Despite comic book characters dominating the box office and having a strong presence on television, they are lacking in the video game world. Sure, there are great successes like the Batman: Arkham franchise, Spider-Man for the PS4, and the Injustice Franchise, but they aren’t as dominate as The Avengers is in theaters.
In this writer’s humble opinion, there have really been only two superheroes that have gotten gaming justice: Batman and Spider-Man. In those games, you really feel like the caped crusader or the witty web slinger. While the Injustice games are quality and successful, they are more fighting games than true superhero games.
There are hundreds of other heroes out there that deserve to be realized in video games. Here, we will discuss Marvel characters only, specifically those depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). DC will get its own time to shine. The goal is to talk about characters and types of games and mechanics that can work with a character’s powers and history. All right, let’s get to it.
IRON MAN
Iron Man is tailor made for a video game. The suit lends itself perfectly to upgrades, customizations, and many other RPG elements. Couple that with the fact that Tony Stark is a normal human being (meaning he’s not OP and can be killed by normal means) and you have a recipe for challenging gameplay without nerfing the character.
The idea would be to have an open world like Batman or Spider-Man so that you could free roam fly as Iron Man, but the flying might have its limits. Flight might make an open world seem too small. The developers would nee to find a balance that makes the player want to be on the ground as much as in the air. Airborne enemies could be a method in creating that balance.
Speaking of enemies, the main villain would need to have access to cannon fodder minions for Tony to obliterate, yet also be a challenge. Just going off of the movies, none of those villains as depicted really shine in that aspect. However, the Mandarin, if done like in the comics, could be a good option, or even Ultron if they used his MCU origins.
CAPTAIN AMERICA
Cap has options, mainly with the setting. You could go modern day, World War II, or anywhere in between. For this, however, let’s focus on World War II. You got Nazis for enemies (always good bad guys – see Indiana Jones for confirmation), some of which have futuristic weapons, and all you have is your fists and a shield. Though Captain America has used guns before, it would serve the gameplay better if those were cut from his usage or limited. A mechanic of using the firearms of beaten enemies could be a possibility.
The combat would lean heavily to the shield with an upgrade tree for special abilities. There could be small RPG elements with the costume, armor, and shield design like the Spider-Man unlockable suits in the Spider-Man game.
It’s up for debate if the game would benefit more as an open world or on a linear level based path. This writer’s first choice is an open world because of the freedom, but open world might be difficult to pull off in a World War II setting. However, it might be possible if there are a few, very large maps, like Witcher III, or even something like Dragon Age: Inquisition.
NICK FURY / BLACK WIDOW / HAWKEYE / SHIELD
We’re cheating here by massing all of these names together for a potential game or games. No matter whom it would be from the names listed above, or even if it were a create-your-own SHIELD agent, the game would be based around spy and espionage. Yes, that means there would be a lot of stealth, but if the Arkham games have proven anything, forced stealth can be fun if done correctly.
Where the games would differ is in the combat, and that would depend mostly on the game’s cast and if it’s a single hero game or a group hero game. Hawkeye and Black Widow would obviously play very differently from one another if it were a single hero game. If it was a group hero game, the whole gameplay could be something completely new, or at least based off of something like Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The choice of a character like Fury, Widow, or Hawkeye would likely be in the style of the Arkham games or the suggested Iron Man game above. A group of the agents or a created SHIELD agent character might steer the game in a direction of focusing on choice, like Dragon Age: Inquisition. The villains would most likely be terrorists, Hydra, or some other shady organization from the MCU or comics.
THOR
This one is also a no brainer provided the game sticks to Norse mythology or a galactic aesthetic. A comparable franchise might be God of War (this writer has yet to play the God of War games and is going just off the little he knows, don’t crucify me). Just from the movies, the Dark Elves or Ice Giants would be good cannon fodder enemies for Thor to fight. However, better villains would be needed as overall antagonists because the antagonists in those films (excluding Loki) would not be ideal.
The combat would be a beefed up version of Spider-Man with an upgrade system that would focus on lightning, storm, and hammer abilities or something like God of War. RPG elements in a Thor game might be hard to come by, but some customization might be applicable based on a stat and aesthetic basis. Multiple open worlds could be achieved by going to the nine realms or different planets, depending on the aesthetic.
BLACK PANTHER
Once again, this would take a lot of cues from Spider-Man. Using Wakanda and the surrounding African landscape; we could be introduced to a very new type of game world. That alone would be a strong selling point for the game, especially if it is fully realized in the contrast of the tribal, real world cultures mixed in with the futuristic elements of Wakanda.
Besides this, Black Panther is a very accessible character for the video game treatment because he is not OP, but he is powerful enough to make him superior to the common man, just like Spider-Man and Captain America. On top of that, Black Panther’s combat style could be given the Arkham/Spider-Man treatment but with a Black Panther spin. His agility and up close fighting style mixed with Wakanda tech could make for an entertaining and smooth combat system. The suit could be upgraded as well with both abilities and aesthetics.
As for the story, it could follow a Black Panther comic story that isn’t the movie or an entirely new story. The threat posed should be to Wakanda itself, T’Challa, or T’Challa’s family, something that gets Black Panther on the prowl. Killmonger would be ideal, but if the game were to go away from the movies, a different option would be necessary.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Though there is a Telltale Guardians of the Galaxy game, this one would have nothing to do with that. For one thing, it should be in the prime Bioware camp, with influences like Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Inquisition (full disclosure, this writer has never played a Mass Effect game and is just going off of what he’s seen – once again, no crucifying please).
It should have some heavy Bioware influences because recruiting would be a main staple of the game. Potential guardians can be scattered across the galaxy on various planets and may need to be recruited through quests specific to them. This would also mean that the characters from the movies, if all included, would by no means be the only ones eligible to join your team.
Combat would also be in line with prime Bioware games, but more like Dragon Age: Inquisition (I keep talking up that game a lot, wow, did not expect that). There would also be a space/flight part of the game, allowing you to fly your ship around in an open world setting (as well as in space and in orbit). A boarding mechanic might make space combat a little more interesting (pirates in space). As for main villains, the Kree or the Sovereign could be good cannon fodder enemies from the MCU.
ANT-MAN
Hello again forced stealth. For Ant-Man, there would be a lot of that, but forced stealth can be done well (again, see Arkham games). The other major draw of this game is the three playable worlds: the human sized one, the ant sized one, and the tiny one for when you’re giant. This particular property might require not an open world to get the size-changing mechanic to work properly.
The difficult part of an Ant-Man game would be the three world sizes combined with the ability to switch between them at will. If done correctly, it would make for some interesting combat possibilities. This is where this writer would be willing to give up the precious open world in exchange for well-done combat. For the villain, Yellow Jacket and Ghost are interesting choices while regular enemies could just be normal henchmen. This doesn’t have to be an epic scale game.
PROPERTIES THAT MIGHT BE TOO DIFFICULT
There are a few properties that might seem obvious, but on closer inspection could be a little too hard to adapt to a quality game. Here’s who should NOT have their own game, based on lore and abilities.
- HULK: One of the most powerful and recognizable Marvel heroes, Hulk’s shortcomings for a game are summarized by his OP abilities. What separates him from say Superman, though, is the fact that he gets stronger with the more damage he takes. That goes against all video game logic. Hulk might be fun to play in a fighting game, but that’s not a Hulk game. Also, Hulk doesn’t really lend himself to other aspects of gaming like exploration. He kinda only does one thing: Smash.
THERE COULD BE MORE…
I have no doubt that there are plenty of other heroes, and even some villains, that might deserve their own game. Falcon and Winter Soldier come to mind from the MCU, but this writer knows less about them than the characters mentioned above. This writer does have thoughts on Marvel characters outside the MCU and that will be addressed another time.
So those are the ideas. Thoughts? Have any ideas of your own? Share them and let’s see what we can come up with!