Waching daily Aug 29 2018

Ever since Superman arrived on the Atari 2600 in 1979, superheroes and video games have

maintained a strong alliance.

Players love the idea of suiting up as their favorite comic book characters to take to

the skies of a giant metropolis, or fight through the criminal underworld of a dangerous

city.

Whether you're a fan of Marvel or DC, chances are you've felt compelled to play a game with

your favorite characters in the roster, even when the results are less than stellar.

But recent years have been fantastic for the superhero genre, and the bar keeps getting

higher.

We've got the details on the games that seem destined to blow us away, as well as a few

we should keep our eyes on for the future.

A spectacular Spider-Man

First announced at E3 in 2016, Insomniac Games' Spider-Man is looking like the best superhero

game the genre has offered since Batman: Arkham City.

Coming from the developers behind Ratchet & Clank, Spyro the Dragon, and Sunset Overdrive,

it's third-person action with a webslinging twist.

"I'm not a girl!

I'm a boy!

I mean...I mean I'm a man!"

Not THAT twist.

With a story independent from the current movie franchise, Spider-Man will feature Peter

Parker eight years into his crime-fighting career.

It will also feature many other iconic characters, including Miles Morales and a playable Mary

Jane Watson, in reimagined roles.

Prior to its release, the game has been earning high marks for the fluidity of its combat

and movement systems, which feel like a real deal Spider-Man experience.

You can check it out for yourself on the PlayStation 4 on September 7th.

The other side of justice

DC's superheroes already have quite a few Lego adventures to their name, so it's only

fair that the supervillains are getting a crack at it now.

In Lego DC Super-Villains, you'll be able to either create the villain of your dreams

or play as classic baddies like the Joker, Lex Luthor, Cheetah, and many more.

It's the combat, platforming, and puzzle-solving we've come to know and love from Lego games,

but with a villainous edge.

The game's story takes place following the mysterious disappearance of the Justice League

and the subsequent arrival of a parallel universe team called the Justice Syndicate.

But when the Legion of Doom begins to suspect these "heroes" aren't what they seem, the

villains decide to put a stop to the Syndicate's plans, before they push in on their territory.

This universe has enough villains already, and you'll get to help make sure it stays

that way on October 16th.

Drawing the battle lines

The success of collectible card games like Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone has led

many studios to jump into the genre, including Marvel.

The House of Ideas and publisher Nexon recently announced their collaboration on a new game,

Marvel: Battle Lines.

The game will allow players to collect hundreds of cards from characters inside the expansive

Marvel universe.

Hopefully even this guy.

"Last but not least, Peter."

Battle Lines also features both a story-based single-player campaign and a PvP mode.

If you're a Marvel fan looking for a free-to-play Hearthstone substitute, it might be the title

for you when it sees release later in 2018.

Assembling Avengers

Spider-Man isn't the only Marvel character getting the video game treatment from a highly

regarded studio.

Courtesy of Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix, the Avengers are also getting their

own game.

Currently only known as "The Avengers Project," this game is the first title in a multi-game

partnership between developers Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, the studios behind Tomb

Raider and Deus Ex.

While details about the game are currently scarce, we know it will have an original story

featuring heroes and settings from all across the Marvel universe.

According to job listings for the project from 2017, the game seems like it will be

an online third-person action game, although the specifics have yet to be confirmed.

Rumors are swirling that The Avengers Project may be a spiritual reboot of the action-RPG

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, but we really don't know yet.

Even though the game missed E3 2018, Square Enix and Marvel have promised more details

are coming.

For now, only The Watcher knows.

Go Guardians

According to a report by EuroGamer, Eidos Montreal is also working on a game centering

on Marvel's spacefaring team of misfits, the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Eidos, which is also working on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was reportedly in the early

stages of production on the Guardians of the Galaxy game in early 2017.

But we don't know what the gameplay for this project will be like either, because the companies

involved have yet to confirm its existence.

Presumably the gameplay will be different from the more the narrative-driven offering

from Telltale Games, but beyond that is anyone's guess.

Rising son of Batman

Batman: Arkham game developer Rocksteady Studios surprised many with its absence from this

year's E3, with rumors swirling that they're working on a new Superman title.

But there may be a new Batman game brewing from the developers over at WB Games Montreal,

who previously worked on Batman: Arkham Origins.

In 2015, many job listings posted on the studio's website indicated work was being done on at

least two triple-A titles related to DC properties.

At the time, WB Games confirmed that the projects were related to the DC universe, but details

beyond that were few.

"Stop right there, I'm in."

One of those projects, a Suicide Squad game, was reportedly canceled in 2016 after it failed

to impress WB management.

But according to Kotaku, the other project is a Batman game starring Damian Wayne, Bruce

Wayne's son.

The game is rumored to be an open-world co-op Batman game, which would be a new experience

for fans of the Dark Knight and his offspring.

If the Batman game still exists at WB Games, it sounds like a promising concept that distinguishes

itself from what's come before.

Until details become more clear, maybe just spend some time swinging around New York with

Peter Parker.