Playing Saints Row IV, which is arguably a supervillain game has made us ask many profound questions. How far can I kick that guy with superstrength? What happens if I freeze some dudes and them blast them with a missile launcher? But, more importantly, what is the best game where you play some form of superhero?
To narrow it down a bit, we’ve got five nominees. If you think we missed one, or just want to weigh in with your vote, let us know in the comments.
And now, up, up, and away!
<!–pagetitle:InFamous 2–>
The first inFamous was a lot of fun and executed both its open-world structure and moral choice system pretty well. But the second game included more effective melee combat and some smarter ideas, not to mention an ongoing political commentary in the form of the battered and flooded New Marais, a stand-in for Katrina-trashed New Orleans. The story itself had genuine moral weight: Cole McGrath has no easy answers as he struggles to decide whether to back the Beast or save humanity. And there’s nothing quite like covering a foe in sticky grenades and watching him go up in a blast of electricity.
<!–pagetitle:Crackdown–>
This sadly departed, although possibly soon to be rebooted, franchise really paid off the concept of the open world game. It wasn’t just an open map, but an open mission structure: You chose how the job got done, and in the meantime, you could try and find those agility orbs.
<!–pagetitle:Ultimate Spider-Man–>
Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 have the rare distinction of being great games based on a license, which is roughly as common as getting hit by lightning and by a truck at the exact same moment. But Ultimate Spider-Man was the one that refined the game itself to pretty much perfection, and as an added bonus, you could finally play as Venom in a meaningful sense.
<!–pagetitle:X-Men Legends II–>
Diablo meets Marvel would seem to be a natural fit for a video game, but for personal taste, this game was where the series really peaked. You had the most control over stats, the ability to create teams and get bonuses for it was introduced and could eat hours all by itself, and the characters had been balanced enough that there weren’t any attacks that made the party pointless… we’re looking at you, Storm’s chain lightning. Hopefully one day these will see a re-release.
<!–pagetitle:Batman: Arkham City–>
There have been a lot of bad Batman games, but the handful of good ones have been worth playing again and again. Arkham City, though, might deserve the label “classic.” Not only does it use its own continuity for all that it’s worth, it digs deep into Bat-history for villains and in-jokes, and has one of the best boss fights of all time.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments.