With the anticipated release of Crystal Dynamics' newest game Marvel's Avengers, it is only fitting to go back in time and take a look at the long history of Marvel games. There are plenty of beloved classics like Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Marvel's Spider-Man on PS4, Deadpool, and more.
However, there are some Marvel games that have, unfortunately, vanished from the minds of fans over the years that remain fun and addicting to play even today. There are also the unfortunate Marvel games that made fans want to smash them with irradiated fists or slash them with some adamantium claws.
10 Good: Captain America: Super Soldier
During the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nearly every movie had a video game tie in. In most cases, they were rushed, boring, and ugly cash grabs with little effort gone into making a decent game except for one based on Captain America: The First Avenger.
Captain America: Super Soldier is not the deepest game, hardest, or really anything new but much like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it manages to have tight Batman: Arkham-esque gameplay, a decent enough campaign to enjoy, and plenty of returning voices from the movie itself.
9 Bad: Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth
Motion controls were the new thing around the time of this game's release so Marvel tried to take advantage of the Xbox 360's Kinect which resulted in a very broken mess. While it featured what should have been an impressive roster of Marvel characters, it suffered from poor controls.
The Kinect's motion controls could have been a great way to help players feel like Avengers but instead, it's just a bunch of arms and legs flailing around. The controls barely responded which resulted in players getting tired within the first ten minutes.
8 Good: Spider-Man: Edge Of Time
The sequel to Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions changed things up by only focusing on two versions of Spider-Man working together. In Edge Of Time, the Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 are on the case to stop a threat to the space-time continuum.
Despite having a richer story, more of what made the gameplay of the first game so good, unique villains, and plenty of twists and turns, it surprisingly slipped past most people's radars. Without spoiling anything, all that can be said is that those who enjoyed Shattered Dimensions will more than likely enjoy Edge Of Time.
7 Bad: X-Men: Destiny
X-Men: Destiny is the most tragic case on this list that had a plethora of brilliant ideas including being able to create a new mutant and progress them however one wants. An RPG system similar to the likes of the Diablo games: this should have been the best X-Men game ever made!
So what happened? This game's budget was constantly being cut so many concepts and ideas were watered down in order to meet a deadline. It resulted in X-Men: Destiny being a rushed, mediocre action-RPG that deserved better. There are some fans that hope it gets a proper reboot in the way it was originally intended to be made.
6 Good: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
The first Ultimate Alliance was a huge hit so obviously, there was hype for a sequel but after the initial release of Ultimate Alliance 2, it seemed to fade into obscurity. It didn't sell nearly as well as the predecessor which is unfortunate seeing how it features many superior aspects.
The roster was bigger and more diverse, the two different campaigns depending on player choices, more locations, and even more skills to unlock for characters. Because of this game's failure, gamers did not get an Ultimate Alliance 3 until ten years later.
5 Bad: The Punisher: No Mercy
A high-octane first person shooter based on The Punisher sounds like the recipe for a perfect dish, right? Unfortunately, this is a dish that Gordon Ramsey would throw back in the face of the chefs for being undercooked.
It's ugly, clunky, and provides nothing unique to the FPS genre other than the player is playing as one of Marvel's most brutal of anti-heroes. This game should have been the Doom: Eternal of Marvel games but instead it just feels like an even more watered down version of Quake 4.
4 Good: Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Telltale Series
There was a time when Telltale Games were everywhere taking on so many properties and (most of the time) nailing it with every title. During the height of their popularity, they even collaborated with Marvel to bring about their own take on everyone's favorite cosmic losers.
With their witty and well-paced storytelling, plenty of story choices to make, and the chance to play as all of the Guardians in a style that perfectly balances the movies and the comics, this is one that more people should have played. With Telltale returning, some hope they work on a Season 2 for the Guardians.
3 Bad: Fantastic Four
A Marvel movie that very few audiences enjoyed managed to get a video game tie-in: what could go wrong? Just about everything. Fantastic Four is essentially the same level and gameplay repeated for several hours without any variation or anything unique to keep the game interesting.
Level starts, player destroys a bunch of mediocre enemies, level ends; rinse and repeat for several hours. That is the Fantastic Four game from beginning to end. The sequel is not much better other than it has more interesting looking locations.
2 Good:Â Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows
While compared to Marvel's Spider-Man from 2018, it pales but for its time, Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows provided the best open-world experience as the Web-Slinger. With an RPG system for both the red and black suits, each providing their own skills and perks and a morality system, it was a very ambitious Marvel game.
It wasn't just a Spider-Man game as it featured Wolverine, Luke Cage, Nick Fury, and an assortment of Spider-Man villains to interact with. Sure, the voice acting is not the greatest and the graphics are not that polished but when Web Of Shadows is going strong, it is very strong,
1 Bad: The Incredible Hulk
An open-world game featuring the Hulk? Right on! It even looks like it's heavily inspired by The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction from the PlayStation 2/GameCube era. This should be incredible! That's the mindset many might go in with but that quickly changes after only a few minutes of gameplay.
The Incredible Hulk, based on the movie of the same name, takes what made Ultimate Destruction so good as throws it all out of the window. It's slower than molasses, the combat is awkward, and traversal is just boring. It also doesn't help that the graphics are uglier than Deadpool's face.