Matt's Somewhat Serious Bit
The 2001 release of X-Men by 20th Century Fox inspired something of a comeback in the superhero movie genre. Studios were aware of what could be achieved by staying true to the source material (mostly) rather than resorting to camp or forcing directors to make movies more family friendly (Robocop 3, anyone?). The videogame industry, suckling off Hollywood's teet for the flavour of the month, got stuck right into making games based on the now highly lucrative superhero license. Superhero games have seen a remarkable turnaround over the last few years, but there's still more that can be done. I think that this has a lot to do with the guys at the top of the bigger publishers; the first game using a license comes out looking really solid, and sells well, but the management wants ride the money wave for as long as possible without spending any money, and as a result, the ride quickly grind to a halt.
Bit of a rehash, really
Spider-Man is an example of this - the 1999 release of Spider-Man for the PSX and later N64 and Dreamcast marked something of a turnaround for Marvel videogames. Rather than trying to give the sequel a decent development schedule, they rushed it out, and the critical response was not good. 2002's Spider-Man: The Movie, while much prettier thanks to being on newer hardware still stuck tightly to the mechanics of Activision's early effort, introducing almost nothing new, except even more annoying camera problems. However, in 2004, the developer finally had enough time to push forward on new ideas for Spider-Man 2 and introduced the free roaming elements we've come to enjoy. History appears to be repeating itself however, as Ultimate Spider-Man is essentially a prettier, simplified re-hash of the tech seen in Spider-Man 2 with an admittedly better story. The buck doesn't stop there - Activision have a classic Spider-Man game on the way next year, and Spider-Man 3 for next gen consoles in 2007, both of which are rumoured to recycle the Spider-Man 2 play style.
The thing that really bugs me is that the licensors are only considering the short term results of these projects. Arguably the most memorable superhero venture of recent times was Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom 2, yet the chief licensor for Marvel Interactive seems to immediately write off any possibility of a third game in that series, simply instead focusing on the fact that EA is bigger, therefore Marvel Nemesis is better than Marvel vs. Capcom.
Could have been good, but isn't
The developers of games in the superhero genre do have a responsibility to please the fanbase, which inevitably means keeping ideas fresh. Tiburon's first non-Madden game in God knows how many years is set to be Superman Returns, based on Warner Brothers' big movie release next year. The game looks like it has some fresh ideas - Superman himself is practically invincible, but the city of Metropolis is not, so you have to keep up Supes' side of the bargain, and keep the city healthy by fighting crime, or it'll become a decaying cesspool, kinda like Adelaide. The strict deadline of June 2006 could be a concern though, as EA are notorious for delivering low quality games just to stay on schedule - Catwoman, anyone? Activision are intending to release a multicharacter RPG based on the Marvel license. Not much has been said at this point other than the fact it'll feature an ensemble cast and be released in their 2007 fiscal year, which starts in April 2006. Judging by the fact Activision have enjoyed moderate critical success from the X-Men Legends series, and has access to the full range of Marvel characters means that a Marvel RPG from the Santa Monica based publisher could be what comic book fans have been waiting for.
What about the games that aren't in development? EA has the rights to most (no Hulk, no Punisher, limited Captain America) of the Marvel roster, and all of the DC characters - why not try and use some of that marketing muscle to get both companies to agree to a cross-over fighting game? Just this time, think about giving the developer the time they need to make the game, you know, FUN. No more Marvel Nemesis repeats, please. What about a game based on Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.? Hell, why not get the likeness of David Hasselhoff too - he did play Nick Fury in that TV movie a few years back.
Look Michael, a canal!
From the bowels of the Internet #3
Like videogame commercials? Well, this place has an absolute crapload of them - new, old, really old, David - just about every game commercial you can think of is there. Pity about the quality, but it's better than nothing.
The views expressed in the Easy Mode article are those of Matt Keller, and are not shared by PALGN, its affiliates or its advertisers.
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