According to me, comic books make for some excellent source material for video games. Batman managed to deliver the black-eyed pee in your pants experience to thugs and maniacs in the Arkham series, while the cult favourite anti-hero Deadpool is getting his own game, due out next year. There’s plenty more comics out there that deserve a shot though, so we’ve gathered five such properties that would make for some great entertainment.
Chew
Remember a couple of years back, when face masks became the new fashion accessory, thanks to an outbreak of bird flu. Like many other things in life, like several animal species, music and dignity, humanity managed to kill it off.
But what if that virus became worse over time? What if it managed to kill scores across the globe, wipe out several avian species and result in a ban on all poultry food? That’s pretty much the scenario for the world that Tony Chu lives in.
As an agent for the FDA, Chu tackles all sorts of food-based crimes and shenanigans, from alien plant species that taske like chicken, through to terrorist cults re-engineering cows into explosive weapons of moo destruction.
And that’s not even the weirdest part of the series, as Chu himself happens to be a Cibopath. Eating an apple means that he can receive psychic imprints from when it was picked to what pesticides were used on it. Eating some beef however, results in some less than pleasant slaughterhouse imagery.
Chew has everything necessary to make a great game, from characters, action and mystery, through to hilarious gags and situations.
Invincible
Superman and Spider-Man are great characters, with major flaws. For Superman, it’s that he has the personality of canned beets most of the time, as he seeks to inspire humanity with his alien godhood powers.
For Spidey, it’s that he happens to be a whiney little diva, bemoaning every little thing that happens to him. So what happens when you combine the youthfulness of a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man with the powers of the last son of Krypton, but none of the whinging drama?
You get Invincible, a take charge hero in a very, very violent world. Superman type games have been done before, but most of them fail spectacularly. All that power, and not enough of a real challenge, but somehow still appealing.
The official tie-in for Superman Returns a couple of years ago, was one such game, which managed to get the scope of being the Man of Steel down, but failed to properly deliver when it came to action.
Imagine that open world setup, with some decent combat and ground level action, and we’d have a winner on our hands here.
The Goon
One of the more oddball titles to come out of comics in recent years, The Goon is nevertheless one of the best series currently on stands today. Gorgeous art, snappy writing and a funny bone that humped a mean streak over several miles, resulted in this fantastic clash of supernatural and gangster action.
But throughout all the violence, undead action and abuse towards giant spiders within the pages of this series, the comic has heart, and more importantly, brains within it. Right now, David Fincher is looking to get a proper movie made, but Hollywood has turned him away to focus on the bright lights in 3D rom-coms and predictable action beats.
It’d be a shame to see The Goon fail to reach the big screen, but an even bigger shame if it never made it towards a smaller, more interactive screen either.
John Constantine: Hellblazer
Forget about Keanu Reeves. Wipe the underwhelming fart streak of that film from your mind. How Hollywood managed to come to the conclusion that their idea for the iconic character was better than two decades worth of epic storylines and development from various writers and artists, is beyond me.
The one great thing about gaming, is that we get to play with characters that exist in a moral vacuum at times, allowing us to either see things in black, white or grey. John Constantine is one such character, a trickster magician who’ll beat you with his charm and wit before he even casts a spell.
He’s pretty much one of the most hated men in existence, with the devil himself spending days imagining how he can torture the British conjuror after being tricked and insulted by him several times, amongst many, many other foes.
John Constantine may be a liar, thief and rogue, but given a chance in a decent game, he could be a hero as well.
Heroes for hire
Sweet Christmas! If there’s one thing going for gaming these days, it’s co-op action. From Borderlands through to Army of Two, having a friend alongside you is a great way to pass the time. And what better way is there to play, as two vastly different, yet tight as glue friends who will kick some super-powered butt for a small fee?
One is a kung fu master who can turn his hand into a fist of dragon energy imbued badassery, the other, a wrongly convicted man who took part in a prison experiment to give him super-strength and bullet-proof skin.
Now imagine that, but with two players complementing the agile and tank-like natures of one another as they take on the worst that the Marvel comics universe has to offer, earning a sweet payday in the process.
Sweet Christmas!
That’s just five examples…so far. Expect a second part next week.
Last Updated: October 17, 2012
