A Wonder Woman Video Game: Why It Could Be Awesome
There's a lot of very important factors that are needed to make an addictive and memorable video game. Impressive graphics, practical controls, intelligent A.I., solid level designs; all of these are critical. However, it's brilliant gameplay and a compelling story that can really help take a game to a whole new level. After all, what's the point of jaw-dropping graphics if you're not really having fun in the artificial world? And that's the whole point of video games, isn't it? We play them because they're an entertaining and exciting escape from reality. They take our minds off whatever problems we may have going on in the real world and they offer us a chance to lose ourselves in a surreal and totally exhilarating place. So, the thought of being Wonder Woman -- a powerful and hugely skilled character -- and taking on the challenges her mythological world has to offer is pretty cool and it's definitely loaded with potential.
A Wonder Woman game really does have the chance to be like Arkham meets God of War. You have thrilling action and it's set in a place that's full of brutal fantasy elements. Yeah, that's a world many of us would love to experience, right? Wonder Woman has yet to get her own video game (she's appeared in quite a few, though), but seeing as she has a movie on the way, we're hoping she gets a boost in popularity and it'll be enough to justify the creation of her own video game. It's worth noting this entire article is written under the hope that a developer (*cough* Rocksteady *cough*) will have the time they need to produce a good game and not feel rushed to put out just another okay movie tie-in game. Yes, some of those are good, but honestly, many are pretty forgettable. Anyway, let's go ahead and talk about what could make a Wonder Woman video game awesome.
Games often begin with a tutorial sequence. Some are a fun and organic way of teaching you the basics, while others feel, well, let's just be nice and say not-so-fun and kind of dull. Diana's story has the perfect way to craft a tutorial. In George Pérez, Greg Potter and Bruce Patterson's WONDER WOMAN #1, a tournament is held on Themyscira and the champion will venture out into the world of man to face Ares, the God of War. Right off the bat, this tells gamers about Wonder Woman's origin and then throws you right into various kinds of gameplay. Races with other Amazons will teach you about movement, there will be tests that help you master how to use Wonder Woman's equipment (aiming and throwing will help with the tiara later on), and, of course, it'll inform players how to use the combat system. It'll all be very familiar, but it's moving the story forward while teaching everyone all of the basics. It isn't dragged out and immediately throwing the player into a tournament adds more weight to the experience. It's time to learn fast or fail.
You know how the Arkham franchise made you feel like you were actually Batman? There's plenty of action-adventure games out there, but it's not every day that a game produces an exceptional and hugely satisfying combat system. Some may not know it, but Wonder Woman's more than just another powerhouse. She may not have Superman's assortment of abilities, but she's a phenomenal hand-to-hand combatant and her equipment gives her a little more variety in battle. Because of that, there's no reason why a Wonder Woman game shouldn't have immensely fun fighting mechanics. You don't want complex controls but you don't want the options to be too limited, either. Thanks to her skills as a fighter, there should be options that thrive for both button mashers and skilled players who love going for the biggest combo possible. Throw in her sheer strength and reflexes and this should make for some seriously cool hand-to-hand battles which send enemies slamming against walls and show Diana smoothly blocking one opponent and then transitions into harshly tossing another one. There's so many things that are needed for a great game, but we're going to spend the most time fighting things, so it's absolutely mandatory that the combat system gets the most love and attention. An excellent fighter deserves an excellent combat system, after all. The developer should want people to jump into this game and feel like a total badass as they play as Diana.
An impressive combat system is without question one of the most important things in a Wonder Woman game, but what about when she isn't just punching, kicking, and throwing the basic variety of enemies? What about her equipment and boss battles? Well, seeing as her equipment is relatively limited, having an easily accessible inventory selection option (e.g. the D-pad,) and a swift and fluid aim/throw system would be perfect for using the tiara as a projectile or targeting enemies with the Lasso of Truth. She could also equip a sword for more damage and a different variety of attacks and combos. As for the indestructible bracelets, certain missions could utilize quick time events to really take advantage of Diana's jaw-dropping reflexes and make the player realize just how amazing of a combatant she can be. For example, imagine having to rush an army of archers or gunmen and, as she leaps forward, you have to press buttons accordingly. Assuming you didn't mess up, she'll quickly deflect everything that comes her way as she continues to race towards the enemies. It'll definitely keep us on our toes and showcase her amazing speed.
Quick time events can also be used to make boss battles feel way more cinematic instead of always following the "dodge, stun, now attack!" formula. Diana's mythos means there's plenty of threats the game can toss her way as she goes around the globe, too. Not only can they populate the game with DC easter eggs and cameos, but they can also include a bunch of villains. Aside from someone like Ares being the big bad, they could find ways to work characters like Giganta, Decay, Cheetah, and many others bosses into the story. Each one can present new obstacles which rely on using different tactics to overcome. For example, fighting Cheetah could focus heavily on blocking and countering, and Giganta could draw some parallels to Shadow of the Colossus as you have to go through several steps to drop a towering foe.
The trickiest part of the game would be incorporating her ability to fly. If they go with an open world, this could be used to fast travel. While traveling normally, she just has impressive jumping capabilities and the levels are designed so flight isn't even needed. That said, there could also be a handful of missions based around Wonder Woman's ability to fly, so that could add a little more variety to the adventure.
Unlockables and upgrades would be easy enough to include. Upgrades could include effectiveness with her various weapons, special moves, new combos and ways to temporarily boost stats. As for unlockables, the sky's the limit. Who doesn't love being able to earn new skins, character models/figurines, and more? If they went for an open world, Themyscira could include several "stores" where you can obtain new gear and upgrades. They could also find a way to add a practice and/or challenge mode while you're on Paradise Island.
A Woman Woman video game has the chance to take the best gameplay elements from Batman and Superman's worlds and then throw it into a setting that's overflowing with fantasy. She doesn't get that much love from non-comic fans and this would give them the chance to see that she's every bit as badass as some of the other big names in comics. It would also show gamers a whole new side of the DC Universe. You'd have hours upon hours of immensely fun combat, the great feeling of being an incredibly powerful character, and the chance to run around a fascinating setting and punch a whole lot of crazy creatures in the face really, really hard. Assuming it has the right developer working on it, a Woman Woman video game would be very awesome and has the potential to become a franchise. Here's hoping it's something we'll get to eventually play.
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