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It’s no exaggeration to say that superheroes are popular. You walk into any store, and you’ll see superhero merchandise. So you got to the cinema and there will be at least one film to see. You turn on TV, there’s a superhero show. Spider-Man, Batman, the X-Men, Wonder Woman, Hulk, Iron Man Captain America and more are all pop-culture icons that have become familiar to people across the globe, and their recognition will only increase as time goes by.

With all the media surrounding them, comics, film, cartoons, books, toys and more, one of the most successful avenues for superhero characters has been video games. Taking these larger than life and over-the-top characters and putting a player in control of their powers and abilities to take on crazy villains in unique setting makes them perfect for video games. There have been many of big games over the years, such as Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, the Arkham Batman games, numerous Spider-Man games, as well as X-Men Legends, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems, X-Men vs. Street Fighter and more.

There are many strong current examples of superhero games, each with a variety of characters and gameplay. Superheroes have always been flexible characters, so it’s easy to adapt them into different genres. One recent example is Injustice 2. The sequel to the popular Injustice: Gods Among Us, puts dozens of DC characters against each other with different designs and abilities that makes a great selection for a fighting game roster. The game’s story mode tells of a DC universe were Superman had taken over but now heroes and villains must now unite against the unstoppable Brainiac.

While fighting games focus on the action, Telltale have been focusing on story. Their new Batman: The Telltale Series and Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series games put the player’s focus on making choices that will impact the rest of the story. This has allowed for a Batman game to feature Bruce Wayne as much as his alter ego, while the latter let’s you experience the unique voices and personalities of the Guardians.

Other modern superhero games have included various Lego themed titles, the Disney Infinity series that included Marvel characters, and you can even find Marvel and Transformers themed slots from providers showcased by New Jersey online casinos.

Going into the future, superhero games show no sign of slowing down. Coming in October is the next clash of heroes in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, which will focus on the story mode and feature Marvel characters from the movies. Spider-Man is a big game from Sony coming in 2018 that will have a huge budget that will have quality examples of next-gen gameplay and graphics, featuring both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. For some superhero fun, you can turn to the upcoming Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 and South Park: The Fractured But Whole is set for release later this year and is an RPG that parodies super-hero tropes.

Superheroes and games are a great team up and as long as both remain popular, we’re likely to see them unite again and again.

***In cooperation with New Jersey online casino***

Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround