Leveled Up 12.24.09: Comic Book Video Game Suggestions

Posted by Joshua Richey on 12.24.2009

Since 2009 was such a great year for video games based on comic books, Joshua Richey offers up a few suggestions for comic books characters that he'd like see get the Arkham Asylum treatment.



2009 was a fantastic year for gaming, was it not? Just think about it, we got some really sweet games; we got to see Microsoft and Sony's motion controllers at E3; and we got price cuts on all the major consoles. What else could you possibly ask for? But as sweet as those things all are, there was one other big thing that happened in gaming this year that I'm just as stoked about: the arrival of decent superhero games.

Now superhero games have been around for nearly as long as games themselves. The problem, however, is that they've not been able to be consistently well made. For every Uncanny X-Men Arcade Game, you had a dozen games like Aquaman: Battle of Atlantis. The inconsistencies exist even today. Whereas the Spiderman games have all been fun and exhilarating, there are games like Iron Man that were nothing more than pieces of shit with a popular name attached to it.

All of that seemed to stop in 2009, at least temporarily. This year we got another solid Marvel Ultimate Alliance game; you got X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was far better than anyone could have anticipated; and then you had Batman: Arkham Asylum, a game that is among the top 2-3 games of the year.

If you're a comic book nerd like I am, you've got to be just eating this up.

In this week's column, I just want to offer up some of my suggestions for comic book characters that I'd like to see make the transition from the pages to the consoles. Now these guys have all appeared in games before, but none have been developed and treated as brilliantly as Rocksteady did with Arkham Asylum; something that I'm hoping changes. Again, these are just my suggestions. So please don't get all butt hurt when I don't list off your favorite.

Punisher



Hollywood can't seem to pull off a high-quality Punisher film, but in 2005, Volition and THQ teamed up to make an absolutely superb Punisher game. It had everything you would ever want from a game based on Frank Castle. It was respectful of the source material, yet was also extremely violent – just as a Punisher game should be. There were these brilliant parts during the levels of the game where you could interrogate your enemies through a variety of "interesting" ways. You could stick their head in an aquarium filled with piranhas; you could lay them in front of an industrial power saw; or you could just go the humane route and throw them from the top of a building.

Now since developing Punisher, Volition has gone on to make Saints Row and Red Faction: Guerilla; so they may be a bit too busy to develop a new Punisher game. That's a real bummer considering that my ideal Punisher game would play a lot like the latest Red Faction title. Think about it, being able to run around and destroy anything you see. That would be amazing. But the secret for how to make a great Punisher game is there. I can only hope that someone is smart enough to act on it.

(BTW: Yes, I know that they made Punisher: No Mercy for the PS3. It's an FPS, and I'd like to continue my life pretending that it doesn't exist.)



Spawn



Spawn isn't nearly as popular as he used to be, but there's never been a good game based on him. That's a shame because Spawn has got a story and a hero that were made to be told through video games. You've got a mercenary that has been sent to hell, makes a deal with the devil, and then comes back up to Earth donning a suit that gives him a number of badass powers. Boom! That's a game that I want to play.

Seriously, how sweet would a God of War-esque Spawn game be? I get a raging hard on just thinking about it. You've got this fast-paced, marvelously bloody game with Spawn using his chains and cape to annihilate enemies. A better-than-decent game could also rejuvenate interest in the Spawn character, which would lead to better sales for the comic book and action figures.



Deadpool



This game needs to be made. Period.

I'm a total mark when it comes to the Deadpool character. The guy can teleport; he has a ridiculous healing factor; he's agile, quick-witted, and he's armed to the teeth with weapons. Raven Software did an excellent job with Deadpool in the Ultimate Alliance games. A far better job I might add than Fox did when they included him in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie (and game). Despite the casual fans being unfamiliar with him mostly, I still think that a Deadpool game would be a huge success. Hell, good or bad, I'd be there to purchase the game on day one.

As for what the game would be like, I'd like to see kind of a cross between Devil May Cry and Shinobi; just an insanely fast game that featured sai's, katana's, machine guns, and grenades just tearing apart enemies and clowns alike. You take all of that, add in some witty dialogue, and have him break the fourth wall every once in a while, and you'd have the perfect Deadpool game.

Fun Fact: Deadpool was voiced by Nolan North in the Hulk vs Wolverine movie – as seen below. North has also been the lent his voice to a lot of video games. His most recent credits include playing Nathan Drake in Uncharted, and Desmond Miles in Assassin's Creed.



Well, that will do it for me this week, kiddies. Whether you're celebrating Santa Claus, Jesus, or the Spaghetti Monster this week, I hope that you all have a safe and happy holidays. Also, throw me some of your ideas for comic book's that you would like see made into games.

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