Unlike Marvel Comics, DC Comics has had a difficult time transitioning their characters to video games and have produced some of the worst comic book video games in recent memory, certainly until they were acquired by Warner Bros.
Having examined the best that DC Comics has to offer, lets take a look at some of the worst DC Comics’ tie-ins.
Catwoman (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)
Based on one of the worst comic book movies ever made, Catwomen (just like its sister movie) is one of the worst comic book games ever made. The games boring and shoddy combat hardly used Catwoman’s acrobatic combat style at all, but worst of all was her signature whip which was used to grab and drag enemies toward her and defeat enemies with one hit, much like the rest of the moves she would use. Catwomen would also use her unique climbing abilities and whip to swing from light posts and climb up buildings but only when the game told you you could; and Catwomen wasn’t even animated well enough to perform simple jumps.
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis (PS2, Xbox, GameCube)
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis didn’t do much to help Aquaman’s reputation; in fact it made it worse. There are so many things wrong with this game it’s hard to know where to being. The game’s story is presented through comic book panels which would have been fine if they used actual comic art. Instead they used the in-game engine graphics in still images. What’s worse is some of the text doesn’t even fit in the text bubbles. As Aquaman I’m able to swim through a barren Atlantis fighting enemies with overly complex combos and horrible controls. Swimming around Atlantis while controlling the camera is totally vomit-inducing. Also, since every building looks exactly the same, getting lost is easy — and the invisible walls don’t help either.
Batman: Dark Tomorrow (Xbox, GameCube)
Before there was Batman: Arkham Asylum there was Batman: Dark Tomorrow. There were great hopes for the title as it featured an all-star cast of writers and developers from Final Fantasy’s Kenji Terada and the use of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Unfortunately, after four years of development the game released with numerous bugs and game breaking glitches. The game’s camera always fights against you and places you in some awkward positions leaving you vulnerable to attack and death. Its combat was boring and stealth sequences were too slow, which was a shame as the game’s great story and well animated cutscenes will go missed by most people.
Superman Returns (PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, NDS)
Based on the movie of the same name Superman Returns did something that was great, it allowed you to fly around Metropolis as Superman. Thats about all it did well. Sluggish controls, an unresponsive combat system, and a bland and boring city to explore did nothing to improve the Man of Steel’s reputation. Reputation will increase and decrease depending on how many people you save and how quickly you deal with the threats against the city. Trust me this becomes tedious rather quickly. Superman’s health was actually your reputation and what the city thinks of you which pretty much just makes you invincible making the game a pushover. This makes sense as Superman should be invincible but as a game it doesn’t lead to any challenge whatsoever.
Superman 64 (N64)
What is easily considered one of the worst video games ever made definitely lives up to that title. Superman 64 had no purpose in its design; as a matter a fact, I don’t know if anyone ever finished the game or if it was even possible to finish as missions didn’t make sense. First I’m flying through rings while a timer just ticks away, other times I’m dropped into a mission with no explanation of what to do with a three second timer. For those who finished this game I applaud you, but for those who enjoyed the game I’d love to know why?
What are the worst DC Comics games you’ve played?