The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world, but the journey hasn't been an overnight one. Beginning all the way back in 2008 with Jon Favreau's Iron Man, it took a while for the MCU to grow and become the expansive web of interconnected multiversal stories it is now, and along the way, a few tie-in video games were released. For the most part, however, these tie-in MCU games were pretty awful, and unfortunately Iron Man had his fair share.
Just a few days ago, it was announced that EA Motive, the developer behind the upcoming Dead Space Remake, is currently working on a third-person, single-player Iron Man game. The news has sent fans into a spiral of excitement, with many waiting years for the chance to don the suit of armor in a true AAA game. But Iron Man hasn't had the best track record in the gaming industry, so EA Motive will need to pull out all the stops if it hopes to avoid repeating the mistakes of its predecessors.
Iron Man Games Haven't Had The Best Track Record
While Iron Man has appeared in plenty of crossover titles over the years, often appearing in the Marvel Vs. Capcom series, he hasn't had too many games of his own, and the ones he has had haven't been great. The first Iron Man game released in 1996 for the original PlayStation. Titled Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal, the hero's debut solo outing was a simplistic side-scrolling action platformer that offered solid animations and little else. This game was decimated by critics on launch, with almost every aspect of the game, like its graphics, sound, and overall dull gameplay, being heavily criticized.
Iron Man's next video game outing was received a little better, but that isn't saying much. The Invincible Iron Man launched on Game Boy Advance in 2002 and gave fans yet another side-scrolling platformer. This time, however, critics were a little more kind, praising the game's comic book art style and responsive platforming controls. However, it still suffered from a lack of any recognizable Marvel villains and some repetitive gameplay.
Right before the first Iron Man MCU movie released, SEGA proudly announced that it was working alongside Marvel to produce tie-in games to a slew of upcoming movies. The first up was Iron Man, which released the same year as the movie on just about every mainline and handheld console of the time. While the Nintendo DS version of the game was a surprisingly solid top-down shooter, the main version of the game was a third-person action title, which on paper, is exactly what fans would want from an Iron Man game.
In reality, though, SEGA's Iron Man fell short in a number of places. Despite having some solid flying mechanics and an intriguing upgrade system, Iron Man's gameplay was way too simple for most players, leading to a dull, repetitive experience from start to finish. Throw in some rough visuals, terrible sound design, and some nightmare-inducing cutscenes, and it's easy to see why SEGA's Iron Man has gone down in infamy.
In 2010, SEGA tried to right its wrongs with Iron Man 2, another tie-in MCU game. Unfortunately, it didn't succeed in its mission, delivering an experience that was pretty much a carbon copy of its predecessor, albeit with a new playable character in War Machine. Repetitive enemies, tedious gameplay, little progression, and bland visuals held back Iron Man 2 and proved that SEGA wasn't fit to work with the MCU license.
Just a few years ago, Iron Man VR released on PlayStation VR. Though it had its shortcomings, Iron Man VR is an undeniable step-up for the Iron Man brand, with players being able to actually be the one in the suit, zipping around and gunning down robotic foes with their repulsors. But VR isn't the most accessible platform, and fans still want a true AAA, third-person Iron Man game, so hopefully EA Motive can be the one to deliver that.
An Iron Man game is currently in development.