In the past we have had plenty of films that were birthed from games. We have had Mortal Kombat give rise to at least one good film and even a half-decent animated TV series. Street Fighter had a rather poor showing on the big screen. Others like Resident Evil and even Silent Hill saw some decent success in the translation to live-action films and even animated films in the case of Resident Evil. What we haven't seen yet are too many decent games that are based off of popular film franchises and other media franchises, especially in the realm of superheroes themed online games.
As it stands, the most prominent games based on superheroes have been, for lack of a better term, lackluster. There are, of course, a few exceptions to this, as there always are. Spider-Man 2 is largely regarded as being one of the best games in that franchise. LEGO came firing on all cylinders with LEGO Marvel Super Heroes in 2013. The Marvel Ultimate Alliance games have been largely regarded as enjoyable, save for some of the shortcomings that plagued the sub-par ports on the PC last year.
Where does that leave us then? Good games that have had an online focus, such as City of Heroes, have come and gone. We are currently stuck in a bit of a limbo for this particular genre. Fortunately, Square Enix seems to have a good head on their shoulders when it comes to The Avengers Project. Though teased back in January, the Avengers Project will have a much larger focus come 2017.
Sadly, we don't yet know a great deal about The Avengers Project. What we do know should get fans excited. Square Enix put Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montreal at the helm for development duties. Crystal Dynamics is perhaps best known for Tomb Raider and Eidos-Montreal is best known for the Deus Ex franchise. The Avengers Project is said to include "all the characters, environments, and iconic moments" from the franchise. Even with these familiar faces and places it will still feature a completely original story and promises to "introduce a universe gamers can play in for years to come."
When 2018 rolls around, it will have been roughly a year since the partnership between Square Enix and Marvel was first announced. With almost a year of development time, the larger reveal of The Avengers Project should prove to be very exciting.
