It’s been a Hell of a few years for superheroes in general. If it isn't Batman, it's The Avengers, or Superman, or another God awful attempt at a good Spiderman movie. Is one decent Spider Man flick too much to ask for?
The return of the superhero to the mainstream in popular culture took much of society by surprise, but as we gamers are more than aware, superhero video games are just part and parcel of our everyday gaming landscape. They always have been, and always will be.
And all that thinking got me in the mood for donning some skin tight spandex myself, getting out some gadgets, and heading out into the night. But enough about what I get up to on Thursday night:
Here's a list of the 10 best superhero games you can play right now.
10: Freedom Force
We checked with Marvel and DC; they were never concerned, not even for a minute.
Who could ever forget the fiercely patriotic Minuteman, Nuclear Winter, or The Ant?
Superhero games, are for the most part based on the comic books they were spawned from. Freedom Force took that original style, innovated, and then turned it into a magnificent game redolent of all the best 1980s comic books but with heroes you had never heard of before. The plot of Freedom Force loosely follows the story of a bunch of newly made superheroes as they defend Patriot city against alien invaders.
It’s a fully laden tongue in cheek RPG with a fully ironic cast of characters, a great 3D engine for 2002, and crisp graphics that still hold up quite well, even today. The rule of thumb in game is that anything can be used as a weapon. There is no better feeling to be had than picking up a passing car or a lamppost and hurling it at the enemy in a carefree manner.
KAPPOW. WHAM. BAM. FOOSH.....Foosh? Seriously? Foosh?
9: LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Robin: 'Holy casting, Bruce. They made Batman VS Superman, with Ben Affleck.'
Batman: 'This could be the start of something wonderful, or the end of everything we hold dear.'
It would be so easy to dismiss a game based on Lego as being just for ‘kids,' and for quite a while there that's exactly what I did. It didn't change until I was forced to watch "The Lego Movie," late last year. I have to say I'm something of a convert now. Ok, so Lego Batman 3, is no Arkham Knight, but it really hits the spot if you're not after something, say, as dark as it's more mature cousin.
There’s just something about the game that talks to me. The puzzles are as innovative as any I've seen for a long time, but none are so complicated that an 8 year old couldn't solve them. Yes, the combat can be fiddly and sometimes fighting wave after wave of attacking generic henchmen can be repetitive, but this game is still genius and fun enough in its own way to keep you playing on.
The entire game has its tongue so far into its girlfriends cheek, that you might find yourself playing as much for the gags as you do to actually beat the game. This is definitely a game for when immersiveness and photo realistic blood spatter isn't called for.
Oh, and do keep an eye out for Conan O'Brien's masterful tour of the Bat Cave if you get a chance when playing. Or you could YouTube it. Yeah, just go ahead and YouTube it.
It's Lego, man.It's Lego...Still would though, wouldn't you?
8: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 + 2, (and all the other ones with X-men, etc.)
The Gamers Decide editors, before their morning Caffeine shot.
Another old one.
Fortunately it’s not one likely to be forgotten anytime soon, and what with the new Avengers Ultron film literally just around the corner, it might be time to dig out what could essentially have been the ultimate game of all the Avengers films despite the fact the first Iron Man film wasn’t released until 2008, and this game debuted in 2006. Ya-huh, look it up!
So, yes it looks a bit like Freedom Force and there’s not much difference between the way any of the characters fight, but this can be overlooked when you consider that the best things about these games is the vast amount of choice when it comes to picking your team of superheroes to go fight evil with. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable, and there’s a real sense of a strong movie worthy story driving the plot forward.
What more could you want from a game dedicated to Superheroes?
SUPERHEROES: They look stupid when there's no evil to vanquish
7: INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US. ULTIMATE EDITION.
Batman doing it wrong.
I wasn’t even thinking about fighting games when I started this list, and then I remembered this little gem. Think Mortal Kombat but with the best characters from the DC Universe instead of Sub-Zero, because that's what this is. It's good fun, and it is nice to battle it out with some of your favourite superheroes and watch them knocking each other about all over the screen.
But there in also lies the rub. The problem with this sort of fighting game is the requirement to suspend your belief; because in the end you just know Superman and the Green Lantern would destroy everyone else utterly in just a few minutes. It’s one thing to watch Superman pick Lex Luthor up and throw him through a building, but when a mortal hero, like Batman then does it to Superman, it does feel, well, a bit silly. With that said, it should be noted that Injustice: Gods among us, is a decent fighting game and has a reasonably tight storyline to go along with all the spandex, and is great choice for letting off steam at the end of the day.
The ultimate edition of the game is what it says it is, adding more costumes, more story, more characters and a much better online matchmaking experience, which was quite widely derided when the game was first released. I remember that, it was f****** annoying. There’s also the added bonus that this looks better on the PC than on any other platform.
Of course it does. Everything looks better on PC's. Chalk one up to the mouse using Overlords Of Gaming.
Sonic Boom. Sorry, wrong game...
6: DC Universe™ Online
Is that right, Luthor? Well your Momma's so fat....
No I was quite disappointed with the game when it was first released as well. But between 2011 and now, it’s gone from strength to strength because the developers, bless them, keep on releasing updates including both new DLC and gameplay improvements. It's turned into quite the MMORPG now.
Gotham city is there as is Metropolis, so I don't think you could ask for much more than that in a DC game. While you can’t play as your favourite DC character you can create your own in some quite surprising detail. If you’re after a MMORPG then DC Universe may be the one for you: Also, it’s been a Freemium game for quite a while now, so you can try it out for free. I just wish I had the time to devote to it, but I don't because I spend all my days doing this, writing about games, instead of playing them. #firstworldproblems
Why Gamers shouldn't be allowed to create their own costumes.
5: Marvel Heroes 2015
Colossus. Massively underrated X-Man. (Get it?) Colossus/Massive...? That's funny, damnit!
If you’re after more of a Marvel MMO instead of a DC one, you could just play this other free game instead. I’ll be honest, I played this for 30 minutes and then uninstalled it when it was first released. I was wary about having it grace my hard drive again but credit where credit is due: It’s a much better game now than it was, and worth some of your valuable time.
The X-Men react to the news that the Toby Maguire is to reprise his role as Spiderman in the next Avengers movie
Unlike DC Universe, gamers can actually choose to play as their favourite character, and any one of about 50 from the Marvel mythology, if my maths is right. There’s even that Bradley Cooper Raccoon dude from Guardians of the Galaxy. Nice.
Graphically it looks nice and crisp, and it’s also easy to pick up and play. It's a fun game to go playing with your buddies as well, or at least I'm pretty sure it would be if I could convince any of them to reinstall it. But in fairness, they’re pretty obsessed with the CO OP heist action in GTA V at the moment and I’m not about to guilt trip them into playing this. I'd have to get their phone numbers again for a start.
It's strange the way all got jobs in Antarctica all at the same time and had to leave the day after they got the job offers. Good luck to them I say.
4: Infinite Crisis
In WWII the USAF invented the first 100% effective condom for its pilots.
The first time I saw Infinite Crisis, it was in a gameplay video on some dude’s phone, when I was in NY city the other month. I looked over casually and said in my best Brooklyn accent:
“League of Legends, eh? Don't worry about it. Gedoutof here. Badda Bing, Badda Boom."
“No way, man, this is like totally Infinite Crisis, like totally, Marvel superheroes, totally man, it’s so sick!”
I made my excuses, and left. The guy talked like a characterless clone of a cliché. He typified everything wrong with modern day, ‘E’ channel youth America, and he clearly had no idea about video games as it was clearly a League of Legends video he had been watching. When I got back to the hotel room though, I YouTubed it anyway. S***, he was right. Infinite Crisis just looks like League of Legends, but with Marvel characters doing the whole MOBA thing instead.
If you like Dota and LoL it’s probably worth a try.
3: Sentinels of the Multiverse
Comic book Superhero game. Literally.
This was a surprise hit for me. Apparently it was some sort of real world card game before this; I'm damned if I know if it was but it's certainly something I'll be investigating if the video game is anything to go by, because this game is brilliant!. I wasn't expecting this level of excellence from something I'd never heard of. But Sentinels of the Multiverse is up there with being some of the best fun you can have by yourself. It's curiously addictive and a change from the usual frenetic run and gun and slash type of game we've seen so far.
I only installed the game because of the hype it seemed to be getting on Steam, but I wasn’t disappointed. The best way I can describe it is that you play a comic book, rather than read it…
Play a card, use your power, and draw a new card. Honestly, I know how boring that sounds, but it’s really, really, good fun. It’s the perfect game for pretending you're working, studying, or just trying to fill the time on the train and bus journeys.
No I wouldn’t be convinced by what you’ve just read either but take my word for it, you should own this game.
2: Saints Row IV: Game of the Century Edition
Congress refused to block only one piece of legislation in his first term as President.
Maybe the premise behind the Saints Row games is getting ridiculous now, but that doesn’t mean being the superhero president of the US is any less fun for all that. Was a game ever so gleefully chaotically over the top as this? I don’t know. No one makes open worlds quite like the guys behind Saints Row. Honestly, this is a game for gamers who like their superheroes overpowered and the jokes thick and fast. The veiled jibes at the Mass Effect series are hilarious.
Also guns.
There's lot’s of guns: More guns than superhero games should feasibly be allowed.
Think of it as a smaller version of GTA but with superhero powers, and outrageous chaos mixed with laugh out loud humour, and you're there.
'My fellow Americans....'
And now, in a totally plausible, but totally unexpected twist worthy of only the finest superhero games, we have a tie for first place.
1: Batman: Arkham Asylum & Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
For quite possibly the first time ever, I agree with just about every other article on every other games website in the multiverse for the top prize in this genre. Why? Because there’s nothing as good as these two games out there right now. As far as superhero games go, these two offerings may very well be the best ever created.
Photo Bomb...
The atmosphere in both these Arkham games portrays Gotham faithfully as a dark, creepy world infested with criminals and bad intentions. The fights leave you feeling all hero-ish inside, and controlling the combat is super intuitive thanks to what is one of the best control systems I’ve ever used to play a game with.
The way you can choose how to sneak up on enemies, and then your own method for attacking, is just sublime. In fact everything about these games is awesome! From characterisation to the incredible soundtrack, to just the way Batman moves around the screen, it all looks amazing.
For my money, both Arkham City and Arkham Asylum knock seven levels of Hell out of everything else on this list. It’s one of the few superhero games where you actually believe you’re the hero. There's just something about the Batman mythology, that as a character, we gamers instantly empathise with his motivations. There's just something uniquely, well, good about him. The fact Batman is a fully trained Ninja does probably help though.
There are comic book superheroes, and then there are graphic novel superheroes. Both these Batman games are definitely in the latter category. The fact that they draw heavily on the source material helps make for two supremely superior superhero games that are well worth buying, completing, and then playing through again, and again, and again.
A bad case of Bat breath. Bat breath. Get it?
Yoga meditation, Batman style.
Here comes the bride.
And that’s it.
That’s my choice for the 10 best superhero games that are currently available for PC in 2015. But this is Gamers decide, so it wouldn't be fair unless we asked you for your opinion too. So what Superhero games have you played that you think should be on the list.
Log in, sign up, and tell me all about it in the comments section below.
