Get Your Game On!

Some of you long-time readers of The Panel Biter will remember I did a list of DC Comics characters/teams I think could be used for awesome video games. Well, fairness is fair and I've been putting this topic off for a while. What Marvel properties could make great video games? This is The Panel Biter's Top 5 Most Wanted Marvel Games!

5. Ant-Man

 Ant-Man is one of those characters who could fit various types of video games. Imagine a puzzle platformer where you're size determines your progression. Imagine a 3D adventure game where you can explore lush environments from the size of Paul Rudd to the size of an ant! Imagine a real-time strategy game where you coordinate your legion of varied ants to help you complete your mission. Really, an Ant-Man game could be very clever in how it chooses to use this hero's powers. Games like "Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap" have done some cool stuff with the shrinking mechanic and I really like the sub-game of training useful insects. Plus, with alter egos like Giant-Man, Yellowjacket, Goliath, Wasp, and Stature the multiplayer options are already on the table.

4. Daredevil

 If anyone should have a quick-time counter combat system, its the Man Without Fear, Daredevil. Roaming New York with Spier-Man may make you feel free, but patrolling Hell's Kitchen in the dead of night dressed like a freaking devil will give you the ultimate power fantasy. Mastering martial arts, acrobatics, and detective skills would give you different ways to play, and a feature determining Daredevil's alignment would craft a cool narrative. Be a good superhero like Spider-Man and you could be an Avenger, be a murderous vigilante like The Punisher and you could lead The Hand ninja clan with Elektra by your side. The best feature would be the "L.A. Noir" angle where as Matt Murdock-Attorney at Law-you need to piece clues together and get answers from criminals, information that will aid you when you dive into the night serving justice. And, again, "detective vision" is just Batman wishing he had blind-people sonar.

3. Doctor Strange

 For Doctor Strange-ya know, the guy keeping monsters under beds and inside locked in closets-I think a play-style similar to "Skyrim" would be ideal. Choosing what kind of Sorcerer you want to be would make the game very replayable. Are you the kind of guy to shoot fireballs and lightning strikes, or will you conjure swords and battle axes? Will you craft barriers and suppress your enemy's attacks, or summon a demon to do the dirty work for you? Using your mysterious Sanctum Sanctorum to venture multiple dimensions, battle foes like Doctor Doom, Dormammu and Shuma-Gorath, customizing the tomes and equipment that make you the powerful wizard you are! All the while receiving the utmost guidance from your servant, Wong.

2. Civil War

 "Civil War" is one of Marvel's most famous stories. It was loosely used in "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2", it will be featured in "Captain America: Civil War", and will even get a comic book sequel "Civil War II". Now when I see the red and blue sides, I think of one thing: Pokemon! Game series like "Pokemon" made bank off of duel versions of the same game, so why not make an RPG based off Civil War? In "Civil War: The Iron Arm" you play as Iron Man, recruiting heroes to join the U.S. government. In "Civil War: Freedom's Shield" you play as Captain America, joining with other heroes who believe in their rights! Each version could have different characters to recruit, and to make the hero versus hero battles feel special you could throw a third party in there like HYDRA or The Skrulls just to see how each side deals with each other and this unaligned threat. Marvel could really make bank on this idea, and even produce a better ending than the original comic!

1. Iron Man

During the 2015 "Secret Wars" Marvel published a short series where we see a version of the Marvel Universe where a virus has forced all citizens to wear Iron Man armor. That made me think of how cool an "Iron Man: Armor World" could be. Think about it: customizing your own Iron Man armor, buying and trading and selling parts, weapons and upgrades, battling Iron Man's lame gallery of villains and challenging your friends to battles, races and more! Think of a "Grand Theft Auto" sandbox-like game where you can meet with other players and compare armors! I'd want a really technical system, too. If I get hit in the legs, flight should be half-usable, if I fire a Uni-Beam, I should have to recharge. Energy, ammunition and part performance should all be factors. The hub layout for Iron Man's helmet could be your screen layout. Let's take that one step further, Oculus Rift compatibility. Put on the visor and you put on the helmet. See, fly, fight, and feel like Iron Man in one of his many armors with the Oculus Rift's virtual reality setting. You may look like an idiot in your living room, but in "Armor World" you'd be another man in a metal suit!
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