2) Spider-Man PS4
Come this time next year, there’s a very real chance that DC won’t be the only comic book publisher to have had a character adapted into a critically acclaimed video game. Marvel’s web-slinging, spandex-clad superhero has been chosen, once more, to grace Sony’s platform for a crime-stopping romp across Manhattan, with Insomniac Games this time in charge of doing the Friendly Neighborhood hero justice in his PlayStation 4 debut.
We’re all, of course, aware of the stigmatism that accompanies each and every announcement of an adaptation such as this, but as Rocksteady so confidently proved with its Arkham series, the dark, depressing days of Superman 64 are far, far behind us, locked away and left to rot in our subconscious. Indeed, the quality of Rocksteady’s mold-breaking trilogy is often attributed to, in part, to its love for the Caped Crusader, its knowledge of which allowed the developer to nail the feeling of being the Dark Knight.
Insomniac similarly appears to exhibit the same level of genuine adoration for Peter Parker and his alter-ego, an essential quality to have, when attempting to craft an authentic world for fans to explore. There is, of course, the small matter of making sure gameplay is up to snuff with the narrative, but if Insomniac’s past efforts are anything to go by, I have little concern.
Its criminally underrated Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive singlehandedly proves that it has the chops to make terrain traversal exciting, and with combat looking similarly as fluid (seriously, if you haven’t already, go check out the E3 gameplay right now), I have every faith that the California-based studio will deliver next year.