We bring together some of the best titles based on superhero stories, both licensed and unreleased creations.
The line between the hero and the villain is not always clear. Those who wear cloaks and masks often question their work, which usually takes place in cities crowded with criminals. On the occasions when they work with the police, the officers hesitate whether to arrest them or not, since they are individuals who operate outside the law, as if they were above it. Marvel's Avengers, the new Square Enix title, starts from a similar premise: The Avengers separate because they feel guilty for a terrible misfortune that occurred during A-Day, where many innocents lose their lives. The Injustice saga also reflects on the fine separation between being a hero or a shot. Precisely, this is one of the titles that are included in the Top 12 below these lines.
For this ranking, at FreeGameTips we have decided to include superhero video games based on characters and stories from comic books and movies from Marvel and DC, as well as other products that touch the same theme and that build unprecedented protagonists and universes. Not all who are, but all who are. After reflection within the newsroom, the titles we have chosen are as follows.
Marvel's Avengers, the next big bet in superhero games.
12. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2, Xbox and PC)
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Out of all the Avengers, the incredible Hulk is the grossest of them all. Despite being human, a failed experiment exposes him to gamma rays, something that causes a mutation in his body. From that moment, when his heart rate exceeds the limit, Dr. Robert Bruce Banner becomes a gigantic monster of impressive physical strength. The beast, full of anger, uncontrollably hits everything that moves, to the point that it endangers those around him. All in all, he is a superhero with all the letters, which is why he has also made his appearances in the video game. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is not based on any movies, but on the original comics. It was published by Vivendi Universal Games in 2005 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.
This Radical Entertainment title had an open-world structure and featured an action adventure starring the Hulk. The enormous mass, capable of climbing walls and vertical surfaces, destroys the stage with its physical force and launches buses and other vehicles as if they were tiny toys. The story begins with Robert trying to build a machine to cure his strange mutation, but things go wrong when The Division, an organism ready to kill all mutants, launches a missile and destroys the Hulk's place and work. Angry, man transforms and sows chaos in his path.
11. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
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The most casual approach of Marvel heroes and villains is found in this video game developed, as always, by Traveller's Tale. This studio has spent years adapting successful franchises (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Batman, etc.) and running them through the mixer to give them the Lego touch. That means that our protagonists now look like one of the figurines that the toy company usually markets. Humor is one of the vehicles that works in all Lego products, as well as some very recognizable playable elements (with their variations).
Not based on any specific movie or comic, Traveller's Tale opted to tell a completely original story, both in Lego Marvel Super Heroes and in its sequel (and DLCs). In the second part, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Hulk, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange, among many others, will have to fight against the evil Kang the Conqueror, a villain capable of time travel. For this reason, players will be able to visit different historical periods such as ancient Egypt, the Wild West or a futuristic New York City.
10. InFAMOUS: Second Son (PS4)
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SuckerPunch is immersed in the development of Ghost of Tsushima, an open-world video game set in the age of samurai. Although Jim, its protagonist, could be considered a hero from a certain point of view, the game that for now deserves to be in this ranking is inFAMOUS: Second Son, the most recent title in the franchise to date. After its passage through PlayStation 3, where two main deliveries were commercialized, this production went on sale in 2014, a few months after the debut of the console. Although it follows in the wake of the previous ones, the studio decided to dispense with the protagonist who had accompanied us up to that moment, the powerful Cole.
The video game transports the player to a universe full of things to do. In this sense, the open world that it proposes has been widely surpassed by other products of the generation, which does not mean that it is a very pleasant experience at the controls. Battles with impressive powers and combos bring instant fun. Like other games on this list, inFAMOUS is not based on a successful comic, but is a creation of SuckerPunch. Samon Bay is the protagonist, who, like other games in the franchise, will be able to choose his path in the world, that of the hero or that of the villain, since a moral system is implemented.
9. The Punisher (Arcade)
Yoko Shimomura is one of the most reputable songwriters in the video game industry. From a young age, she was linked to Capcom, where she put music to everlasting classics like Final Fight, Street Fighter II or Breath of Fire. Paradoxically, the soundtrack to The Punisher was the last one he composed before leaving Capcom. The video game was released on arcade machines, although in 1995 it was adapted to Mega Drive, with some shortcomings due to the less powerful hardware of the SEGA console.
Frank Castle's story is well known: his family member was killed and became The Punisher. Since then, he adopts the skull logo and goes out with his weapons to "punish" his enemies. The title, a true reflection of the time, is a beat'em up in which we can choose between two different characters, Castle himself and Nick Fury. They both make their way through the streets of New York in order to get rid of Kingpin's gang of thugs.
8. Injustice 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
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NetherRealm Studios is a veteran of fighting games. The fall from grace of Midway Games (creators of Mortal Kombat) caused Warner Bros to acquire the company with all its intellectual properties. The studio picked up the baton and continued to work on new installments of Mortal Kombat, but also on another high-quality fighting saga. We speak, of course, of Injustice, whose second installment has been cast in the Top 12 of FreeGameTips. Directed by Ed Boon, co-creator of Mortal Kombat, this title pits famous characters from the DC Comics universe. It went on sale in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
At the playable level, it is a fairly continuous product, but improvements such as the equipment system and the personalization of the characters are incorporated, plant on a level structure reminiscent of progression in an RPG. The story remains equally crucial, as there is also an attractive dilemma about what it means to be a hero or a villain. Superman grew up on Earth as Clark Kent, but his power places him at the height of the gods there. Someone almost invincible can succumb to tyranny, even though he thinks in his heart that he is doing justice. On the other side of the board, the human Batman (Bruce Wayne) uses his wits and wealth to deal with the most powerful enemies. Both of them will see each other's faces and will fight to achieve their goals.
7. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (PS2, Xbox, Wii, DS, PSP)
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Team Ninja and Nintendo teamed up to release Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Years before that happened, the license was in the hands of Activision, those responsible for the first two deliveries. Vicarious Visions (Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy) designed a direct-action video game featuring many of Marvel's best-known characters. That included members of The Avengers, The Defenders, and X-Men, not to mention the numerous villains from all of these universes joining the fray.
The Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 story is set in the context of Civil War, where heroes and villains fight relentlessly, each with their own motivations. The game also has a cooperative approach, since the player can be accompanied in groups of various characters. Unfortunately, both the first and second installments disappeared from all digital stores. The reason is that Activision lost the license, as happened with the Spider-Man titles published by them, which are also not available for purchase (beyond the copies in physical format that circulate in the second-hand market).
6. Batman Returns (Super Nintendo Version)
Eccentric director Tim Burton released Batman Returns in 1992. Michael Keaton played Bruce Wayne and his caped alter ego, while Nicole Kidman played Catwoman. In this film, the bat man had to face the Penguin, another lunatic with an air of greatness. The film had its own video games, in the plural. Some versions were very weak; others, quite drinkable; that of Super Nintendo, excellent. It was released in 1993, months after the film's premiere, and adopted the beat'em up genre. Equipped with a very attractive graphic section, it stood out for its animations and visual effects.
Playable, it's always been compared to Capcom's classic Final Fight. As an “I against the neighborhood” game, the bat man fights against a multitude of enemies during the phases, which unfold from left to right. There is no lack of final enemies or the use of different gadgets and weapons, a hallmark of the character. As if that were not enough, Batman Returns has a phase in which the player drives the Batmobile, equipped with a machine gun to defeat the bad guys.
5. Spider-Man 2 (PS2, Game Cube, Xbox)
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The fad of launching video games based directly on movies is not in vogue today, but it was a common practice until a few years ago. The problem was that many times the studios had to accelerate the creative process to coincide with the premiere of the feature films, which caused many of them to not measure up. Director Sam Raimi brought to the cinema three movies based on Spider-Man, which also featured their respective video games. The first of them, without being an excellent title, established the bases of Spider-Man 2, a title that stood out for the freedom it offered when moving around the Big Apple. It was developed by Treyarch (the Call of Duty studio) in its versions of PlayStation 2, Xbox One and Game Cube. The rest were different and did not treasure the quality of this product.
Spider-Man 2 followed the plot lines of the film, but its open-world structure gave it an opportunity to expand the story with new plots and villains. In fact, characters like Rino, Shocker or Calipso were not present in the feature film, but they did play their part in this alternative version of the film. Beyond its narrative component, the point where it really stood out was in the way we moved like Spidey. We could throw the cobwebs and move through the buildings in New York. In addition, the combat mechanics introduced very agile movements and combos.
4. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Arcade, Dreamcast, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, iOS)
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At a time when Marvel heroes star in many of the covers, it's okay to remember one of the biggest crossovers in video games. And it is that great characters from Capcom get together with these comic fighters to engage in their battles in a fighting video game. Marvel's Avengers may be going to unfold all their action in the Crystal Dynamics adventure, but The Avengers and other superheroes were in video games long before. Spider-Man, Captain America, Thanos, Iron Man, along with many X-Men characters, are part of a fighter squad that totals more than 50 and includes Street Fighter protagonists of the likes of Akuma, Cammy, Chun -Li, Ken, Ryu or M. Bison.
It is the first video game in the series with graphics in 2.5 dimensions. Also, the visuals and sets were rendered in 3D. The game was released on very different platforms. In addition to arcade lounges, it was available on Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, back in 2020. Later, it was also released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and mobile devices. As for the game modes, it offered a single player arcade mode (with its relevant final boss), as well as the mandatory Versus and Training modes.
3. Marvel´s Spider-Man (PS4)
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Spider-man films have been developed throughout different sagas in the cinema. Currently, the character is played by Tom Holland (Nathan Drake in the future Uncharted movie). This version of Spidey belongs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if Sony is the company that produces the wall-climbing films. For Marvel's Spider-Man, the Disney-owned company had Sony Interactive Entertainment and Insomniac Games, a studio that did not belong to the Japanese giant at the time, since the agreement was closed somewhat later. What the creators of Spyro The Dragon and Sunset Overdrive, among many others, were looking for was to build their own universe, something that gave them enough freedom to present their vision of the character in this PlayStation 4 exclusive.
Peter Parker, assistant to Dr. Octavius, is a character used to his role as a hero. At the time the story of the video game unfolds, the protagonist has been using spider-man leggings for years. The studio wanted to show the two faces of the character, both that of his world-known self and that of Spider-Man. The same goes for Mary Jane Watson, who in this version not only works as a journalist, but far from projecting the image of a damsel in distress, she becomes a partner in Spider-Man.
2. Batman: Arkham City (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS4, Xbox One)
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Rocksteady had just brought the Dark Knight back to life. The Warner Bros studio released Batman: Arkhan Asylum, a title that mixed stealth and action mechanics, all seasoned with the must-have gadgets of Bruce Wayne's alter ego. After the batman had seen and wished them with the Joker, The Scarecrow, and other lunatics, Batman solved the problem of the madhouse, which did not mean that the villains had disappeared from Gotham, including Joker. It was in 2012 when Rockteady released this production on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. It maintained the basic mechanics of its predecessor, but it developed in a more open world, a direction that was consolidated with Batman: Arkham Knight.
After the sad events of the Arkham psychiatric center, the bat man will have to put on his mask and armor again to continue fighting crime as only he knows, in the shadows and with all the technological arsenal he relies on. It turns out that the Joker is doing his thing again, not to mention that Catwoman and other characters are also swarming around the city. A city that does not sleep, where crime is the order of the day and murder does not stop for a second. The story begins with Bruce Wayne captured by mercenaries. However, he will not be held for long. Once pulled the thread, the rich playboy will return to act like Batman.
1. Viewtiful Joe (PS4, GameCube)
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He started the PlatinumGames hero trilogy (first as Clover Studios), which will soon culminate with Project G.G., a new intellectual property linked to this theme. More than a decade ago, before The Wonderful 101 and other hits like Bayonetta or Nier: Automata went on sale, Hideki Kamiya and the rest of Capcom's creatives designed Viewtiful Joe. It went on sale in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, as a project framed within the Capcom Five, an exclusivity agreement that encompassed several video games (PN 03, Dead Phoenix, Killer 7, Resident Evil 4 and Viewtiful Joe). However, in the end it was not so exclusive, since the cancellation of Dead Phoenix was joined by the marketing of several of these titles on PlayStation 2, including this game.
Viewtiful Joe used a light-hearted aesthetic in Cell-Shading and a narrative that mimicked comic strips. Hideki Kamiya, in his role as director, transferred the theme of cinema to a beat'em up full of humor and emotion. Joe must save his beloved Silvia in a context in which Cineland has invaded the world through a relentless attack. Far from giving up, Joe will deploy all his attacks, which curiously, have a lot to do with cinema. Zooming or hitting in slow motion are just some of the movements that this outlandish character is capable of executing.
A delicious and perfectly measured gameplay, challenging and highly replayable, with original skills that are perfectly combined, with a development full of humorous moments, memorable characters that recreate film clichés with much sympathy and a first-class audiovisual finish. Viewtiful Joe is one of the best action games we remember in recent years and a recreation of the brilliant superhero concept that took a 9.6 in our review.
