InFAMOUS's Hero/Villain mechanic was so unique. Story bits were different enough between the two sides that it merited two full playthroughs. A similar mechanic could never work as well with a preexisting comic book character.
This is a good point actually. When you're not constrained by an existing property, creativity can run wild. Instead of a sequel to Goldeneye, there was Perfect Dark, a whole new idea of a futuristic super spy. Instead of id Software using the license to the film Aliens, they invented something completely original with Doom. The list goes on.
I think sadly the reason why comic book characters are used so much is because the wider public understands them so easily and knows what they will get - making them less risky bets for publishers. If you already know who Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, Batman etc are, you've already got preconceptions about them, plus ideas in your head about playing that power fantasy. But you're right that it also produces some dead ends - these heroes cannot break out of their character traits, the player can't suddenly go all evil just to see what happens. I haven't played the games you mentioned, but they do sound like they introduce more morally ambiguous ideas which does sound interesting. But it always comes back to money at the end of the day, how do you sell that?
I LOVED Prototype, it was, as you say, a refreshing take on the superhero theme. But I mostly liked going around provoking enemies to attack each other while I was flying around the city and scaling skyscrapers!
I forgot about being able to fly around the city! That was so much fun! Being able to provoke enemies to attack each other was also really enjoyable. We just desperately need a new game similar to it, there's so much cool stuff in there that could have been developed even further than the sequel did.
InFAMOUS's Hero/Villain mechanic was so unique. Story bits were different enough between the two sides that it merited two full playthroughs. A similar mechanic could never work as well with a preexisting comic book character.
HARD agree here! Unique super heroes lend to unique story telling!
This is a good point actually. When you're not constrained by an existing property, creativity can run wild. Instead of a sequel to Goldeneye, there was Perfect Dark, a whole new idea of a futuristic super spy. Instead of id Software using the license to the film Aliens, they invented something completely original with Doom. The list goes on.
I think sadly the reason why comic book characters are used so much is because the wider public understands them so easily and knows what they will get - making them less risky bets for publishers. If you already know who Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, Batman etc are, you've already got preconceptions about them, plus ideas in your head about playing that power fantasy. But you're right that it also produces some dead ends - these heroes cannot break out of their character traits, the player can't suddenly go all evil just to see what happens. I haven't played the games you mentioned, but they do sound like they introduce more morally ambiguous ideas which does sound interesting. But it always comes back to money at the end of the day, how do you sell that?
I LOVED Prototype, it was, as you say, a refreshing take on the superhero theme. But I mostly liked going around provoking enemies to attack each other while I was flying around the city and scaling skyscrapers!
I forgot about being able to fly around the city! That was so much fun! Being able to provoke enemies to attack each other was also really enjoyable. We just desperately need a new game similar to it, there's so much cool stuff in there that could have been developed even further than the sequel did.