Top 10 Marvel Video Games

Building on the solid Action-RPG gameplay of the first game, “X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse” has everything the original had and more. The epic storyline takes the usual battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants and flips it on its head, with the two groups having to form an unlikely alliance in order to defeat the supervillain, Apocalypse. With appearances from many characters from the comics and an addictive gameplay loop, “X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse” is a great entry into the X-Men franchise.

Along with the animated “X-Men” television show, “X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse” for the SNES was a mainstay for many young Marvel fans in ‘90s. The game featured great graphics and challenging gameplay with plenty of action. The game’s most unique and memorable feature was the ability to choose from five characters: Wolverine, Cyclops, Psylocke, Gambit and Beast. Since it was made by Capcom, the influence of the widely popular “Street Fighter 2” was clearly present in the game’s design, making it deeper than most standard beat ‘em ups.

Three X-Men games in a row might seem like a lot, but it’s a franchise that lends itself perfectly to video games. Plus, “Origins: Wolverine,” is just plain bad-ass. You play as Wolverine as he hacks and slashes his way around the globe, leaving bloody messes behind him wherever he goes. This game is seriously GORY. One of the few cases where the game is better than the movie, the plot of the game takes a cues from the film and features excellent voice acting from some of the film’s stars, including Hugh Jackman.

It took a really long time to perfectly capture the rage and mayhem of the Hulk, and “Ultimate Destruction” is the first game to satisfyingly re-create the Hulk’s temper tantrums. The game gives the player an immense amount of freedom with an open-world to explore (and destroy), and an excellent moveset that will have you running along walls, climbing up large structures, and making massive leaps as you face off against various villains. The game was also written by Paul Jenkins, who was a writer for the Hulk comics.

Like other Lego video game adaptations, “Lego Marvel Super Heroes” takes the Marvel franchise and puts it into the Lego world. In this game, however, you get to play as 150 Marvel characters, each with their own character-specific moves and abilities. With an open world featuring many of the Marvel Universe’s most iconic locations, “Lego MarvelSuper Heroes” is Marvel fan service at its finest, with dozens of gameplay hours for fans to soak in. The game even features Stan Lee as an unlockable character!

Although it would eventually be ported very poorly to various home consoles, for many, the best version of “Captain America and the Avengers” was found in the arcade. In fact, many consider this game to be one of the best co-op beat em up games of all time. The game features fairly standard brawling gameplay and is best enjoyed with several friends with quarters to spare. The players can choose from four characters from the Avengers: Captain America, Hawkeye, Vision, and Iron Man, although other characters will appear and aid the players if certain powerups are picked up.

Once again proving they know how to make an excellent Marvel game, Raven Software released “Marvel Ultimate Alliance”, starring a wide array of the superheroes and supervillains from Marvel comics. The game is a spiritual successor to the “X-Men Legends” games and features much of the same action RPG gameplay that made those games great, but with vastly improved graphics and presentation, as well as an insanely deep cast of characters. If you love Marvel and you love Action RPGs, this is a must-play.

“Spider-Man 2” truly captures the feeling of being Spider-Man by implementing a web slinging mechanic that has the player actually swinging from building to building, instead of simply shooting a web into the sky as had been the case in previous Spider-Man games. The gameplay feels fantastic and the game’s version of the New York skyline is a blast to explore. Just be sure to play the console versions and to stay away from the PC version, as it received a drastically “dumbed-down” port.

At a time when arcades were beginning to show signs of their eventual demise, the “X-Men” arcade cabinet really stood out. Although there are different versions of the cabinet, the best has to be the biggest version, which can be enjoyed by up to six players at once. Playing this game with five of your friends is a blast, as the beat-em-up gameplay is solid, and the graphics are great. Players can choose from Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, or get stuck with Dazzler as they face off against Magneto’s hordes of minions.

Before we get to our number one pick, here are some honourable mentions:
“Marvel Heroes” (2013)
“X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse” (1997)
“Spiderman and Venom: Maximum Carnage” (1994)
“X-Men: Children of the Atom” (1994)
“X-Men” (1993)

Although the third iteration of the popular fighting series is out, our favorite is still “Marvel vs. Capcom 2” based on it’s huge character roster alone. Boasting stunning 2D character sprites with colourful 3D backgrounds, the game’s visuals are incredible. It’s not just a feast for the eyes though, as it has the gameplay to match. With fast combos and a wide variety of characters from both the Marvel universe and Capcom games, “Marvel vs. Capcom 2” still holds up as a top-tier fighting game, and is our choice for the best Marvel video game ever released.

Agree with our list? Which Marvel game made you wish you could web-sling? For the more super top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com