Superheroes are bigger than ever, with one or more new Marvel or DC movies coming out each year. However, when it comes to video games, superheroes have been part of the industry since around its inception, with Spiderman on the Atari 2600 coming out all the way back in 1982.
In more recent years, there have been more and more amazing superhero games being released and in contrast to before when they were relegated to movie tie-ins, they are now full-fledged games that survive off of simply being a great game. If anyone is looking to play some fantastic games based on superheroes, here are 10 of the best to ever be released.
10 X-Men Origins: Wolverine
While the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine is forgettable, the game that came from it may be the best video game that allows the player to play as Wolverine. X-Men Origins: Wolverine the game is rated M which means, it gets a little bloody.
Players rip enemies apart with their adamantium claws, diving across the screen onto enemies, and perform special moves that take out everyone around. Another excellent addition to the game is the real-time healing factor - after a long battle, players will see Wolverine slowly regenerate his bloody and beaten body.
9 The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction allows players to roam a large open world set in a city. The player can pick up vehicles and take out the military that has come to stop the rampage. Every building in the game is destructible, which really helps the game earn its name.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a fantastic Hulk simulator, as it lets players run through anything and everything. However, the combat in the game suffers from what many other third-person action games suffered from in the sixth generation, it is somewhat tedious and uninteresting, but running around the open world and destroying everything makes up for it.
8 The Adventures of Batman and Robin (GEN)
The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the Sega Genesis plays like Contra, but with Batman, Robin, Joker, and the rest of the psychopaths that run around Gotham late at night in far too elaborate costumes.
While Super Nintendo version of The Adventures of Batman and Robin is more of a beat em’ up and not a bad game in its own right, the Genesis version offers a thrilling run and gun experience that will take some time to master. The Mad Hatter, Joker, Two-Face, and more make an appearance, all with their own themed level.
7 The Punisher
While The Punisher’s release did coincide with the 2004 movie, the game had little to do with the movie aside from Thomas Jane reprising his role as Frank Castle. The Punisher was released in 2005 for the Playstation 2, original Xbox, and PC. It is a third-person shooter that occasionally has torture mini-games where players must extract information from a goon.
There are many different torture mini-games, such as bashing someone’s head in a window sill, dangling someone over a shark tank, or slowly putting someone through a wood chipper.
6 Injustice 2
The seeds for the Injustice series were planted all the way back in 2008 with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, not long after Warner Brothers acquired the rights to Mortal Kombat. Injustice 2 plays very similarly to the most recent Mortal Kombat games, with an emphasis on footsies, juggling, and over the top action.
Injustice 2, like some entries in the Mortal Kombat series, added character that aren’t part of the DC Universe. Injustice 2 added the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hellboy, and even Raiden and Sub-Zero from the Mortal Kombat universe.
5 Batman (NES)
Sunsoft was killing it back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. They made many great classics for the system including Blaster Master, Ufouria, and Journey to Silius. Their streak of great games didn’t end with their take on the 1989 Batman movie called simply Batman.
In Batman for the NES, players are given some of Batman’s classic gadgets like his Batrangs, Batdisks, and more. Batman is also given a wall jump, which is used in a variety of the stages as a way to get through obstacles or reach higher platforms.
4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
While it may seem like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not superheroes, they were birthed in comics alongside Marvel’s Daredevil, making them fit the criteria perfectly. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time started off as a four-player arcade game until later being brought home to the Super Nintendo.
Konami was known for making some of the best beat em’ ups in the 90s, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is no exception. Players can play as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, or Donatello, all with different weapons to allow some replayability. Gamers play through a variety of different stages, all taking place at different points in time.
3 Marvel vs Capcom 2
What started off as a fighting game that featured X-Men characters developed by Capcom called X-Men: Children of the Atom turned into X-Men vs Street Fighter, until finally the Marvel vs. Capcom series was born.
Marvel vs Capcom 2 is an insane three versus three fighting game with some comic book inspired sprite art that still looks amazing to this day. Marvel vs Capcom 2 is still played in the fighting game community over 20 years after it was released, and was supposed to be one of the top games at the EVO fighting game tournament before it was canceled.
2 Spider-man (PS4)
Spider-man was developed by Insomniac, the creators of the Ratchet and Clank series of games. A spiritual sequel for the game has recently been announced called Spider-man: Miles Morales, which will be releasing for the Playstation 5. The game features a wide array of suits from Spidey’s history, which all have different abilities attached to them.
The majority of Spider-man for the Playstation 4’s web-swinging gameplay was taken from the 2004 movie tie in Spider-man 2 game. However, the combat in Spider-man for the Playstation 4 is heavily improved and plays much closer to the Batman: Arkham series of games.
1 Batman Arkham City
Batman Arkham City was a follow up to the very popular Batman Arkham Asylum game. While the first game in the series took place exclusively in Arkham Asylum, the second game took place in a large portion of Gotham City.
The gameplay consists of exploring the city and finding new gadgets and unlockables so players can reach other parts of the city that were previously inaccessible. The game’s combat plays almost like a rhythm game, as players must hit the right button at the right time in order to take out enemies.