Ah, superheroes. Having taken possession of the minds of American teenagers back in the 30s of the last century, characters in beautiful costumes began to move to the cinema screens in the 70s in order to completely capture the attention of the audience of the whole world in the 2000s. Films from the Marvel and DC cinematic universes have grossed billions of dollars at the box office, demonstrating the kind of entertainment that modern audiences crave.
The gaming industry also tried to keep up with the trend, having mastered the production of video games based on comics back in the late 70s. If we exclude the mobile market, nowadays there are not so many games about comic book characters, and there are even fewer good ones among them. Yes, many people fondly recall the Arkham series or the recent Spider-Manfrom Insomniac Games , but these are huge projects with a huge budget, and 40 years ago things were a little different.
First appearance of Batman.
Perhaps the first big success in popularizing superheroics for a wide audience was the 1978 feature film “Superman” , after which the first game adaptations began to appear. Obviously, games that were released almost half a century ago are very different from modern ones both technologically and gameplay, so I will try to do without criticism. It is possible that many people in Russia first got acquainted with the gamification of superhero adventures on eight- and 16-bit consoles like Dendy and Sega Mega Drive, but this will be the topic of the next article. Now I propose to return to even more ancient times, when computers were large, and televisions were lamp-based.
Birth
The world of comics is not limited to only one product of Marvel and DC , but arguing that the heroes of these giants are best known to the mass audience, perhaps, makes no sense. Of course, there are a lot of game projects for other works, but this topic is too extensive and is unlikely to be of interest to you, so we will focus on the most popular characters.
The first starting point is 1978. It was then that the first iteration of Superman’s adventures was released on the Atari 2600 under the discreet title Superman . The game was remarkable primarily for the presence of a goal. Unlike the console adaptations of football, hockey and other Space Fighter , where the main task was a simple set of points, Superman could go to the end – to restore the destroyed bridge, catching all the criminals that bred on the streets of Metropolis, save Lois Lane from Lex Luther and triumphantly back to work at the Daily Planet.
After reading a few reviews of the game, I was surprised to learn that some critics consider Superman of 1978 to be almost the best game project about this superhero. Cause? Choosing an alien from Krypton as the protagonist adds a whole bunch of problems for the developers. Superman is too powerful and omnipotent, which makes it extremely difficult to balance the gameplay for him. The limitation of superpowers will turn Kal-El into an ordinary suffocate and deprive the game of its main advantage – playing as a superhero.
Leaving everything unchanged, we risk losing the “challenge”, which will make the passage too easy and uninteresting. The primitive Superman gameplay for the Atari 2600 worked amazingly: Clark Kent’s basic abilities, such as flight and incredible strength, are available, and as a challenge, players were offered a speed competition – a timer is built in here.
Marvel struck back only in 1982, releasing Spider-Man on the same Atari 2600. Games have changed over the past four years, but the console itself is not very much, so you can see all the same giant pixels on the screen, which you recognize as familiar only fantasy helps characters.
The gameplay shamelessly copies Crazy Climber : Spider, using his acrobatic abilities to the utmost and dodging enemies, must reach the top of a rather tall building and defuse the bomb. Of the technical innovations, smooth vertical scrolling was added, which is absent in the game about Superman, but the action was not delivered to Spider-Man : the Green Goblin, acting here as the main antagonist, for some reason is not available for physical violence, so you can only slip past him. But you can shoot cobwebs in the fall!
In 1984, Marvel can no longer be stopped – the company is shooting a doublet of text adventures with manual input of commands: The Hulk and Spider-Man , released on a whole scattering of platforms. Responsible for the creation of Scott Adams (Scott Adams) – one of the most famous designers interactive fiction genre of games.
The Hulk does not waste time on a long introduction, and the very first line immediately throws the player into the thick of things: “My name is Bruce Banner, and my arms and legs are tied to a chair . ” Spider-Man gameplay was almost identical to the “Hulk” and differed only in a set of abilities. A year later, the final game in the trilogy of text quests based on Marvel comics was released – this time about the adventures of the Human Torch and the Creature from the Fantastic Four.
Judging by the reviews of the reviewers, it turned out with dignity: “ Scott Adams ‘s games are intriguing. They may be rather primitive due to their limited vocabulary, not very flexible input parser and meager descriptions of rooms, but, despite this, they are highly addictive. The Hulk is no exception, I spent many hours in it, although there were some difficulties with the management, “ – wrote an unknown author on the pages of Personal Computer Games magazine. The beauty of parser-controlled adventures is that they barely age, and if you are not jarred by this kind of gameplay, then you have a lot of good games open to you. As of The by Hulk , as in Spider-Man , you can play for free.
The year is 1986, and Batman , the first Batman video game, appears on the screens of Amstrad, MSX and ZX Spectrum home computers . In both comics and television adaptations, Bruce Wayne’s alter ego did not succumb to opponents, and in general was distinguished by excellent physical fitness and knowledge of martial arts. In the game, Batman has grown a little stout, and has completely forgotten how to fight, preferring to deal with enemies with the help of cunning and intelligence.
ZX Spectrum version.
But the elements of metroidvania, which are abundantly present in the Arkham series , were already in the game at that time: the rich arsenal of gadgets of the protagonist was the best suited for solving many puzzles and overcoming obstacles placed in locations. Critics wore Batman in their arms: “[The game] is incredibly addictive and atmospheric, and solving interesting puzzles leads [the player] to the next non-standard problem. <…> You will definitely want to play it over and over again, because another unsolved riddle will not leave you alone until you figure it out , ” wrote in the Sinclair User magazine.
Yes, there is no action in the game, but there is plenty of room for the brain to work. So, if you are a fan of intellectual entertainment, I highly recommend giving it a try, especially since a free fan remake was released in 2010 .
Remake from fans.
Childhood
In general, early superhero games were often full of mechanics, from level to level offering to try different types of gameplay. With the release of the NES, the gameplay was standardized and began to lean more towards action with platforming elements, but on home computers of that time, the variety of genres within a single project could vary greatly.
Superman: The Game of 1986, which honored the many home platforms of the time with its presence, just turned out to be diverse. Right from the cover, the publisher promised hesitant buyers “multiple games in one” and “non-stop strategic action.” Everything inside the box was not so grandiose, although there was still a multi-genre: pseudo-three-dimensional flights “deep” of the screen were interspersed with stages with vertical and horizontal scrolling. And if everything is clear with the action, then the strategic part of the gameplay should be said separately. The antagonist here was Darkseid, who, if desired, can be controlled by a second player, competing with Superman for the inhabitants of Metropolis.
Version for the Atari 2600.
On the global map of the city, reflectors are placed that regulate both the direction of movement of the townspeople and the flight path of the energy beams of two rivals, with all their might trying to hit each other. The task is to save (or capture, depending on the chosen character) as many people as possible in each area of the city, trying not to die from enemy shots. The transition to each new area was accompanied by mini-games that diluted the rather monotonous strategic gameplay with this “non-stop action”.
Version for Amstrad CPC.
1987 was marked by the release of the first game about the brave warrior Captain America – Captain America in: The Doom Tube of Dr. Megalomann on Amstrad, Atari ST and ZX Spectrum platforms. Trying to combine action gameplay with adventure elements, the developers turned somewhere wrong, and all the original ideas ended after the first level – the players only had to repeat the boring sequence of actions over and over again.
Commodore 64 version.
Difficulties were added by a real-time hour limit ( Prince of Persia , by the way, will be released only in two years) and the need to constantly craft a serum that protects the protagonist from deadly psi-energy. As in the comics, Cap’s main weapon was an indestructible shield, which could both be hidden from enemies and thrown.
Captain America lacked stars from the sky and limited itself to a modest reception from both buyers and critics: “In Captain America, dying is very easy, and to put it mildly, it is frustrating. The game is not terrible, but nothing special in it and no “ , – informed the ACE magazine.
The Atari ST version looks much better than the others, which is not surprising: this computer was technically 16-bit.
Invasion of the IBM PC
Around the end of the 80s, IBM-compatible DOS devices began to slowly take over the home computer market, positioning themselves not only as workhorses, but also as full-fledged entertainment tools. Of course, there was no talk of any eight-bit processors – DOS worked in 16-bit mode and required the appropriate hardware to function. From a technical point of view, it is not entirely correct to include games for DOS in this text, but projects for this OS are too different from future console releases and, in general, are more in line with the spirit of the “prehistoric” period.
In 1988, Batman: The Caped Crusader hit the shelves , in which Bruce Wayne was finally able to use his fists. But it was extremely difficult to get pleasure from it. Despite the vast arsenal of techniques, you cannot get rid of opponents once and for all – the main character’s blows only paralyze the NPC for a few moments, and if you continue hammering on the hit button long enough, the enemy stunned by such pressure will get upset and leave the room. To return later! The situation was aggravated by not too responsive control and whole hordes of enemies on each screen, which did not allow Batman to take a step. In general, it was much easier to just run past.
DOS version.
In addition to the not particularly interesting massacre, the Caped Crusader offered intellectual entertainment like solving puzzles. And it would be better if the developers concentrated on one thing, because another attempt to cross genres was unsuccessful. But with the appearance of Batman, everything is in order: when switching to a new location, the screen did not scroll, but appeared on top of the old one in a frame imitating comic panels.
Amiga version. The game was also released on Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
And just a year later, one of the best Batman games came out, with the laconic title Batman: The Movie . Timed to coincide with the release of Tim Burton’s film , this adaptation has appeared on multiple platforms. The developer of versions for home computers is Ocean Software , which has bombarded the market with games under film licenses since the mid-80s. They had a distinctive feature – they reproduced iconic scenes from films in an interactive format. So it is here: it all starts at the Axis Chemicals plant, and ends with the destruction of the Joker in the cathedral; in between, let the Batmobile and the Batwing be steered.
Amiga version.
Critics unanimously praised the game, putting up solid eights and nines, and Crush magazine dubbed the project the game of the year. “[ Batman ] is easy to learn, and all that Bathook tinkering is amazing. Five stunning levels, progressively progressive in their steadiness. The best film of the year received a well-deserved fiction adaptation, “ – the reviewer of Zzap magazine admires !
DOS version.
Also in 1989, Paragon Software released The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom’s Revenge! , which marked the beginning of a series of games based on comics from this studio. As the name suggests, here we were allowed to drive two characters at once – Spider-Man and Captain America. Interesting Dr. Doom’s Revenge! gameplay: in fact, this is a series of boss battles wrapped in fighting game mechanics and diluted by moving around locations.
DOS version.
Each enemy encountered is not just an extra who can be laid down with a couple of hits, but a full-fledged opponent with his own portrait and health scale, blocking movement until you deal with him. From the pleasant – good comic inserts between the levels, and a whole scattering of famous supervillains as bosses, including Electro, Hobgoblin, Rhino, Batrok and Doctor Doom himself.
From the unpleasant – everything else. Yes, the game looks good, but too viscous to manage, which sounds like a sentence for a comic book action movie. Reviewers were divided and mostly scolded the versions for the Amiga and Atari ST: “Violence [on screen] would not be a problem, but everything is boring and unhurried, and if the graphics change, then the gameplay will not. <…> If you are not a super fan of Marvel , the game is not worth your money, “ – noted the author of The Games Machines magazine.
Amiga version. There were also options for the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
The second project in the comic series from Paragon Software was X-Men: Madness in Murderworld , which visited the Commodore 64 and DOS. In terms of mechanics, the project could not offer anything supernatural, but it gave control of a whole team of superheroes with the ability to switch between them at any time. Thunderstorm, Colossus, Night Serpent, Dazzling, Wolverine and Cyclops were available to choose from – each with their own abilities.
DOS version.
And they were issued to the characters not for the sake of a tick: the Night Serpent, for example, knows how to teleport, the Colossus is extremely strong, and the Wolverine has sharp claws with which you can cut, hack, chop and stab. Otherwise, Madness in Murderworld consisted of boring battles with ridiculous enemies. As a result, the first gamification of X-Men did not achieve fantastic success.
Commodore 64 game.
The year 1989 ended with the release of Superman: The Man of Steel , which contained as many as three types of gameplay. In general, the project looked more like a remake of Superman: The Game of 1985, directly inheriting the gameplay mechanics: there were levels with vertical scrolling of the screen in the shmup style, with pseudo-3D flights and with classic horizontal scrolling.
Variety played a cruel joke with Man of Steel . The game was released on a dozen platforms that greatly varied in performance, and on the most technically backward ones, like the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, it required loading data after each level. But if it was still possible to put up with this, then the constant downloads after the defeat looked like a real mockery. If any stage failed, the entire level had to be started again and looked at the monitor screen in anticipation of not the fastest loading from the film. Even now we swear at long read processes from the disk, and then the wait could drag on for five minutes. And this is after every failure!
Playing on the Atari ST.
Critics did not remain delighted with this either, and the game was rated average. In general, studying the opinions of the press of those times is quite curious – you can face completely unexpected claims, like this: “Every time you lose, you are sent to the very beginning of the level – and this spoils the game. This destroys any incentive to do something and, therefore, completely kills the interest in the passage. In Tynesoft could get an excellent game if not for that stupid idiosyncrasy “ , – he wrote the author of the magazine The Games Machine. Owners of more advanced platforms like Amiga and Atari ST were spared from long wait and the game was generally satisfied.
Game on the ZX Spectrum.
In 1990, Paragon Software released the DOS version of The Punisher , the first video game story about the Punisher. Having neither superpowers, nor even money, the most “superheroic” Frank Castle in the store has only a van and a whole mountain of weapons. Game mechanics involve the use of both: we observe the ride in the car from the first person, and upon arrival at the location, the camera soars into the sky, turning The Punisher into a top-down shooter.
The task is simple: Frank, at any cost, needs to “earn” half a million dollars, which will allow him to get the plans for the security system of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, aka Kingpin, a crime boss who is indirectly responsible for the death of the hero’s family. Bandits controlled by Ambal have flooded the streets of the city, and if legal methods cannot solve this problem, the Punisher has a better option: every night he just leaves the house and makes this world “normal”.
The battles are diluted by exploring the area, searching for information and even water sections with scuba diving behind their backs and a knife in their teeth. Not a bad game, but it lacks polish, especially in the soundtrack.
The year 1990 was closed by another game about a friendly neighbor – The Amazing Spider-Man for Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and DOS. Having decided that comics are not only about fists, but also about intelligence, the developers concentrated on using the logic of the player, providing a whole scattering of puzzles. You can’t fight – Mr. Parker can only jump and shoot with a web, temporarily stunning enemies. The spider is quite dexterous – it can crawl on any surfaces and effectively shoot a spider web while jumping.
DOS version.
Having saved a lot on the size of sprites – here, perhaps, the smallest Spider-Man possible – the authors compensated for this disadvantage with high-quality animation: 256 frames of it were prepared for the protagonist alone. At the time of its release, the game was not popular – apparently, most players expected not such gameplay at all. Although journalists are warned: “Be careful, fans spiders – this game is not about the fight, as we might expect, but about puzzles whose solution is forced [me sit in front of the computer] for hours” , – informed Richard Leadbetter (Richard Leadbetter) pages CVG magazine.
After 30 years, The Amazing Spider-Man is played quite cheerfully – if you like to use your brains, then I advise you to familiarize yourself with it. Just get ready for not the most responsive management and the lack of the ability to save.
Commodore 64 version.
Closing the long list is 1991’s X-Men II: The Fall of the Mutants , the sequel to Madness in Murderworld and the last game in Paragon Software’s not-so-successful quadrology . Conceptually, the idea looked great: a villainous villain with a telling name Adversary tore up the timeline and mixed modernity with the Stone Age. And although such a plot does not shine with novelty, he added originality to the project – where else can you take part in the battle between Wolverine and Tyrannosaurus? In total, the player has access to as many as 15 well-known and not very well-known mutants, of which you can recruit five superheroes into the team.
The whole thing is not played very excitingly: we move around the map, complete tasks, when we meet enemies, we attack them. There are two combat modes to choose from. The first is turn-based tactical, in which nothing really happens on the screen, except for the distribution of commands from the list in the manner of Final Fantasy and the movement of portraits on the grid. The second is arcade-combat, where the player already personally controls the selected character, making full use of his abilities.
Skills are used not only in battles, but also on the map: you can overcome obstacles and even influence the group passively – for example, the Dazzling Illuminates the entire location at night (yes, the game has a change in the time of day), improving visibility in the dark.
However, all the greatness of the switch idea remained on paper: Fall of the Mutants is hard to play , mainly because of the nasty “combat”.
After 1991, comic book games virtually ceased to appear on legacy platforms like the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, moving to the more advanced 16-bit Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis consoles. True, long before that, superheroes had managed to master the m the market for third-generation game consoles – NES and Sega Master System. But that’s a completely different story.
