That’s the question Abel Ferrer asks over at Game Career Guide:

In the process of licensing the IP down this chain, the essence of what initially made these comic books and characters so engrossing to readers, unfortunately, takes a back seat. And it’s often completely subsumed by the restrictions and limitations of the entertainment business. So is the nature of the beast.

But more than the problems of big business, it’s easier for a developer to create a game with a relatively straightforward design than it is to tell a well-crafted interactive narrative that requires players to become emotionally invested in the experience. Translating the vision from the pages of a comic book to another medium has been proven to be a difficult task for those adapting the material, and a hit-or-miss experience for those anticipating the adaptation. The potential for great games is there, but it has almost never been executed well.

Honestly, I think bad video game adaptations is somewhere at the bottom of the “things that are really wrong with comics” list, but there’s no denying that there are very few decent spin-offs out there. That last Justice League game really stank up the place didn’t it?

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