6 Avengers in Video Games Geek
The Avengers is set to hit theaters this Friday, and comic book fans everywhere simply can’t wait to see the comprehensive superhero flick in action, featuring all of their favorites Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye fighting against adversaries hell-bent on taking over the Earth. Why not turn to some video games? True, not all video games live up to the Marvel Comics legacy, like Sega’s lackluster efforts (the Iron Man games, Thor: God of Thunder).Here now are six prime recommendations to get you Avenger happy.Marvel Pinball, Captain America and the Avengers, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Captain America: Super Soldier, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
Marvel Pinball
Released back in 2010, the Marvel Pinball compilation is easily one of the best superhero-licensed products you’ll find on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. This collection features a slew of superb tables that play just like the real things, and several of them are based on heroes in the Avengers crew, including the Invincible Iron Man, the powerful Thor, and the mighty Captain America. Each table is packed with great voice samples, solid design, and enough bonus targets to jettison your score into the millions.
Captain America and the Avengers
A long time ago, when arcade beat-em-ups were still incredibly popular in arcades, Data East cashed in with a huge coup after scoring the license to Captain America and the Avengers from Marvel. The game lets you choose from Captain America, Iron Man, and Hawkeye (along with the forgotten Avenger Vision, who isn’t half bad) as you fight and fly your way through danger, occasionally receiving support from secondary characters. (“Thank you, Wonder Man!”) The arcade game is excellent, and if you need a home version, the Genesis edition, made by Data East, can’t be beat.
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Long before Radical Entertainment hit the mainstream with its Prototype franchise; it was trashing cities with The Incredible Hulk with the awesome Ultimate Destruction. Care to lob a parked car at a helicopter? Ultimate Destruction easily trumped Universal’s previous Hulk failure, and it remains a highly playable favorite to this very day. This game deserves a re-release.
Captain America: Super Soldier
Though Sega didn’t exactly do us any favors with some sorely lacking games based on the Iron Man films, as well as Thor (ugh), it did validate itself with a fairly good Captain America game. The multi-directional combat is rather cool, and the graphics look good for a licensed game. If you must play a modern Avenger-based game, make it this one.
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Capcom already delivered a wallop of a sequel with the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 last year, but the improvements it made in its Ultimate edition actually made a difference, compared to most second-rate game add-ons. It’s a great fighting game, no matter which platform you prefer.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Iron Man sides with one team, while Captain America, his fellow Avenger, sides with the other. No matter who you choose, you’re saddled with a great top-down adventure game, one where you choose from multiple characters and pound enemies, sometimes even with cool combination attacks, where super heroes team up to damage everything on-screen.
