Bad Superhero Games That Make The Avengers Delay Seem Worth It
Just last week, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics announced that they were delaying the release of Marvel's Avengers until September. This was done so that Crystal Dynamics would have more time to create "the ultimate Avengers gaming experience." This understandably bummed out a lot of superhero fans, many of whom have an Avengers-shaped hole in their hearts since the release of Avengers: Endgame last year.
However, what if we told you that this isn't necessarily a bad thing? It's only been in the last handful of years that superhero games have started to become something to look forward to. Even now, you can never be certain if you can expect something to have the quality of the Batman: Arkham series. More often than not, you get something rushed to meet a deadline, usually in the form of movie tie-ins.
With the news of this delay, it's worth remembering that sometimes a game just needs a little more time to cook. Otherwise, the results could be disastrous. Let's take a look at some other superhero games that likely could have used a bit more time in the oven.
Iron Man 2
How about we start with a bad game starring an actual Avenger? Sure, while Iron Man 2 isn't likely anyone's favorite entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the game adaptation is somehow worse. Even a solid story from comics superstar Matt Fraction couldn't save this broken title.
First of all, the game barely follows the plot of the film it's based upon. This suggests that the game was rushed to meet the movie's release schedule, even while the movie's secrets were kept under wraps. What remains is a bare bones and glitchy Iron Man adventure that has poor ol' War Machine along for the ride.
The game features level after level of Iron Man fighting waves of identical enemies. As IGN stated in its review, "the whole game feels repetitive." Even the option to upgrade different armor load-outs for Tony Stark couldn't freshen up the stale combat and uninspired level design. The result is a game that feels both rushed and padded.
Batman: Dark Tomorrow
Maybe the most frustrating thing about Batman: Dark Tomorrow is just how close we apparently came to getting a game-changing title.
Dark Tomorrow was originally announced as an open-world game, which would have been a first for the Dark Knight. Its developers promised players the ability to traverse the city in the Batmobile and other vehicles as they stopped crimes and unraveled the game's larger mysteries.
Somehow that ended up not happening. The final product is almost painfully linear, sending Batman to a series of nondescript rooftops and saddlin him with some of the most broken stealth controls ever seen. Maybe the most damning evidence of its careless production cycle is the game's ending. If players don't disarm a device hidden in the game, they get a bad ending, no matter what. However, the game never bothers to tell players about the device, and the World's Greatest Detective isn't exactly helpful in this regard.
Superman 64
Look, at this point, it's almost unfair to rag on Superman 64. This game has topped so many lists of the worst video games of all time that it's almost a given that it would rear it's ugly polygonal head here. But if you're looking for the ultimate example of a game that needed more time to fully develop — let alone a superhero game starring a beloved character — look no further.
Hamstrung by a decree from Warner Bros. that Superman could not fight anyone in the game, the developers had to get creative. Unfortunately, they were under major time constraints, so that creativity turned into re-using the same broken level design over and over. Give this game a shot. By the fourth time you're attempting to guide Superman through a series of floating rings, you may begin to wonder if waiting an extra few months for Marvel's Avengers really seems all that bad.
Hopefully we won't have to fly Iron Man through any rings this September.