Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Video Game Idea: "Ultimate Sinister Six"


            I have an idea for a video game.  You remember "Marvel Ultimate Alliance"?  Where every hero who has ever spent the night at Avengers Mansion or punched someone wearing funny underwear was a playable character.  You know, that game where you could solo-run as Deadpool and succeed in beating Galactus.  Well how about we do something like that again but instead we play as the bad guys, more specifically the Sinister Six.

            The Sinister Six is an ensemble cast of super villains that have the stated mission of killing Spiderman and taking over the world.  They are led by Doctor Octopus, with the occasional pinch hitter of Hobgoblin taking command.

They do have a rather broad recruiting roster though, so I guess the game could go a little nuts.
             See, playing as a small group of bad guys with a limited range of powers, but numerous alternate costumes, and most importantly a clear goal has advantages.  It means that you can design the combat more tightly and with less concern for balance.  In "Ultimate Alliance" you could have a team with Thor, Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, and Daredevil, and Daredevil would be able to keep pace.  That is retarded, I don't care how high Matt Murdock scored on his LSAT, or how much his super senses make up for him being blind, he is not a God, Cosmic herald of death, or the Sorcerer Supreme, it is weird.

            Nobody is going to think twice about whether or not Venom and Kraven the Hunter are all that dispirited in power, they have both fought against and beaten Spiderman, the difference is negligible.  So you can have boss fights that make sense against the Heroes for Hire, the Spider Friends, some X-Men, etc.

            But what is more, you can have them fight other bad guys, against the Hood, Doctor Doom, the Leader.  Have one of their missions be to steal stuff for Doctor Doom and then he stiffs them on the bill so they have to steal something from him to make it worth the effort.  It also gives you a solid cast that has a unique perspective on the Marvel Universe, what must it be like to constantly lose to a guy in a leotard who won't shut-up while he is fighting you?  Or to get thumped by the rival gang, the Wrecking Crew.  Or worse to have to argue with the Sinister Syndicate over who is most deserving of the name and why the other is hurting the brand identity.
Though maybe a dust up with Doom would be unwise.
             Are Doctor Octopus, Venom, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Hobgoblin, and Electro so unmarketable that this is undoable?  You can put Spidy on the cover, just have him in cross hairs and have the various weapons of the Six aimed at him.  Have it be an arcade beat'm up with the first level the group escaping from the Raft, Cube, Big House, or other super prison.  Have them fight guards and have the final boss be a repurposed Sentinel used to guard the place.  The rest of the game is them going from mission to mission beating other crooks, taking out heroes until they finally face off against Spiderman and his Amazing Friends, hell you could have them win, and just make the game an alternate reality in which the Six actually accomplish something.

Bang.

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