Well, the time is finally upon us. It’s the summer that comic fans worldwide have been pining for. It is the summer of The Avengers. Marvel has taken its sweet time getting this movie to us by stringing us along for several years over the course of no less than five separate movies, dropping a little scene here and a little cameo there. Well, the time has finally come and we are all hoping that the wait will be worth it.
To celebrate this momentous milestone in cinematic history (and since this is a video game website) I thought that this might be a good time to reflect back on the video game history of the world’s greatest heroes. The likes of Hulk, Thor and company have yielded some great (and some not so great) electronic entertainment over the years and while you could probably find all these nuggets of info on Wikipedia or after an exhaustive Google search, why do all that work when I have done it for you? So strap on a pair of stretchy purple pants and take a trip with me down memory lane.
NOTE:I am aware that there have been many iterations of the Avengers with various members over the years but this retrospective will only cover the ones appearing in the new movie. This will also not cover every single video game appearance such as MMO’s, pinball and the like. I will also not cover the 2D fighting games since there are so many and by the time this writing is done Capcom will have probably already released two or three more versions of the same game anyway.
Questprobe: The Hulk (1984) – We’re getting pretty old-school with this one. Questprobe is the unfortunate name of what ended up being a trilogy of text based adventure games (remember those? No? Ok…) that starred various Marvel characters. The original plan was to release a total of twelve of them but developer Adventure International went bankrupt after the first three resulting in the cancelation of the rest of the series. Questprobe: The Hulk did see the light of day however, appearing on the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64 and home computer.
Captain America in: The Doom Tube of Dr. Megalomann (1987) – This one wins the award for the best name. I sincerely hope that Marvel considers this for the name of the Avengers sequel. Anyway, this game also marks the first video game appearance of Captain America. The premise of this one was pretty unique; officials have located the base of the nefarious Dr. Megalomann under the Mojave Desert and the Dr. has world ending missiles ready to launch. Cap has to traverse the base and disable the rockets. The interesting gameplay mechanic of this game is that it played out in real time and players only had one hour to locate the missiles and save the world. The game is also known as Captain America Defies the Doom Tube and was available on the Atari ST, Amiga, and Commodore 64 among others. Discerning music fans will also be happy to know that the B-side of the gaming cassette contained the hit song Who’s Crying Now? By mega-rockers, Resister! Yeah, I don’t know who they are either.
Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom’s Revenge (1989) – Captain America teams up with Spidey this time in a side-scrolling adventure. Players would use each character alternately, switching after each level. Players would battle through an assortment of well-known, and lesser-known villains like Hobgoblin, Machete (not Danny Trejo), and Greg Gargoyle in an attempt to finally face off against Dr. Doom himself. Again, releasing on systems like the Amiga and Atari ST, lucky owners of this game also got an exclusive comic book which acted as a prequel to the story of the game.
Captain America and The Avengers (1991) – This is the one that many fans remember as their favorite of The Avengers appearance in video games. Releasing on nearly everything from arcade, Super Nintendo, and even Sega Dreamcast, this side scrolling beat’em up was the game to have among Marvel fans. Players were able to pick from four playable character including Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Vision(?). The Red Skull has assembled a team of super villains in an attempt to (Gasp!) take over the world. The game was split into on foot sections and flying sections giving players an assortment of melee and ranged attacks. An NES version was also available but Captain America and Hawkeye were the only available players on that system.
The Incredible Hulk (1994) – The Incredible Hulk got back into the world of electronic entertainment with this game which appeared on Super Nintendo and several different Sega systems. Another side scrolling beat’em up, players controlled the Hulk through five different levels going from earth to outer space. Every level would end with a boss battle against one of Hulk’s famous enemies like Abomination and Rhino until players made it to the end and brought down The Leader and saved the world.
Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal (1996) – Iron Man teams up with that loser, X-O Manowar, to once again save the world from destruction. Players could go it alone or team up with a buddy in this side-scroller to stop a team of villains from finding the pieces of the cosmic cube. Man, that thing gets around, doesn’t it? The game released on Playstation, Sega Saturn, Game Boy, Game Gear and DOS to poor critical reviews. Apparently nobody like X-O Manowar.
The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga (1996) – Publisher ‘Eidos’ who were at that time gaining fame for their Tomb Raider franchise published this side-scrolling action platformer starring everyone’s favorite green tortured soul. Following very loosely the Pantheon storyline from the comics, the player would guide Hulk through a dozen levels of face-punching, puzzle-solving action. The game was released for Playstation, Sega Saturn and MS-DOS and was heavily criticized upon release. The Pantheon storyline in the comics is not, in my opinion, the strongest anyway but critics panned the game for not adhering close enough to the story. That, in addition to an insane difficulty and poor graphics, has left this game with a sub-par legacy.
The Invincible Iron Man (2002) – After several years of appearing in different Capcom fighting games, Avengers members finally got their own action game again with the release of The Invincible Iron Man on Gameboy Advance. Published by Activision, this side-scroller has the player tracking down Tony Stark’s stolen Iron Man suit. Players get to wear different version of the famous suit as you take on various enemies through on-foot and aerial combat. With a variety of weaponry and bright, engaging visuals, this is one of the only Iron Man centric games to receive positive critical praise.
The Incredible Hulk (2003) – Another Gameboy Advance game that released in the same year as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk returned to the small screen. Employing a top-down view instead of strictly side-scrolling missions, this game gave players a different view of the action. Players also got to control Bruce Banner in some of the more cerebral missions before Hulking out and commencing with the face punching. Solid gameplay and bright visuals was enough to give this game a pretty successful reception and lucky consumers who bought the game new were the recipient of an exclusive pack-in comic strip.
Hulk (2003) – Notice a trend happening here? Yeah, there are a lot of Hulk games released. This one is the game adaptation of Ang Lee’s cinematic disaster, Hulk. Although I don’t hate the film as much as most people, I actually rather enjoy it. The game takes place roughly eight years after the film ends and begins in a dream sequence as Banner transforms into the Hulk and wipes out what is apparently the entire US Army outside of a gas station in the desert. The main goal of the game is to rescue Betty Ross who has been kidnapped by The Leader, while dealing with other villains and the US military. The game is split up into Hulk sections and Banner sections. The Hulk sections are pretty satisfying if nothing more than mindless smashing sessions while the Banner sections are slower paced and stealth orientated and, well, just not very fun. Hulk was released for the Gamecube, Playstation 2, Xbox, and Windows.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction – Oh, keen! Another Hulk game! Actually no one really minded this game being released as it has come to be thought of as one of the best super hero games ever released, right behind the latest Batman games. Ultimate Destruction boasted a strange storyline involving Emil Bonsky’s wife battling ovarian cancer and being turned into an aquatic monster. Players would face off against familiar foes like Blonsky, Abomination, and General Thunderbolt Ross while enjoying quality voice acting from the likes of Ron Perlman. These things are not what made Ultimate Destruction a fantastic game though. Developer ‘Radical Entertainment’ understood what makes Hulk such a fun character to play as, and that is his unstoppable destructive power. Players could sink hours into the large open world just running around and wreaking havoc. Entire buildings could be toppled, city buses could be turned into boxing gloves, and telephone poles could be used as oversized baseball bats. All of Hulk’s powers were at the player’s disposal as you kicked semi-trucks over the mountainside or leaped halfway across the city in a single jump. Owners of Gamecube, Playstation or Xbox had plenty of reason to be happy about Hulk returning to consoles.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006), Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009) – Activision released the first Ultimate Alliance in 2006 to generally favorable reviews. The game played almost identical to the X-Men Legends games that had been developed by Raven Software. Boasting over 140 different characters from the Marvel universe, up to four players could choose from a constantly evolving roster of heroes to play through the game. The story revolved around Nick Fury gathering super heroes from across the world to do battle with the newly formed team of pretty much every single villain known to man. Players would even receive special bonuses if they constructed their team of specific characters such as the Avengers or The Fantastic Four. The game was available on just about every system you might want to play on. Ultimate Alliance 2 released three years later and adhered closely to the play style of its predecessor. The most notable differences being a different graphical style for the cutscenes and the addition of special “fusion” powers the player could access if done with the right combination of characters. The story of Ultimate Alliance 2 revolved around the Secret War and Civil War storyline of the comics, giving players the option of joining the pro-registration side or the anti-registration side.
Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010) – Based somewhat on the plot of the movie and releasing alongside of it, Iron man was full of potential. Actors Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard reprised their roles for what would be the first of Sega’s round of Avengers based games. Releasing on anything and everything that could play a video game, Iron Man sold pretty well out of the gate. Unfortunately, the game quality didn’t live up to expectations. Stepping into the suit of Iron Man is an inviting concept but the game was weighed down by terrible controls which made things that should have been fun and exciting, like flying, a frustrating chore. Couple that with sub-par graphics and enemy AI that reminded one of doing battle with a six pack of Pepsi, and it’s safe to say that Iron Man flew pretty low. Its sequel, Iron Man 2, released alongside of the second Iron Man movie and after a playthrough it’s easy to see that Sega didn’t learn its lesson. The noticeable loss of Robert Downey Jr. as the voice of Tony Stark/Iron Man is a definite detraction but the real crime this game commits is once again its gameplay. Players have the option this time of choosing between Iron Man and War Machine, each boasting their own abilities and weaknesses but no matter which one you choose you’re bound to be frustrated. It’s just not a very good game.
The Incredible Hulk (2008) – Another of Sega’s movie tie-in games ,The Incredible Hulk is based loosely on the film but desperately tries to ape the gameplay mechanic of the highly superior The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Actor Edward Norton reprises his role of Bruce Banner but I think that whatever recording studio he recorded his lines in needs to invest in a coffee maker because he seriously sounds like he’s half asleep the whole time. Gameplay consists of pretty some pretty sketchy story missions that you can locate at various points in the large, open world style city. The open world sections should have been fun but the developers just couldn’t find the same magic that Ultimate Destruction had even though it was obvious that they were trying. The character model on Hulk is pretty impressive but draw distance is awful. Standing on top of a building will make you swear you were playing a Nintendo 64 game with the level of fog that permeates the city. The Incredible Hulk was release across all platforms and handhelds.
Marvel Super Hero Squad (2009), Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet (2010), Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat (2011) – THQ produced this series of games based on the Super Hero Squad toy line and television show. Everything from story line to gameplay was simplified as this series was aimed primarily at children. The gameplay is similar to that of the Lego games with drop in/drop out co-op features. The plot of the first game follows some of the plots of the cartoon show with none other than Stan ‘The Man’ Lee voicing the mayor Super Hero City. Basic action game mechanics apply here and are suitably easy to pick up. The sequel, The Infinity Gauntlet, would see a new developer take over and the addition of a few new gameplay modes. The story revolved around The Hulk and Iron Man running into some trouble while they are in outer space shopping for boots for Thor’s birthday. I’m not kidding. Gameplay mechanics stayed largely the same but there was some DLC offered for the sequel. The third game, Comic Combat, required the use of THQ’s U-Draw tablet and required players to draw out their attacks on the tablet to bring down villains like Dr. Doom and Red Skull. Critically, the trio of games didn’t fare very well but they really aren’t too bad as long as you don’t mind a certain level of simplicity in your gameplay.
Marvel Super Heroes 3D: Grandmaster’s Challenge (2101) – This was a Wii exclusive. It was a first person game that you and three of your friends could play together. The problem was that anyone who had this game probably had no friends. I think it had mini games or something like that. I’m not sure if it sold any copies….
Thor: God of Thunder (2011) – Another movie, another Sega tie-in. The DS version was more of an old-school platformer and was received pretty well. The Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 versions didn’t fare so well. The problem with the game was mainly the same problem that most super hero games face in that the hero’s powers have to be scaled back in order to present a challenge to the player. Basic things like flying, which Thor can always do in the comics, are absent here, replaced instead by the ability to leap to pre-determined landing points. Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth do reprise their roles as Thor and Loki but its little more than nice curtains on a busted window. Gameplay is just flat and boring and level design is uninteresting to put it mildly. This is the only video game in which Thor is the star, but it’s nothing he would be proud of.
Captain America: Super Soldier (2011) – If you want to know what I think about this game you can read the full review on our website by clicking here.
There you have it, folks. Not exactly exhaustive but lengthy enough. If nothing else we can all have a little better understanding of the video game history of our favorite super heroes. Join in on the conversation in the comment section below. Did I miss one? What’s your favorite one? Did any of you actually play The Grandmaster’s Challenge? Let us know, and get ready to assemble! May 4th can’t get here soon enough!
