Following the unparalleled success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is not surprising that AAA Marvel games are becoming more common. Insomniac got the ball rolling with the excellent Marvel’s Spider-Man, and while Marvel’s Avengers was divisive, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be a memorable game. With a Marvel game from Skydance in the works alongside Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Marvel’s Wolverine from Insomniac, the future is looking bright.
However, if rumors are to be believed, then two Marvel titles from EA are supposedly in the works as well. The first is a Black Panther game, a project that was recently discussed by industry insider Jeff Grubb. Afterwards, the prominent leaker Tom Henderson revealed that EA could also be working on an Iron Man game, though they did warn that they are not fully confident in the information and are waiting for confirmation. If this game does happen, though, Anthem is an EA title that should undoubtedly serve as an inspiration for Iron Man’s flight mechanics.
Anthem’s Flight Shined Where Other Games Struggled
Despite Anthem 2.0’s disappointing cancelation, some look back on the game fondly due to its strong core gameplay. The Javelin abilities were fun to use even with the game's poor enemy variety, and while Anthem's world was largely empty, traversing it was a joy. Buttery smooth flight mechanics were the reason for this, as zooming through the air simply felt right. There was plenty of weight to the player character, but they still controlled very well since players were able to stop in the air or turn with ease.
The raw speed is something that a solo Iron Man game absolutely needs to capture. Speeding through the sky in a flashy suit of armor is a huge draw of the Tony Stark character, with the key word being speeding. If a solo Iron Game ends up having the same slow traversal of Marvel’s Avengers, it is hard to imagine it being a hit with fans. Players need to be able to clear a map quickly, and beyond that, they need to have freedom with how high they can fly and how often they can move around - something that Anthem absolutely provided.
Another downside of Marvel’s Avengers’ traversal is that flying characters cannot get very high into the air, as they quickly reach the boundaries of the map if they move toward the sky. While these limitations are frustrating, they are understandable for a game that is built to incorporate several heroes instead of just one. A game built exclusively for Iron Man does not have that same luxury, and it needs to make sure that players can cruise above the clouds or to the top of skyscrapers whenever they see fit. Anthem provides a fair bit of freedom when flying through the alien setting of Coda, which is another reason it should be looked at when designing this supposed Iron Man game.
Much like Anthem made flying crucial to getting around levels, Iron Man needs to do the same, but to an even greater extent. Players need to be able to attack while flying, dropping missiles onto enemies below and fighting some aerial foes while in the sky. Iron Man should rarely be doing battle on the ground, as the hero is at his best when he is in the air firing at foes with his repulsers. While some ground combat is obviously needed, it should not be as important to the experience as what takes place in the sky.
Though Iron Man has appeared in many video games, Anthem is the closest the medium has come to capturing the hero’s fighting style and movement. BioWare itself has its plate full with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4, making it unlikely for the studio to apply its experience with Anthem to this rumored Iron Man game. However, any EA developer that embraces the Armored Avenger should look to Anthem and its flight mechanics, as it provides the perfect blueprint for a game focused on Tony Stark.
An Iron Man game is rumored to be in development.