SAINTS ROW IV
Not a franchise superhero game, but the fourth entry in Volition’s thoroughly silly
open-world crime series moved even further away from a certain Rockstar series
to which it bore a number of similarities. But it wasn’t enough for Saints Row to
include shark guns and sex toy weapons to ramp up the daftness. In SR4, your
Saints gang leader protagonist is President Of The USA, leading the free world
from a Matrix-style spaceship since Earth has been destroyed by aliens. So what
do you do as POTUS via the magic of said Matrix-aping simulator? Course, you
run amok gaining superpowers that help you leap tall buildings, glide around the
place, run super-fast and cause carnage while taking down aliens. Bonkers.
SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE
Again, not strictly a superhero franchise, but in this excellent sequel to Obsidian’s
super-sweet Stick Of Truth, your character, the ‘New Kid’ - gets caught up in a
battle of role-play between two would-be superhero franchises – Cartman’s Coon
And Friends, and Timmy, Kenny and Stan’s Freedom Pals. As a superhero, the
New Kid can chose from a bunch of superhero types: super-fast, super-strong,
powerful ranged attacks, weather or psychic-based attacks, tank-type, stealth,
gadget-using etc. Like all the best franchised games, South Park creators Matt
Stone and Trey Parker were heavily involved in the writing, and the result is a great
RPG with farting. It gets its superhero references pretty hilariously spot-on, too.
INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US
A fantastic plot involving Superman turning bad and
multiverses that allow several different versions of
your favourite DC superheroes and villains meant
everyone had the excuse to fight everyone else,
friend or foe alike. The move-sets are comprehensive,
the arenas transitionable and the super moves
brilliant, and unlike NetherRealm’s ultraviolent Mortal
Kombat series, the heroes get up off the floor with
their limbs still attached, keeping gore to a minimum
while those moves were still earth-shatteringly
powerful and satisfying. The Xbox One sequel is in
many ways superior, of course, but we’re calling out
the first game as better because number two had
loot boxes and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.DEADPOOL
The Merc With The Mouth got his own Xbox 360 game
in 2013, later ported to Xbox One, thoroughly doing
justice to the fourth-wall breaking, foul-mouthed
superhero even before Ryan Reynolds made Deadpool
popular. The game was written by Marvel’s Deadpool
writer Daniel Way, with Deadpool himself voiced by
famed videogame VO star Nolan North – the plot even
includes Wade Wilson getting Nolan North to voice
him. Deadpool is perfect for videogames, of course,
having both swords and guns, as well as handy rapid
healing, to help him cut down swathes of bad guys in
a brainless, enjoyable and unrelenting third-person
actioner that also includes appearances from Cable,
Psylocke, Wolverine, Rogue and Domino.110 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
extra