These days, it’s hard to imagine Marvel as anything but a self-consuming ouroboros of family-friendly advertisements promoting even more ads, but in the years preceding the rise of the MCU and the inevitable Disney takeover, Marvel was still spirited enough to take genuine creative risks every now and then. From the Ultimate reboot to the Marvel Knights label, the company would often allow its most popular characters to star in serious stories that were more preoccupied with exploring new ideas than reaffirming the brand.
It was during this time that we saw one of the most peculiar Marvel projects of the 2000s, Nihilistic Software’s Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. A third-person brawler that pitted fan favorite characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man and Daredevil against a horror-inspired roster of original fighters. This oddball crossover may have been divisive upon release, but it’s now remembered as something of an over-hated cult classic. And with the game celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, I think it might be fun to look back on this horror-adjacent gem from a time when superhero games were allowed to be a little janky.
Rise of the Imperfects was originally announced all the way back in 2004 as Marvel vs EA, with this proposed crossover meant to be a more grounded alternative to other multiplayer brawlers like Powerstone and War of the Monsters. California-based developer Nihilistic Software was chosen to helm the game due to the company’s previous experience in coordinating with IP owners on licensed projects.
At the time, Marvel was still in the middle of their shift towards edgier and more realistic stories, with then-recent publications like the Ultimate universe doing their best to ground larger-than-life heroes in more adult situations. This wasn’t just meant to attract older readers, but it was also an attempt at more closely matching the tone of the live-action super-hero adaptations taking over Hollywood. That’s why it’s only natural that both EA and Marvel pressured Nihilistic Software into forgoing elements that they thought were too “comic-booky” (like Wolverine’s classic costume) and encouraging the studio to give these iconic characters a dark twist.
It wasn’t long before Marvel vs EA was reworked into a new project, as the company soon realized that they didn’t actually have enough memorable characters to fill up a decent roster like their rivals over at Capcom. This is what led to the creation of the Imperfects and the eventual renaming of the title, with Raul Inglis, Mark Millar, and Jae Lee joining forces to develop both the game’s story and its spin-off comic-book tie-in (which hilariously contradicts much of the game).
The Imperfects themselves made up half of the game’s roster, with these original fighters having been designed as twisted equivalents to specific Marvel heroes (and villains). This is where the team decided to pivot the project into a decidedly spooky direction, with nearly all of the Imperfects borrowing from or at least paying homage to classic horror tropes in both their designs and backstories. From a PTSD-ridden monster stitched together from 100 dead soldiers (Brigade) to a body-horror-inspired living virus who inhabits a containment suit and begs for players to put him out of his misery (Hazmat), there’s enough creativity here to fuel several thrilling creature features. In fact, it feels like Nihilistic put just as much love into creating these new fighters as they did into adapting the existing favorites. And if the aforementioned spooky elements aren’t enough to convince you that the game was made with genre fans in mind, the entire story happens to be wrapped around an apocalyptic alien invasion harkening back to War of the Worlds.
In the finished game (which was released in September of 2005), we follow a selection of popular Marvel heroes as they face an extraterrestrial attack that has already claimed the lives of characters like Captain America, the Punisher and even the Hulk. This invasion coincides with the appearance of super-powered beings known as “The Imperfects” – genetically-enhanced soldiers developed by mad scientist Niles Van Roekel in an attempt to create the perfect warrior. Conflict ensues as the Marvel heroes face off against these monstrous fighters and try to ward off the technologically advanced invaders.
In gameplay terms, this means completing character-specific missions as you unravel the mystery of the Imperfects while fighting your way through a war-torn New York City in a fully-3D brawler. Along the way, you’ll also encounter corrupted versions of beloved heroes, with the game eventually forcing you to sacrifice certain characters in order to advance the plot on the Imperfects’ side of the conflict. The single-player campaign also unlocks fighters and arenas for use in multiplayer, with the chaotic versus mode being one of the many reasons why it’s so fondly remembered by older gamers.
Unfortunately, Rise of the Imperfects was rushed into its September release date by an anxious EA, with the company wanting to capitalize on the comic-book buzz generated films like Fantastic Four, Elektra and the then-upcoming X-Men: The Last Stand. The reduced development time resulted in an unpolished final product, with reviewers almost unanimously complaining about the title’s unbalanced combat and repetitive campaign – though plenty of fans still appreciated the game’s dark atmosphere and memorable characters.
Despite its mixed reception, I believe time has been kind to Marvel Nemesis. Once you remove the AAA price point and expectations (and consider that we haven’t seen a worthwhile 3D brawler in a long time), the game starts to look a lot more fun now than it did back in ’05. Yes, it’s still completely unbalanced, but Rise of the Imperfects was never meant to be the next Super Smash Bros. It makes sense that flying characters with ranged super-powers have an advantage over street-level heroes, and using the environment against your enemy felt like a clever way of leveling the playing field. And while I concede that the campaign suffered from repetitive padding, I’m glad that it wasn’t simply an arcade mode pitting you against the same fighters over and over again.
Of course, it’s the presentation that makes Marvel Nemesis such a memorable experience. Aside from the novelty of seeing Spider-Man engage in minor swearing and beating the crap out of a Frankenstein’s Monster, the game’s overall atmosphere and edgy art style remain unmatched even in the current console generation. Not only did Jae Lee’s art provide us with a somber yet compelling re-imagining of fan-favorite characters, but the gameplay itself also allowed violent brawlers like Wolverine and Electra to let loose with brutal finishing moves (with my personal favorite being Magneto’s X2-inspired fatality). And that’s not even mentioning Trevor Jones’ excellent soundtrack that makes every battle sound like an apocalyptic confrontation.
I also especially appreciate how the Imperfects’ character introductions feel like EC Comics specials, with the cut-scenes combining exaggerated artwork with live-action elements in disturbing genre stories that would likely bring a modern Disney Executive to tears. From children suffering Acid attacks because of their parents’ gambling debts to weaponized spontaneous combustion, Marvel Nemesis really pushed that T rating to its limit.
EA fully expected the Imperfects to be the next big thing, with the company expanding this humble fighting game into a multimedia crossover event featuring prequel comics and even a planned sequel. This might have been the case if EA had let Nihilistic work on the title for just a little bit longer, but Marvel Nemesis’ middling reception put a damper on any future projects featuring its original characters, and the Imperfects’ shared ownership meant that neither Marvel nor EA would ever use them again after their partnership disintegrated back in ’07.
While we can be fairly certain that the game will never see a proper follow-up at this point, we can at least treasure the memory of seeing our favorite superheroes engage with our favorite horror tropes in an experience that didn’t just feel like an ad for more Marvel products. The game had its fair share of flaws (and I never understood why they didn’t include Nightcrawler as a palette-swapped equivalent to Wink like they did with Solara/The Human Torch), but Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is still worth experiencing today if you’re willing to dust off your old PS2 and enjoy an unironic and painfully unbalanced example of mid-2000s excess.
Just be careful not to cut yourself on all that edge!
The post ‘Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects’ – Celebrating 20 Years of Superheroes vs. Horror Tropes appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
source https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3870592/marvel-nemesis-rise-of-the-imperfects-celebrating-20-years-of-superheroes-vs-horror-tropes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=marvel-nemesis-rise-of-the-imperfects-celebrating-20-years-of-superheroes-vs-horror-tropes
No comments:
Post a Comment