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EDITORIAL: Five Comic Book Video Games That Changed The Industry

Over the course of the past few years, comic-based video games have been much more miss than hit. In this piece, I reflect on which comic book video games helped changed the way we see comic-based games as well as which changed the video game industry.

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By Alex Lynch - 6/30/2012
In the past decade, dozens of comic book games have been released and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that most of those video games have been unsuccessful. However, every couple of years an amazing comic book video game blossoms up from an unknown developer and becomes fantastic. In this piece, I take a trip down memory lane and reflect on what games I thought raised the bar for video games to follow.



Batman & Robin (1998, Playstation)


I know you probably think this game has no place on this list because it is based off of the movie we all want to ignore, but I never said this changed the genre for the better. I think you need to realize what this game did as it was the first 3D sandbox game simulating real-time events such as traffic and civilian population with three playable characters (Batman, Robin, and Batgirl). Each character was equipped with their unique vehicle to use as well. Heck, Grand Theft Auto 3 wasn’t even released by the time this game was but Grand Theft Auto was definitely better..


Spider-Man (2001, PS1; N64)


Setting the bar for every Spider-Man game to follow, this game presented a very unique plot with a huge cast of Marvel characters appearing. It also introduced incredible gameplay which most Spider-Man games use today at it’s core. Not only that, but it also introduced alternate costumes for Spider-Man with a nice selection from fan-favorite comics at the time. The game also introduced the famous “What If?” mode based off a series of comic books that changes the events of a famous comic storyline! Spider-Man was a huge success, but it’s sequel sadly didn’t live up to potential.


Spider-Man 2 (2004, Playstation 2; Xbox; GameCube)


Although this isn’t the sequel to the Spider-Man game mentioned above (Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro), this game pretty much was unforgettable to Spider-Man games as well. From developers Treyarch, Spider-Man 2 involved a compelling storyline with a huge open world of New York to explore. In this game, players really get to feel like Spider-Man as the web-slinging felt complex when it actually connected to buildings as you struggled to get a good pattern going with speed and momentum. You were also able to double-handed swing which was quite difficult to master. It was a new game mechanic that has yet to be recreated in Spider-Man games today.


Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006, Multi-Platform)


Marvel Ultimate Alliance introduces the superhero fanbase to the Action-RPG genre and vise-versa. Although its graphics weren’t up to the standards in 2006, it’s gameplay was deep and fun. Experienced gamers could look deep into the combos and execute them on their foes while casual gamers could button mash to complete the game and both players could still have a fun time together. It also showed us a huge array of Marvel locations such as Mephisto’s realm, Valhalla, Stark Tower, Dr. Strange’s Sanctum and many more. Any gamer was easily introduced to the expansive universe that they had yet to see in other media.


Batman: Arkham City (2011, Playstation 3; Xbox 360; PC; WiiU)


Does this require an explanation? Batman Arkham City is a sandbox game taking place in the slums of Gotham which Mayor Quincy Sharp walled off and called Arkham City, where Gotham’s criminals can roam free as they please as long as they do not try to escape. Written by Paul Dini, this game created the best Batman atmosphere we have ever seen in the video game world topped off by an amazing and recognizable voice cast. Kevin Conroy returns to voice the Caped Crusader while Mark Hamill also returned to voice the infamous Joker in this action-packed sequel that featured a huge cast of villains and Batman easter eggs. It not only defined the superhero genre, but also raised the bar for many video games of it’s type.

Honorable Mentions go to: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Superman 64 (It showed us what not do to) and The Amazing Spider-Man.
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LucasMend - 6/30/2012, 6:50 PM
Cool list man, Spider-Man 2 was definitely big on changes. But I would say Batman Arkham Asylum changed first, not Arkham City, mostly because of the combat system which was an innovation, because stoped being a repetitive thing and annoying/difficult thing, and became something easy and new, also gave a new air for the genre, of course Arkham City was great, but Asylum came first.
TheAlexLynch - 6/30/2012, 6:52 PM
True that Asylum came first -- but Arkham Asylum only set a standard for superhero games as after that, some games were able to top the quality of Asylum. City came along and blew AA out of the water, setting a new standard for action-adventure games and not only superhero/Batman games. It also added a great definition to sandbox games with thugs being placed all over and not just having random events.
ImNoSuperMan - 6/30/2012, 7:26 PM
I'd agree that Spider-Man is one of the best CBM games I have played. It was great for CB fans, with it's wide range of characters, locations, alt. costumes, etc. I do disagree that the 2nd one dropped the ball. It was great to me.

Spider-Man 2 was great too. The game play was awesome (it set a new standard, but my fav Spidey game is Ultimate Spider-Man).

Arkham Asylum was pretty ground breaking, but I see your logic in choosing AC.
Marvelfreek94 - 6/30/2012, 7:45 PM
I always thought Batman: Dark Tomorrow was the WORST Batman game ever but still a good list. Never even knew there was a Batman and Robin game.
superotherside - 6/30/2012, 8:03 PM
Great games. Good list bro. ;)
TheAlexLynch - 6/30/2012, 8:07 PM
@ImNoSuperman I thought that Spider-Man 2 losing the huge cast of guest characters and not adding too much of a change to the gameplay was a bad thing. I think the nostaglia of the first will live on forever.

@Marvelfreek, I'm not a big fan of Batman and Robin, but what the game accomplished was impressive for it's time.
Supes17 - 6/30/2012, 8:24 PM
ARKHAM CITY IS THE SHHIIITTT!!!!!!!!!!
[frick]ING BADASS
Tainted87 - 6/30/2012, 9:48 PM
Ultimate Spider-man > Spider-man 2

I think Ultimate Alliance and Marvel vs Capcom are the biggest game-changers insomuch as bringing an awareness to all of these characters people didn't know about.
CorndogBurglar - 6/30/2012, 9:57 PM
X-men legends should have been on the list instead of ultimate alliance. X-men was the game that started that series and was just as good....
TheAlexLynch - 6/30/2012, 10:05 PM
^I always thought that Alliance brought more to the gameplay and with it's expansive roster of characters it added more replayability and creativity to it. I recognize that X-Men Legends started the skeleton of MUA, but MUA is what Arkham City is to Arkham Asylum.
Ghostt - 6/30/2012, 10:07 PM
very nice article.

It's disappointing that we don't get many great comic book games. They should be leading the industry. Video games can apologetically take characters to a new level without the burden of realism that live action movies often suffer from. They can introduce a myriad of characters and places that live action cannot do due to plot constraints.

my fave is Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Lot's of worlds and costume options.
Jolt17 - 6/30/2012, 10:11 PM
Precise list. I know Batman & Robin was lame as hell, but I also remember being amused by the free-roaming system. Although I didn't have much fun with it anyway, for the rest of the game was a complete mess, but, still. And 2000's Spider-Man! Still the best Spider-Man game, IMO, while the first Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is the best Marvel game to me. I enjoyed Ultimate Spider-Man more than Spider-Man 2, in all honesty (despite its lack of replay value), and Batman: Arkham City is...do I need to say? Yeah, great list, man.
Shadow101 - 6/30/2012, 10:44 PM
DOUBLE SWINGING ! Yes that's what I loved about Spider Man 2. Just wished they brought it onto web of shadows and the amazing spider man games.
TheLokey1 - 6/30/2012, 10:50 PM
At the risk of dating myself, maximum carnage was the best CBG ever!
thewonderer - 6/30/2012, 10:52 PM
Spider-Man 2 , Arkham City, and the first Spider-Man on PS1 are some of the best games ever.
Jer3miah - 6/30/2012, 10:54 PM
Great article, but I disagree on Enter Electro. I think that game was amazing, and the first time we've ever seen Spidey's suit damaged from battle. It was Treyarch, and they rule at making Spidey games. Makes me wonder why the hell Marvel gave the gaming rights to Beenox. They can't even cough up a respectable Spidey game. Always subpar..
SymbioteSpidey1 - 6/30/2012, 10:57 PM
great list, i did enjoy Spiderman 2 but i do prefer Ultimate Spiderman over it. Arkham Asylum was just awesome, with its mind blowing combat system as well as accuracy to story. never played Batman and Robin, Arkham City or Ultimate Alliance (not for lack of wanting to, i might add, was broke for a loong time) but each looked very interesting and well done.
PsyBoy - 6/30/2012, 11:00 PM
OMG Spider-Man 2: MY CHILDHOOD! best game ever...
FriendlyNeighborhoodSpidey - 6/30/2012, 11:00 PM
Great list. My personal favorite comic book games are Ultimate Spider-Man, Arkham City, Ultimate Alliance, Spider Man 2, and despite its mixed reviews, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. I have yet to play Amazing Spider-Man and the 2000 Spider-Man game.
TheAlexLynch - 6/30/2012, 11:08 PM
Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro is a good game, but I felt it wasn't as exciting or adventurous as the first, and the lack of guest characters slightly annoyed me.
ByTheBeardOfZues - 6/30/2012, 11:17 PM
God damn i could play MUA for hours on end. lol
JustCallMeRazzy - 6/30/2012, 11:20 PM
@jer3miah i completely agree that beenox has made "eh" spiderman games, but honestly i think that the amazing spiderman is a great game. it was probably the open world that made it good, along with a suprisingly good storyline, but shattered demensions and edge of time werent that great.

the reason i played spiderman was to swing around the city LIKE SPIDERMAN. so i think the biggest change for the spiderman games was definately spiderman 2. although spiderman 1 (movie game) wasnt half bad either
DarkKnight23 - 6/30/2012, 11:31 PM
I'd like to add Hulk Ultimate Destruction and Justice League to the list.
blvdnoise - 6/30/2012, 11:37 PM
Yeah, I was definitely hooked on those Arkham game(s) for a while there..
BIGBMH - 6/30/2012, 11:40 PM
Good list. I would just replace Ultimate Alliance with X-men Legends and Arkham City with Arkham Asylum since they were the ones that introduced that concept that their sequels built on.
TheAlexLynch - 6/30/2012, 11:42 PM
^Justice League Heroes?
Judecheung - 6/30/2012, 11:47 PM
i love marvel ultimate alliance!!!
actually that was one of the few things that drew me into marvel comics:D
VanCityKid - 6/30/2012, 11:53 PM
I'd rather put Arkham Asylum on there, it broke new ground for comic book video games, Arkham City just improved upon it.

And I know it's not based on a Comic but as far as playing as a Superhero, InFamous should be recognized.
laughterman26 - 7/1/2012, 12:08 AM
anyone notice on how its just spider man and batman?
TheAlexLynch - 7/1/2012, 12:18 AM
@laughterman To be fair, Captain America didn't do anything new. Green Lantern, Thor, Iron Man, Blade, Ghost Rider, etc what did they bring to the table? Most of those were just carbon copies. Before that, you have great arcade games.
Maxi91291 - 7/1/2012, 12:26 AM
Spider-man 2001 :D That brings back memories. I always played it at my friends house when I was a kid since I didnt have PS1. Never played Batman and Robin though. I agree with the guys saying that X-men legends should be listed instead of MUA (which I love) since it was Legends that introduced those rpg/action gameplay mechanics and that Arkham Asylum should be listed instead of Arkham City since .. you know .. the same reason. Nontheless great article. Have any of you played Amazing Spider man yet ? How good or bad is it ? I heard that it is heavily inspierd by Arkham games ...
TheAlexLynch - 7/1/2012, 12:39 AM
I didn't do Asylum or X-Men because I wanted to list the most memorable and impactful games. Asylum wasn't that hyped up until a demo came out because it seemed like a generic Batman game that would be a disappointment from an unknown developer. After it's high success, Arkham City was announced and massively hyped and the impact it had was phenomenal as well as it's massive ending. Same MUA.
Maxi91291 - 7/1/2012, 12:46 AM
OK I get it. You are right. DOes anybody know what was the first superhero game ? I remember some really really oldschool spiderman (pitfall graphics) game where you just had to climb one building and stuff was falling on you and the same pitfall type superman game where you were flying from left to right ...
TheJoshider - 7/1/2012, 1:11 AM
arkham city is so overhyped. i cant say how let down by it i was. the story was split into 4 parts more or less (penguin, freeze and then joker in between all of that, with dr strange having a very anti climatic storyline imo)

the plot was actually pretty poor as well, and i really didnt care for the fate of characters, and there were quite a few plotholes throughout. i wish they focused the main story on joker and dr strange, and left everything else as sidemissions.

speaking of sidemissions, its probably the only thing i regret not getting in to. i must have done about 3 out of however many there are, and i havent even done any of the good ones, or the ones with potential sequel hints. thats one area i can see myself getting back in to.

i hope the final batman game from rocksteady, if there is one, is set in a free roam gotham city. forget sticking with the arkham name, i want to have the final one as a complete experience. being able to explore the whole of gotham with all the famous landmarks by batmobile or any other vehicle, as well as visit the asylum itself. would be a great way to sign off, and without joker they could put more focus on another favourite character
TristanThatGuy - 7/1/2012, 1:26 AM
I remember this one game, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. I thought it was pretty cool, and the graphics were actually pretty awesome at the time it came out. The gameplay in that game was also awesome, wish they'd done a sequel. Oh well.
113 - 7/1/2012, 1:36 AM
Marvel Ultimate Alliance was one of the best games I've ever played. It was extremely fun (Deadpool anyone?)

I was so disappointed by MUA2 which lost nearly all of the charm of the original.

I hope they make a MUA3 (seems like it's overdue since The Avengers movie is already out).

If they can get the original team that did MUA back together I think a third game could correct the mistakes of the second.
Floke - 7/1/2012, 1:36 AM
AvP is based on a comic book right? 1 and 2 is not only among the best cbgs, but among the best games of all times..
BenderdickCumPatch - 7/1/2012, 1:37 AM
SPIDER-MAN 2 FTW.
ftoons - 7/1/2012, 1:49 AM
I love The Amazing Spider-Man game. It is fantastic ;D
PsyBoy - 7/1/2012, 2:05 AM
X-Men: Mutant Academy also!!
FireKnightRises - 7/1/2012, 2:24 AM
man spider-man 2000 brings many memories, loved that game :D

@jlabatman0511
there's [frick]ing aquaman game?? lol
TheAlexLynch - 7/1/2012, 2:25 AM
@PsyBoy X-Men: Mutant Academy was great, but there were fighters before/after that blew it out of the water and it never brought anything new.
hush - 7/1/2012, 2:36 AM
X-Men Legends was before Ultimate Alliance, so the nod should go to X-Men.

Arkham Asylum should get the nod instead of Arkham City.
Odin - 7/1/2012, 3:30 AM
I still think that spiderman(ps1) is the best spiderman-game ever made.
TPerryoo7 - 7/1/2012, 4:06 AM
Thank you for putting Batman and Robin on that list.

Nobody knows how ahead of its time it really was. Ive played and mastered the game, Its my favorite game of all time, as Im a huge Batman fan, and this game nails the free roam aspect of the original movies. I know more about the detail and workings of this game than anyone (besides the developers) who has ever played it. I will promise you that.

Numerous Easter eggs to Joker, Catwoman, a slew of gotham city landmarks, including a 1989 looking Axis chemicals to explore. Also NO annoying voice acting! which I prefer.

Batman and Robin defiantly isn't a great game by any means, especially to the mass population, but to a person like me its still better then any Batman game yet.

Im waiting for when Rocksteady gets serious and does an entire gotham city game with vehicles and a full arsenal, multiple characters to play, a REAL time non-linear game clock (that changes mission up every time you restart the game) Access to the bat cave and wayne manor at any time, fully explorable, and littered with side crimes, clues and secret buildings. Batman and Robin did ALL that and MORE in 1998.

How do we not have this kind of game TODAY?

I can write a full article about this, haha.
Battista987 - 7/1/2012, 4:11 AM
@113, I agree I really didn't like MUA2 but I loved the first.
googleplex - 7/1/2012, 5:26 AM
i can see where you were going with this but x-men legends still should have been on the list instead of ultimate alliance and asylum instead of city. i can understand since you want the hype too but you didn't mention that above and also that doesn't explain why batman and robin is on the list. the movie was a bomb so was there really a hype for the videogame?
canvilella - 7/1/2012, 5:27 AM
I Understand why you put Arkham City and MUA instead of Arkham Asylum and Xmen Legends, but the title of your article is "Five Comic Book Video Games That Changed The Industry". As those two games were the ones to introduce their respective concepts they should be on the list, not their sequels. Otherwise, good list!
SuperDan89 - 7/1/2012, 5:47 AM
Spider-Man 2 and Arkham Asylum/City for me. Great games!
SteveRogersSon - 7/1/2012, 5:59 AM
Good list! I approve....well even though I never played Batman and Robin. As for the whole, while I enjoyed playing Xmen Legends and Xmen Legends 2. I was obsessed with MUA

NOthing beat swinging through NY as Spidey in Spiderman 2.

for a little different addition, while I guess it doesn't make the whole ground breaking aspect of the article, I'd add in Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley


because of the varied styles of comics the hero went through
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