5. Archie (done like The Sims)
Archie comics have been popular for over 70 years. Let that sink in for a moment. There have been comics about Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones for nearly as long as there have been comics about Batman and Superman. The only difference is that instead of fighting killer aliens from space, Archie was drinking malts with Veronica and Betty while fighting the temptation to punch Jughead in the face (seriously, what's with that crown?). Even today, Archie comics are making headlines by adding new characters to fit into today’s world – just recently, the series had its first homosexual marriage! How progressive!
With over 80 years' worth of characters, locations, and relationships to explore, there's no better game to rip off than The Sims for Archie. Players could make a new student and attend Riverdale High School while interacting with popular characters (and trying to break up their relationships). All of the popular hangouts could be created in-game, fully re-creating the classic series. It would be a dream come true for Archie fans, who are apparently abundant enough to have kept the series alive for decades.
Above: Hopefully the Punisher doesn't show up to ruin everyone's fun
Taking it a step further, why not make it a Facebook game, too? The Sims Facebook has already proven that the format works fine for the social network; just give Archie fans a chance, and they'll populate Riverdale with millions of new citizens, all trying to hook up with their favorite characters. This thing would be a goldmine.
4. Chew (done like Sam & Max)
Chew follows a police officer named Tony Chu, who lives in a world where an outbreak of bird flu rendered all poultry illegal to consume. After losing his job with the Philadelphia Police Department, he joins up with the FDA, and uses his creepy powers to unravel mysteries surrounding the outbreak. What creepy powers would those be? Well, see, Chu is a cibopath, which means that he's able to take a bite from anything and get a psychic sensation of what has happened to that object. In other words, he can eat a dead body and find out what killed it. Yeah. Gross.
But good for gameplay! This unique, offbeat style combined with Chu's strange ability could make for a great point-and-click adventure, as Chu goes out on cases and, erm, nibbles on the victims to find out more information. The clues he finds (by eating stuff) could lead to picking up useful objects or meeting new, colorful individuals. Chew is completely full of interesting partners and characters, and we'd love to meet them in a videogame.
Above: It's like it was made for a point-and-click adventure
It's hard to think of a better developer for this than Telltale, with its experience in strange stories and adapting oddball comic books into point-and-click adventures. The story would work great for Telltale's episodic style, too, what with the comic's strong individual stories and even stronger overarching story.
3. Darkwing Duck (done like Arkham City)
Disney created Darkwing Duck in the early ‘90s as a spin-off of Ducktales, featuring a superhero not-so-ambigiously lampooning Batman. Launching as both a comic and a television series (and later revived as a comic long after the TV show was over), Darkwing Duck’s adventures had him prowling the rooftops of St. Canard, fighting against villains that were either inspired by, or ripped off completely by those found in Gotham.
Since it already flies to close to Batman, why not just let it revel in that? We’d absolutely love to see a fully realized St. Canard, brought to life like Gotham was in Arkham City. Negaduck could have trapped a section of the city in a nega-bubble or something, and let the Fearsome Five wreak havoc throughout the city. The series’ big villains could be tied into the story, while others could just be wandering around causing problems for Darkwing to clean up.
Above: Darkwing duck should get dangerous all over the place
They could even institute a “Public Opinion” meter, since being loved by the public is one of DW’s goals in life, and it could make for some interesting morality choices as DW is faced with doing the “right” thing (i.e. apprehending a villain) or the “popular” thing (i.e. stopping to pose for news cameras), instead of the typical, tired good/evil choices of games like Infamous.
