Since video games became prominent in homes all over the world in the late 70s, publishers have wanted to create games based on already established characters in comic books. While many of them haven’t measured up well, there are a handful that have been fantastic, spectacular and uncanny, all at the same time, making us feel connected to these characters in ways that the written world could never measure up with .
In this list, we chronicle the best games based on our favorite super heroes.
10- X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Say whatever you want about the lackluster movie, but this game is fun. Featuring great visuals and a solid combat engine, this game makes you forget the horrible “Wolverine: Admantium Rage†that was released on the Super Nintendo and Genesis in the mid ’90s.
9- Marvel Super Heroes: Possessing the engine that would eventually become “Marvel vs Capcomâ€, this game is a comic book fans dream come true. A mega hit in the arcades and later of the Sega Staurn and Sony Playstation, the game features over a dozen of your favorite Marvel characters and was much better than the decent Justice League fighting game DC released around the same time. A feast for the eyes, the game still has a hug cult following to this day.
8- Spider-Man: Released on Playstation in the late ’90s, this game was based on the popular animated series of the same name and at the time, was the first game to truly capture the essence of everyone’s favorite web head. With great graphics, a ton of characters and unlockables and an even crazier story that had you fighting Doctor Octopus after he’s been affected by the alien symbiote as a final boss, it’s easily one of the best adventure/beat-em-ups of its console generation.
7- X-Men Legends: Taking a page from popular games like “Champions of Norrath†and “Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance†this game tells a huge story that takes over 40 hours to complete and rewards the gamer with an extensive level-up system, which allows them to customize their favorite characters. What more could you ask for?
6- Justice League Heroes: Much like “X-Men Legends,†JLA Heroes takes the majority of its core gameplay mechanics from the action/rpg genre and adds in an excellent and equally as deep story. Both excellent games, JLAH ends up being the better one due to better voice acting, graphics and character abilities.
5- Spider-Man 2: Combining elements from the first game in the series released on the Playstation 2 with the uber popular Grand Theft Auto series, “Spider-Man 2†is the first game to make the gamer feel like they are actually a webslinger. Allowing you to travel through a virtual New York City, this open-ended game is arguably the best Spider-Man game of all time.
4-Batman: The Animated Series: A product of great overall design from Konami, this game features an excellent soundtrack and a tough as hell story mode that mirrors the television show its based on to a T. Despite the fact that it hasn’t aged very well and turns some gamers off due to its difficulty, it was the standard barer that all comic-inspired games looked to be and sometimes still is.
3- X-Men: Easily the best-looking game of its time on the Genesis, this title was also incredibly tough and provided hours of fun. Allowing gamers to play as some of their favorite X-Men and actually see what they were doing was a treat too, especially after the miserable top-down view X-Men game that was released on the Nintendo in the ’80s.
Editor’s Note- That NES incarnation X-Men was so bad that Review Fix Cult Movie Editor Anthony Benedetto threw it in the garbage after buying it.
2-Marvel Ultimate Alliance: Take the successful formula of “X-Men Legends†and add in the entire Marvel Galaxy, with better graphics and a bigger story. ‘Nuff said.
1-Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction: Never before has a game completely captured the essence of a character the way this one does. Sure, the first game released on the Playstation 2, Gamecube and X-Box in conjunction with the first movie was solid, combining stealth and action elements, but it was no where near as enjoyable as this game. Home to an excellent physics engine, Hulk UD is a one of a kind game because virtually everything in the environment breaks, allowing you to unleash your inner monster and be as bad as you want to be. Throw in an excellent story that encompasses the entire Hulk universe and a level up move system, this is a title for the ages.
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