Games Based on Comics

Just finished a play through of X-Men the Arcade Game on my PS3 this afternoon, and was being amused by the wildly inaccurate portrayals of most of the characters' powers (as well as the phrase "welcome to die") and it got me to thinking about the numerous cross overs between comics and games. If you're following the guest list for the San Diego comic con, you will notice that a lot of gaming industry professionals are going to be there to demo their wares (including my favourite Bioware!). As you can tell from my shirt, I am a fan of both mediums but every time there is excitement for a new game I must admit that I get a little nervous that they will.... how do I put this.... give Wolverine laser claws for no apparent reason.

Disclaimer: before I get into this I won't be discussing games based on movies based on comics. There aren't good games based on movies, so I won't even go there. It's some kind of immutable law of the universe. I don't know why, it just is. Except sometimes it isn't. But usually.

Anyway, I realize it's unrealistic to expect that any adaption should be completely faithful, since that doesn't exactly allow for any creative control for those working on the game, but I do want to see respect for both gamers and comic fans, and often times, we don't get that. Publishers look to sell the game based solely on the fact that there is an established fan base, and so often times controls are not as tight, plots not thought through, glitches are more abundant, and as anyone who has played Shattered Dimensions can attest, there is a lot of fetch-filler. One example that jumps immediately to mind is Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. The first game was great, and I played all of 2 and enjoyed it, but other than the "fusion powers" the game felt like a 1.5 version of the first and the ending was abysmal. (Spoiler) The final boss turns of to be a cybernetically enhanced Nick Fury made by the Tinkerer of all people. Robo-Fury also ends up an unlockable playable character. Score! And by score I mean really? Dozens of great characters in the Marvel U and you had to invent a Cyber-Nick make that character the reward for clearing the game?

The point of this post is not to condemn all comic book video games, however. Arkum Asylum was an awesome step in the right direction in both game play and character fidelity. If you're looking for a mature game with a nice combination of combat and puzzles (and one very freaky scarecrow scene) I advise checking it out, though you may be the last person who hasn't. While I have not played (not an MMO girl) I've heard many glowing reviews for DCU online, and I remain optimistic for Arkum City and X-Men Destiny, as well as hoping for some improved game play in the Spider-man follow up.

If you're looking for some enjoyable comic games check out the following:

• X-Men Arcade on PSN and XBox Live (I know it embodies alot of the things I complained about, but the translation alone is worth it.)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii*, GBA*, PSP*)
• Marvel vs. Capcom series (not really comic book games, but awesome character models and faithful usage of powers)
• Spider-man 2 (PS2, Game cube, Xbox, PC)
• X-Men Legends (Game cube, PS2, Xbox)
• Arkum Asylum (360, PS3)
• Wolverine's Revenge (Game cube and PS2)- only sort of a movie game.
• Batman NES

This is my personal short list, but there are other good ones out there, so feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments.

That's all for today, but stay tuned next week for my thoughts on Final Fantasy VI (III), to watch me talk to myself about Duke Nukem Forever, and for more gaming related things I love.

Same bat time, same bat channel.

Sorry, couldn't resist.