Finally, the movie Batman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice, Dawn of Justice) has just come to the boards this weekend and we have decided that to celebrate the occasion at the controls, we had to make a list of those who, in our opinion, are the best games that include these super-heroes on playable version. However, this is not a competition, because we know that Batman would earn it over and above with the Arkham series (and that poor Clark Kent would always get the average score for the mythical/infamous Superman 64). So none of that; we will focus on remembering the classics and discovering some of the most modern games of DC’s two main heroes.
- Superman
The first title we highlighted of Superman was also the opening of the superhero on the Mega Drive console and was titled “Superman.” Thus, the character was inspired by comics and even featured Brainiac as a villain, who has always been more associated with the superhero print version. The game itself involved a mixture of action and platforms and allowed players to switch between different powers of Superman, such as laser vision, super force, flight and even spin on its axis like a drill to open holes in the ground. Nothing exceptional, but it’s a pretty decent title about the Man of Steel.
- The Death and Return of Superman
This may surprise you, but Blizzard developed this action title inspired by The Story of Superman’s death and return. Yeah, the same Blizzard that StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo would do. In itself, the gameplay looked quite like Final Fight or Streets of Rage, although the powers of the different characters gave variety to the experience. In this case, players assume not only the role of Superman but also the variations that arise after his death, such as Superboy or Cyborg Superman. It becomes a bit repetitive and lacks the depth of other titles of the genre, but it’s worth remembering.
- Justice League Heroes
Justice League Heroes was DC’s response to X-Men Legends and imitated the same RPG style with an isometric perspective, but, unfortunately, it was far below in terms of quality. The situation worsened when, shortly afterward, Marvel took out the vastly superior Marvel Ultimate Alliance, which, like the two games we just mentioned, was an isometric action RPG. And yet, we believe Justice League Heroes is a reasonable offer for DC fans and even allows two players to play together on some platforms.
- Superman Returns
First of all, let’s make it clear that Superman Returns is not a good game. It’s terrible, but no one can get close to Superman 64, and this one had an open world of quite acceptable quality. Without a doubt, the best thing about the game was to fly for that accessible version of Metropolis, and we think it’s probably the one that best recreated the experience of being the Man Of Steel (at least in the air). Now, the flaws were in everything else: a horrible story, some mediocre graphics, and some atrocious controls. However, if you manage to stay on the air and you’re a huge fan, you might get something good out of Superman Returns.
- DC Universe Online
The task that fell to Sony Online Entertainment (now Daybreak Game Company) was to create an MMORPG based on the DC universe for the PC and PS3 (and now also for PS4) and did not have to be anything natural. So, given the difficulty of the project, we believe SOE did a fairly reasonable job. Logically, the experience had a lot of faults if the submit to comparisons with other titles (particularly on the graphics and the gameplay), but DC Universe Online also enjoyed some particular strengths: it is an MMO in which you can spend hours and hours enjoying your muscles of a superhero, especially if you’re a big fan of DC, and, in addition, the game is free (free-to-play) to PC, PS3, and PS4.
What is to come?
The world of video games has been, so far, much kinder to The Dark Knight than to The Man Of Steel, especially the Arkham trilogy. This may be partly because Batman fits perfectly into the more traditional structure of video games, while Superman, who is virtually invincible (except for kryptonite), is much harder to recreate. Even so, we believe that great things can be done with the character and there are rumors that Warner Montreal (Batman: Arkham Origins) is working on a Superman game. For the time being, however, this remains mere unconfirmed speculation.
As far as Batman is concerned, his future is uncertain, especially now that Rocksteady has decided to end the character’s adventures in Batman: Arkham Knight. It may not be directly related to either of the two heroes, but (not knowing anything concrete) we would not be surprised that Netherrealm was working on Injustice: Gods Among Us 2, especially now that they have almost finished the DLC of Mortal Kombat X and its XL Edition. With a bit of luck, the E3 will show us something more about this and other potential projects of these two superheroes, now that the film has turned them back on (if they ever stopped being).