Marvel Comics is a huge repository of wonderful superheroes, ranging from blockbuster teams to solo heroes who fight a rogue’s gallery of villains. You wouldn’t think that Marvel, now a juggernaut of entertainment, once filed for bankruptcy due to a lack of interest in their characters. Nowadays, you can’t turn in any direction without a Marvel property appearing.
We all have our favourite Marvel video games, whether they’re retro gems that once filled arcades, or modern action masterpieces. We’ve seen many heroes come and go over the years and there are still plenty in our future, but what are the best Marvel games from the past 30 years of gaming?
Marvel’s Spider-Man
If we’re talking modern superhero masterpiece when it comes to games, it has to be the first of the Marvel’s Spider-Man games. An argument could be made for the sequel and Peter Parker being joined by Miles Morales, but the story is better and the combat is more accessible. It’s a tough call though, both are truly wonderful games. The original stands as a great example of a Spider-Man story told well, while the sequel, as good as it is, often gets a bit lost with so many antagonists and off-shoot stories. There’s no denying the brilliance of the combat for either game, though, plus the web-swinging. Being Spider-Man has never felt this good.
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage
The first of a few retro games on this list starts with another Spider-Man entry, though he has Venom for back up in this 16-bit classic. As side-scrolling beat-em-ups go, this was one of the best of the time. With bold colours and gorgeous pixel art, it brought the comics to life in a way rarely seen at the time. Going with a very simple genre worked in its advantage because everything was on a 2D plane, so it really felt like comic pages were being animated in front of you. Plus, it had all the fan favourites in it, which was an instant hit.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Underrated gem, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was a rollicking good time. It had everything you could ever need from a Guardians adaptation, plus it stayed closer to the comics than cashing in on the films. It was an epic space journey filled with comedy, good music, and some pretty awesome battles. As much as I deplore the word, it had ‘banter’ and that brought it to life; the small quips shot back and forth were wonderful and the story had bags of heart, too. It following the mediocre Avengers game didn’t really help its cause, but those who played had a great time with the Guardians.
Midnight Suns
Perhaps one of the finest Marvel games of recent years, often overlooked due to its genre. This isn’t an action game, there is no button bashing chaos, every battle must be well thought out. The story was kind of ‘out there’ as comic book stories go, but it featured a banging cast with a mixture of Avengers, Spider-Man, some X-Men and even Blade featured heavily. As a kind of X COM but with superheroes, Midnight Suns was a lengthy game of tactical battles, building relationships between characters and fighting godly enemies, which made for a very engaging experience on the whole. It should have been played by more people because most who experienced it generally loved it.
Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Over to the arcades (and later consoles) Street Fighter was all the rage and Marvel wanted in on the action. They had a juicy roster of characters who threw down on the reg, so why not make a fighting game? But they went one better and invited Capcom to the party who brought their own brilliant group of fighters. It was an instant success and everyone was converted. We’ve gone with the second game as it still retained the beautiful 2D designs and sprite work which gave the game such character. Perhaps the most brilliant design choice was keeping it accessible, meaning anyone could pick their comic book, or Capcom, favourite and get to fighting.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Bringing arcadey action to the Marvel universe is always a good bet and when Marvel Ultimate Alliance came on the scene it garnered fans quickly due to featuring so many comic book characters. While the story was ultimately a bit forgettable, nothing could compare to the action-packed fights between a huge cast. You could brawl as the X-Men, the Avengers, even smaller lesser known heroes of the time like Namor. It was an evolution of the side-scrolling beat-em-up which put simplicity over everything else.
Marvel Snap
One of the most engaging digital cards games out there, Marvel Snap took the world by storm on release and still has a huge active player base. Due to the simplicity of the rules, plus the brilliant art of each character, it quickly took a spot among the greats. The trick here was the easy to learn, but incredibly deep tactical ways to play certain cards. And some card collecting never goes a miss either, because who doesn’t want to glance through their collection at the designs? It being free-to-play is a nice touch too, meaning anyone can give it a try on their phone.
LEGO Marvel Superheroes
Is there a rule that says everything is better in LEGO? If not, there should be. Much like Marvel Ultimate Alliance, LEGO Marvel Superheroes appealed to a more casual crowd using its usual format of bashing enemies and breaking LEGO objects. But this time it was based on the Avengers, and a bunch of other characters too. If you’ve played any other LEGO game then you’ll know what to expect, but that doesn’t mean it’s anyway forgettable, after all, it’s Captain America but as a little LEGO dude. He even has the shield!
Ultimate Spider-Man
One of the biggest draws of Ultimate Spider-Man, aside from adapting a brilliant run of comic books, was the ability to play as Venom in his very own story. For its time, it was hailed as one of the best Spider-Man games ever made and it was clear to see why. It had brilliant web-swinging, superb fights, it was based on a great story, and visually it was a treat. Anytime we’re given Spidey and an open world to explore it’s going to bring out massive amounts of joy. Utilising cel-shaded graphics was a lovely touch that echoed panels of comic books while still staying true to a video game aesthetic.
X-Men
We’re back in the arcades for our final entry and the simply titled, X-Men. The game itself was riotously fun and the best-em-up gameplay was enjoyable and filled with great 2D animations. But the cherry on the top was the four-player option with four joysticks and sets of buttons around the arcade screen. This meant you could get your mates to play along with you, though when the game was eventually ported to consoles it still fun but it lacked the novelty of the arcade cabinet. Still a quality X-Men release though and everyone picking their favourite was a highlight when you’d all learned the movesets.
Topics: Marvel, Marvels Avengers, Marvels Spider Man, Lego, Spider Man Miles Morales, Spider Man