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Comics To Video Games: Captain America WWII Shooter

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It might be crazy but what if there was a first person shooter game with Cap?

Last week I gave my ideas on an X-Men RPG game where you go to the Xavier Institute to train to become a hero. Looks like Activision had the same idea. For this week's Comics to Video Game, I was thinking about a Captain America game. Wouldn't you know it, Sega beat me to it. Then again, it's almost common sense they would have a Cap game coming out since we can expect the movie next year.

My Captain America game would be a little different. While I like the idea of a third person adventure game where you get to be Captain America, I thought why not mix it up a little? My Captain America game would be a first person shooter. 

You're probably wondering what I'm talking about since Cap uses a shield and not a gun. Going back to WWII, our game sees young Steve Rogers just after drinking the Super Soldier Serum and becoming Captain America. The game will focus first on Cap joining the war with other soldiers. He's not quite the symbolic hero just yet. He may have been enhanced and given some training but he still has a ways to go.
== TEASER ==

My inspiration for the game goes back to Medal of Honor from the PS1. Cap is out on a mission with his battalion but when they're ambushed, Cap is the only survivor. We would play as Cap with a gun and shield. With no back up or radio communications, you must make your way through enemy territory to deliver the important enemy battle plans that could turn the tide of the current skirmish. 

Once you complete that level, you discover that young Bucky Barnes, your teenage sidekick hasn't returned from his mission. You are being ordered to return to the States because the government feels as the only Super Soldier, you are too valuable to risk out in open combat. They would like to run more tests on you to see if they can replicate the Super Soldier Serum. 

Of course, you're not going to leave Bucky behind, especially when you overhear that the Red Skull may have been involved in his capture. Here is where we would see some stealth missions. You have to masquerade as a regular soldier to board a plane flying over where Red Skull was last seen. Because the plane is on another mission, let's throw in a little HALO jumping to spice up the visuals of the game. 

Once again, you are alone behind enemy lines. This time, all you have is your shield as a weapon. Hand to hand combat in a first person shooter sometimes comes across as awkward so perhaps the game engine could tweak this a bit to make some better gameplay. You will have the opportunity to pick up the weapons of fallen enemies but you would want to use them sparingly since it's a stealth mission. For those that strongly believe Cap shouldn't use guns, you could try completing missions without one or aim carefully to shoot guns out of enemy hands.  
 
Arriving at Red Skull's castle, you must go through a maze to enter with some puzzles to solve (they won't be those annoying ones that  just interrupt the gameplay and make you want to stop the game). You defeat Red Skull just as Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos arrive on their own top secret mission. 

Red Skull is defeated but where is Bucky? It turns out you might have underestimated the young boy as he managed to escape on his own. He did leave a cryptic message saying he was going after Baron Zemo because it was overheard that Hitler might be meeting with him. The game now changes to you controlling Bucky. Bucky is not shy when it comes to firearms so those itching for gun-firing action will get some satisfaction here.   If you're familiar with Bucky's history, you know that it was in a battle against Zemo that Bucky "died" (but really was recovered and turned into the Winter Soldier). Without giving away the ending of this imaginary video game, I'll just say the final level will deal with Bucky and Captain America facing off against Bucky. Maybe it could be that you'd have your choice of trying to complete the level as either Cap or Bucky. Whether the game ends on a happy or sad note would remain to be seen. 
 
There's my thoughts. Again, I think a third person game could be cool. The images and trailer for SEGA's game look cool but unfortunately comic book video games have a certain track record. Do you think a first person shooter with Captain America could work? Would you want to play it?
Filed under:
Captain America
Red Skull
Nick Fury
Baron Heinrich Zemo
Bucky Barnes
Captain America's Shield
Super Soldier Serum
33 Comments
Posted by danhimself

sounds cool and all but I'm not sure if a first person comic book based game is such a good idea....maybe the Punisher could pull off this type of game (as long as it's not that terrible downloadable Punisher Multiplayer game they put out last year)

Posted by KRYPTON
@danhimself said:
" sounds cool and all but I'm not sure if a first person comic book based game is such a good idea....maybe the Punisher could pull off this type of game (as long as it's not that terrible downloadable Punisher Multiplayer game they put out last year) "
I know. That game wasn't good at all, I was looking forward to that until it was a illusion that it would've been cool. I wanted that game to be in 3rd person.  
 
A cap 1st person game would be Awesome! I would buy it. 
Posted by LassieOfDoom

already BOUGHT it... in my mind... and the future... somehow...

Posted by PatVB

This definitely sounds like a really promising idea, but I think the market might still be oversaturated with WWII FPSs.

Posted by G-Man
@pat4327: That's true but the Captain America/shield element might mix things up a bit. The movie coming out could help perhaps as well.
Staff
Posted by InnerVenom123

Leave FPS for The Punisher. Give Cap something different.
Posted by PatVB
@G-Man That's a good point, but most movie tie-in games tend to be mediocre at best. I think the game sounds awesome, but it will take good marketing and reviews could turn into a big seller, a la Arkham Asylum.
Posted by k4tzm4n

As a huge fan of the FPS genre, I can say with all of my heart that a Captain America game just wouldn't feel right when restricted to a FPS.  I'm sure they can find ways to make you feel like an unstoppable soldier just like the Halo games have accomplished with Master Chief, but it just wouldn't be the same.  We wouldn't be able to apply Cap's agility, skill with the sheild, hand-to-hand combat and so forth in what should be a fluid manner.  Third-person, however, would be far easier to accomplish.
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Posted by Krakoa
@k4tzm4n said:
" As a huge fan of the FPS genre, I can say with all of my heart that a Captain America game just wouldn't feel right when restricted to a FPS.  I'm sure they can find ways to make you feel like an unstoppable soldier just like the Halo games have accomplished with Master Chief, but it just wouldn't be the same.  We wouldn't be able to apply Cap's agility, skill with the sheild, hand-to-hand combat and so forth in what should be a fluid manner.  Third-person, however, would be far easier to accomplish. "
Well said.
Posted by N7_Normandy

awesome idea; would love to see them take an approach like this where you really feel like you're becoming Captain America.

Posted by k4tzm4n
@Krakoa:
Thank you.  I'm a pretty big gamer and I'd consider the FPS genre my specialty.
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Posted by CrimsonComedian

Movie games almost never work. Examples: Avatar, Prince of Persia, X-Men. Superman Returns was okay. Spiderman was okay. My biggest problem is, they always say  "Go beyond the movie." 
 
...

Posted by Video_Martian
@N7_Normandy said:
"awesome idea; would love to see them take an approach like this where you really feel like you're becoming Captain America."

seconded =) 
Posted by weapon154

Well, due to the point of CrimsonComedian, it may work but I'm struggling to figure how the melee combat with the shield would work on a first person shooter.

Posted by ImperiousRix

It's actually a really cool idea to put a comic character in a first person game, especially one that could use such interesting mechanics as Cap.  Obviously the logic tells you that in a video game featuring superheroes, you want to actually SEE the heroes, but what better way to actually feel what it's like to be Cap than to actually put you in his point of view? 
Really cool idea, and more than anything I like the way you manage to make a logical progression of levels, G-Man.  Keep these coming.

Posted by G-Man
@k4tzm4n: I love fist person shooters and I like the third person adventure games. I just feel a third person Cap game wouldn't deliver anything really new. I get that a Cap FPS might not work but let's challenge the game makers into making it work. Pretty much every time we get a superhero video game, it's third person.
Staff
Edited by k4tzm4n
@G-Man:
I believe they're often third-person because that's what works the best when you're aiming to have the experience of a shooter, agility oriented gameplay, and basic to complex melee combat system.  Many games have attempted to give FPS shooters the same treatment, but they've never really compared to what third person action/adventure/shooters have to offer.  The best example I can think of is Mirror's Edge.  An excellent and fun game, IMO, but its emphasis was on agility/running.  The melee combat system was okay but repetitive, and the shooting was absolutely horrific.  If we're looking to play as Cap, we want to feel as agile as he does.  A FPS can accomplish this, but it won't let us appreciate the true nature of his agility, such as flips and rotations (without getting the gamer nauseous, that is).  A third-person game can let us appreciate the aspect far more (Games like Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, and even Uncharted come to mind).  Shooting, naturally that's better in a FPS, but Cap's primary  weapon is his shield.  When we're given shields in FPS games, they often restrict our movement, which makes perfect sense because our view is heavily restricted, too.  However, if we're playing as Captain Goddamn America(!), we don't want to feel like we're cowering behind a shield and slowly getting closer.  We want to rush them, and use a beyond complex shield toss to disarm an KO dozens of guards.  To accomplish this in a FPS just doesn't seem possible to me.  Finally, there's the melee combat system.  Let's face it, the shield is what Cap is known for, but even without it, he can kick a man on his rear 1,439,624 different ways (that's probably underselling his abilities, actually).  When it comes to a FPS melee system, we can't get too complex, especially with the limited button system (we already have designated buttons to blocking/combat with the shield, agility, possibly grabbing, using items, etc).  Overall, while I agree we should push developers to create unique games and give us experiences that leave us floored and wanting more, I just don't feel that Cap could be given the proper justice he deserves in a FPS due to gameplay limitations. Punisher, on the other hand... ;) 
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Posted by Luthorcrow

I think we all missing the really big probably with a FPS Captain America game or any FPS treatment for any superhero, we want to feel like we are that superhero.  If you are going to do FPS why even make it Captain America?  In FPS you rarely see your characters face and even in the best games have a very limited awareness of your body.  It is the reason why in almost every FPS, even the ones with good stories, have a silent or under developed central character, you. 
 
I think everyone else touched on the control issue.  This simply would not work with a standard controller.  Now if we are talking a motion controlled game like Move or Kinect then you might be able to FPS with this type of character.  With the actual motion and some good body awareness in the game it might work.

Posted by Aronmorales

I was talking to my brother and father about having Cap as a special character for something like Call of Duty, but as far as his own game, I'd like something along the lines of Call of Duty and Mirror's Edge.

Posted by -Vigil-

I would SO play this.

Posted by Meteorite

I don't really think that SEGA's comic book games are as good as they could be; Activision are way better at making comic book games.

Posted by Beyond your Doom

What about Wolverine he was in WWII will he be in the game?

Posted by spider-man 2996

I would get this!!!
Posted by star_mad

I don't thin that a Cap FPS would be a good idea... Usually the main character in the FPS games don't have much character development. And Cap's fighting skills will be better in 3rd person.

Posted by haydenclaireheroes

love shooter games and comic book games. So, this might be the best video game ever. 

Posted by DiscoNightwing

Off-topic I'm a DC  guy but just got into Cap reading Captain America: Patriot....soooo good. I was interested in something good about Steve though...Where's the first image of this article from? and/or if anyone had some suggestions on some good Cap stuff...Period pieces like patriot or self contained minis...

 
Posted by Bergquist

its sound better than this
 
  

Posted by War Killer

I like the idea, and being a fan of first person shooters, I would play this game, especially if it's about Cap.

Posted by Theodore

it'd be better than the crap Sega is putting out.

Posted by 614azrael
@G-Man:
U have a good point and it could be fun however as a person as a student for game design i think the undertakeing for this would be really risky. Proublem is in hiting home with caps skills in a fps format. Its almost unheard of that u get good mele combat in fps wich cap relys alot on. Another fault is in the idea of guns in itself the sheild has to sell off well and be the focal point but put yourself behind a controler in fps n u will also want more options. Sudenly caps got rocket launchers and sniper riffles and then we flat out lose the essence of cap. I like the idea and it could be fun but i dont c it working out as good as one hopes.
Posted by G-Man
@614azrael: I totally agree. I might've said it already, I just thought if I wrote about a Captain America WWII third person game, it wouldn't be anything majorly different than what you'd expect. Yes this would be crazy risky but in my imagination, that's not an issue. This is why I'm not a professional game designer, I suppose.
Staff
Posted by 614azrael
@G-Man:
true third person would be nothing new and with the batarang control in arkam asylum controling the sheild wouldnt allow for any elaborate new concept. 1st persons a cool idea actully, I just question the execution sence Cap is known more for his skills up close.
Posted by Metatron_Da_Don

nvr saw this b4, bump!

Use your keyboard!

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