From as way back as the 80s, game developers have been making Marvel-based games. Like anything, there have been peaks and valleys in terms of quality content. For every Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 there was a Spider-Man on the Atari 2600. There was a balance in the force as it were.
For as many games as there are though not a lot of them offer multiplayer. And if they do, again, they may not have been good. So in honor of an upcoming multiplayer centered Marvel game, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, here are ten great titles to check out as well.
10 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2
Admittedly the LEGO games have lost their appeal with each new entry past the first two Star Wars games. However we feel it's irrelevant though because kids love them and that’s great.
Of the entire Marvel based LEGO games, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 is the best title money can buy for the whole family. It’s great for kids and will hit those nerdy checkboxes for comic enthused moms, or dads.
9 Marvel Pinball
Zen Studios is THE studio when it comes to pinball games. Their base games are great, but it is the additional content they keep churning out that really makes them special. Sure they have glitches now and again, but what modern release doesn’t?
So it goes without saying that of course they had Marvel made sets from tie-ins to the movies to the comics. There really wasn’t a property they didn’t touch. The best part, if one couldn’t guess since this is on the list, is that it has multiplayer.
8 X-Men Arcade
X-Men Arcade, or just simply X-Men, relies a lot on nostalgia. It was a great beat ‘me up in the 90s, but when it was ported to digital services like PSN and Xbox Live fans soon discovered it takes less than an hour to beat.
At $60 it would be a rip-off, but that’s not how it and other similarly priced arcade ports are priced. Yes, it and others are short, but that doesn’t diminish how good they are. That is just the genre. Shut up and have fun!
7 Spider-Man: The Video Game
Despite the clunky title, Spider-Man: The Video Game is not the first game to ever feature the iconic webslinger. One of the first was on the Atari 2600 and it blew. This, on the other hand, does not in fact blow.
It’s another arcade brawler with some questionable guest heroes and even odder character models that made everyone look lanky. However, it’s still a good, button mashing time Sub-Mariner and all.
6 The Punisher Arcade
The last beat ‘em up on this list is The Punisher, which also released for arcades. It also had a decent Sega Genesis port. Unlike the previous two this one only features two-player co-op. Players can choose to be Frank Castle or non-Samuel L. Jackson version of Nick Fury.
Also unlike the other games it heavily features weapons so at times it feels like a brawler mixed with a Contra type shooter. No matter what genre one places this in, it’s still the best of the 90s Marvel beat ‘em ups.
5 Marvel Heroes
Putting Marvel Heroes on here is a bit depressing. See ex-Blizzard workers that helped create Diablo created this game. This then was a Marvel take on Diablo and it was a free to play game.
It premiered on PC platforms in 2013 and finally hit consoles in 2017 under the new name Marvel Heroes Omega. It was great, but it was only around from the end of June to mid November when not only the game shut down, but the studio, Gazillion, was fractured too. This was a cruel end before Thanksgiving.
4 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
A similarly styled game fans can still play is Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. It was first released on every console imaginable back in 2006 but has since received a port to current gen.
Getting it and the sequel is fairly cheap as a bundle too. So if one really cares about the lore before jumping into the newest title on Switch, track these puppies down and get cranking away. If one had to choose though, the first game is the better of the two thanks to a deeper RPG system and more costumes for the characters. The costumes also have unique passive buffs too!
3 X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
Before Raven Software tackled the more ambitious Avengers side of the Marvel universe they made two X-Men games with the same premise.
Choose a character and go to town on all of the best villains from the X-Men franchise. In terms of peak entertainment, this was the best of Raven Software’s Marvel quadrilogy of brawler RPGs. It also has the best visuals since they went for the more comic centric cel-shaded style. Where is this HD remaster?
2 Disney Infinity 2.0
Disney Infinity 2.0 expanded the once Disney centered Skylanders copycat and turned it into something amazing. With this sequel they added Marvel characters and while the game is aimed toward kids, the systems within are as robust as the previous Raven Software RPGs.
Every single figure player bought had a skill tree that was different from the last. For a kids game, it had a lot going on plus the toys were just drop dead gorgeous. It only got better as things went along. Well, that is until the series was canceled. What this writer wouldn’t give for a Thanos figure.
1 Marvel vs Capcom 2
There is no better experience in the Marvel video game landscape, or in the Marvel vs Capcom series, or in the fighting game genre, than this game. The third entry may have a more diverse character roster, but there is no beating both the look and solid gameplay of Marvel vs Capcom 2. It was good on consoles as much as it was in the arcades.
This is pure Marvel mayhem and there is simply no better feeling than getting some friends together for an impromptu tournament. This is fighting perfection.