and since they are, I would suggest making this an X-Box Live Arcade/Playstation Network downloadable type game. Make this game that old school side scrolling brawler but with a Grindhouse type of feel to it to give it a gritty type feel to the game. 2 player Co-op can be an option but as the single player you can go with the quicker Iron Fist, or the power of Luke Cage/Power Man.
2) ANYTHING By DC Comics: Batman has had a VERY successful run with games like Arkham Asylum, and even other decent games on the original NES and the SNES. Arkham Asylum is the prime example of when things come together perfectly, with that said it’s time for developers to take notice and FINALLY give Superman the good game he deserves. Also give Wonder Woman a shot, she’s an icon of female empowerment and can prove she can stand on her own. I know the Green Lantern has a game out, but that’s based on the movie, and honestly there isn’t much faith out there for either. So please developers, reignite the Marvel vs DC war with the games…Hmm, a Marvel vs DC fighting game…Nah.
1) Deadpool: Seriously, I think Deadpool might be number 1 on a lot of other comic book fan’s list to have his own title. The “merc with a mouth” has stood out in games like X-Men Legends 2, the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series, and Marvel vs Capcom 3, but it’s about time he gets that chance to branch out with his own title. Just imagine Deadpool breaking the 4th wall by interacting with the player, maybe even having a Cable as an optional character for the co-op campaign, and having cameos by other members of Weapon X show up sporadically throughout the game. The only drawback would be the hype surrounding it. I mean with a character with such high demand, at least the trailer would live up to the hype.