Gaming

A DC Comics Video Game Universe needs to happen – Reader’s Feature


DC video games have been few and far between (pic: Warner Bros.)

A reader argues that Warner Bros. should have long ago started a DC universe for games and offers some ideas on how to get started.

It is now just under five years since the release of Batman: Arkham Knight and in that time Warner Bros. has managed to release just one other DC Comics game: Mortal Kombat clone Injustice 2. Almost every other week we get rumours of a new Batman game, as well as whispers that many were supposed to come out long ago but were cancelled for unknown reasons. Not just Batman games but others based around the DC Comics universe, including Superman and Suicide Squad games.

Why these keep getting cancelled and why Warner is so bad at releasing games I have no idea. But then everyone knows that companies are weirdly bad at making superhero games, even though it seems like it should be the most natural thing in the world. The only decent Marvel game released during the whole time frame of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Spider-Man, which is pretty much a clone of the Batman: Arkham games but with the web-swinging from the older Sam Raimi tie-ins.

There is Square Enix’s Avengers game, that just got a massive delay, and that seems to be a sort of standard third person action game, a bit like a more linear God Of War. It seems promising but we’ll have to wait and see. Besides, I want to concentrate on DC for this feature, as that was what I grew up with and has always been my favourite. And it seemed with the Rocksteady games that Warner was perfectly placed to make a sort of DC Video Game Universe, but they never did. But I still think they should.

When Batman: Arkham Asylum first came out only Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk had been released in cinemas and the idea of an Avengers movie, let alone films based on obscure characters like Guardians Of The Galaxy and Doctor Strange, was just a pipe dream. All the Batman games were successful and well received and Arkham Knight had a number of little references to other heroes that seemed to be setting up more games in the wider DC universe, and then… nothing.

It’s been so long now that the new Batman game is probably going to have to be a reboot, but if it is then at least use that as an excuse to include references from the start. The fact that the Bat-Family are rumoured to be in the game is a good start, as they never get exposure in film and games despite being extremely popular in the comics and TV shows. Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, and more all should be in the game.

From there you can build things out, with games using other Batman villains and the street level heroes that most commonly crossover with the Dark Knight. This seems to be the most common rumour for what Rocksteady is working on, but either way it’s a good idea to start introducing characters that aren’t strictly Batman characters, like Huntress, The Question, Prometheus, and Vandal Savage.

From there I would go to the other end of the spectrum and do a Superman game. A proper Superman game where Clark is a nice guy that wants to help people. People often say Superman is boring or has no decent villains but that’s only because the films have always been bad. Lex Luthor should always be his main nemesis, but there are plenty of villains that are a physical match for him or otherwise are able to take advantage of his weaknesses, including Darksied, Mongul, Brainiac, Bizarro, Parasite, and Metallo. And that’s without even getting into rival Kryptonians.

Superman can’t be killed by conventional means, but he can be hurt or winded relatively easily. There are also lots of different varieties of kryptonite, that have different effects, and he has no special immunity to magic. Plus, the idea of making the people and cities he protects his health bar, as in the flawed but well-meaning Superman Returns game, is still a good idea in search of a good game.

A Superman game is a tough one to get right, there’s no doubt, and so is a Flash game (I’d imagine it would use a lot of bullet time) but a Wonder Woman one practically writes itself. Reskin God Of War and you’re pretty much there straight away, but Warner Bros. haven’t even attempted that.

Green Lantern should be easy too. He can make his ring into anything he wants so start off with just one or two forms and the have him learn more as he goes along, like a role-playing game – it seems so obvious. A lot of these heroes can fly, which for some reason is something that doesn’t turn up in games much, but that’s one thing Anthem did right so it can’t be that hard.

They could all use the same basic control system too, which would be another benefit of a shared universe, so you could have Aquaman swimming around and it would control similarly even though the setting would be completely different.

These are basic ideas that should have been hammered out years ago but get them right and then you can start seeding plot points for new games in each one, just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Have some characters appear in multiple games, build up villains so you find out their backstory early on but can only beat them two or three games down the line, then have a big Justice League team-up game to finish everything off, ready for the next phase.

It doesn’t take a genius to think this stuff up, but it’ll need one to explain to me why it hasn’t happened yet.

By reader Tolly

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk and follow us on Twitter.

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