"Good is not a thing you are, it's a thing you do." - Ms. Marvel
Marvel fans have been on a roller coaster ride this past month. As the world feels the loss of our king, Black Panther Chadwick Boseman, gamers and Marvel fans have been excited for the release of Marvel's Avengers game. It's been a month since the game was released and there have been many blogs, videos, and podcasts dedicated to reviewing the game. This is my review. I am not a professional gamer, game reviewer, or blogger, I'm just an avid gamer who is a huge fan of comic books. So, here we go. Let's review Marvel's Avengers. I'm gonna say it... Avengers Assemble!
Let's take things back to when I first heard that Marvel's Avengers was available for preorder. I'm a fan of Marvel comics, films, and video games so for me this game was an automatic purchase. Marvel's Spider-Man was a phenomenal game and I had high hopes that Avengers would be similar in playstyle and visuals. Like with most preorders for triple-A games, there are bonuses and different packages available depending on how much money you want to dish out and how big a fan you are. Available for preorder were the standard edition, exclusive digital edition, deluxe edition, and Earth's Mightiest Edition. For those of you who still get hard copies of games from your local GameStop, there was also a GameStop exclusive Bundle Edition. Originally I was hoping to get the Deluxe Edition so I could have access to the special character skins that came with that copy of the game, unfortunately, GameStop was sold out when I went to preorder. I ended up settling on the exclusive Bundle Edition because the store member I was working with told me the bundle came with the same perks as the Deluxe Edition (in-game content) plus a Hulk action figure. When I picked up my copy of the game I found that this was not the case, there were no skin bonuses, but I did get the exclusive Hulk figure so I'm still happy. For fans and collectors of the Marvel universe, the special editions of this game are must-haves because of the physical and in-game bonuses.
After receiving my copy of the game, installing it, and waiting all day at work to play it, I finally became a part of the Marvel Universe. From the few articles I had read online, I knew that a lot of people were more excited about the multiplayer mode than they were for the campaign. A number of articles recommended playing the multiplayer mode first to level up all your characters so they'd be better in the campaign when you eventually started it. I decided to begin with the campaign first though because the game itself recommended starting with that to avoid story spoilers. Normally this wouldn't matter, but because I was so excited to see what the game developers did with the story, I decided I wanted to find out things on my own. As I write this piece, I am currently 45% through the campaign and I am really enjoying it. I feel like I'm actually controlling a character in one of the comics. A lot of people were comparing this game to the MCU, which is understandable given its huge success, but I came into this game looking at it as its own separate entity, a combination of comics and films. That's exactly what I think this game is.
The game opens up and introduces Kamala Khan, the main character, as she travels to San Francisco to celebrate A-Day and the newly opened west-coast headquarters for the Avengers. Everything seems great as Kamala interacts with the other fans and meets a few members of the Avengers in person until all hell breaks loose and a mysterious group of foes attacks the Golden Gate Bridge. The Avengers assemble and combine their forces to stop the enemies. It's here when we first take control of the team. Thor batters enemies aside with the might of Mjolnir, Iron Man rains down a barrage of repulsor fire from the sky, Hulk smashes and leaps his way through tanks and explosions, and the Black Widow finally comes face-to-face with the leader of this terrorist group, the lethal mercenary known as Taskmaster. Though the Avengers are able to stop Taskmaster from blowing up the Golden Gate Bridge, it turns out that attack was a mere distraction. Captain America, onboard the new helicarrier, masterfully throws his legendary shield into enemies as they try to crash the technological behemoth. Only briefly mentioned, the new version of the helicarrier is powered by a newly discovered substance called Terrigen. While the Avengers on the bridge succeed in stopping its destruction, Captain America isn't so lucky and is killed as the Terrigen crystal-powered helicarrier is destroyed. The citizens of San Francisco and the fans lucky enough to attend the A-Day celebration are thrown into a state of terror as the destroyed Terrigen crystal explodes into a mist that spreads across the city, giving numerous civilians uncontrollable powers and abilities. Jump five years into the future and Advanced Idea Mechanics, AIM, has stepped into the role of protectors and heroes, previously held by the Avengers. AIM, through the use of technology, is capturing those affected by the Terrigen mist to "cure" them. Still believing in the Avengers and everything they stood for, Kamala Khan newly graced with her own powers, searches for the truth behind the A-Day catastrophe. As she attempts to uncover the conspiracy surrounding AIM, A-Day, and the Avengers, Kamala sets out to round up Earth's mightiest heroes.
It's been great to see this story being told through the eyes of a character who is an Avenger but one of the newer lesser-known ones. Kamala Khan is an incredibly well-written character and the perfect vessel to bring the Avengers back from their disbandment. While the game starts out with Kamala Kahn being the only character you can control, she eventually meets Dr. Bruce Banner, and players are able to again control the Incredible Hulk. As the story progresses, the same happens for the remaining Avengers (Iron Man, Black Widow, and Thor). As you reassemble the team you are able to unlock and experiment with the vast customization options of each character. Each Avenger has his/her own skills, super-powered abilities, and gear that can be customized and upgraded to develop a character that suits the playstyle you want. Skill points allow for the upgrading of skills on character skill trees to unlock new moves (light and heavy attacks) and combos. The gear and perk aspects of the game allow players to further customize their characters by giving stat boosts, modifiers, and buffs. This gear, similarly to that of other games, can be upgraded through the use of collected materials and can be equipped and unequipped to adapt to any situation. Some gear even has bonus effects such as gamma radiation that grants bonus damage and Pym Particles which shrink enemies. One big thing that some fans are happy about and others are confused about is the fact that gear does not change the look of a character. In games like Destiny, the gear you equip changes how your character looks. The outfits change slightly so you aren't just receiving a boost or perk, but you also got a cosmetic upgrade. The gear in Marvel's Avengers does not change how your heroes look. Many fans are disappointed by this, they'd like to show off the gear they have collected through the hours of grinding through enemies and missions. Others like how the outfits are not affected by equipped gear because sometimes the gear was great and was super beneficial for stats, but it didn't give the character the style the player was going for. The game's developers have openly discussed this topic and mentioned how it was something they debated for a while. Ultimately what led to their decision to not have gear have any cosmetic value was the fact that they would be releasing iconic hero costumes. This game isn't like Destiny where you are creating your own character from scratch. While the Avengers' skills and upgrades are completely up to each player, the outfits are based on something. Comics and films have influenced the different skins players can use in this game. It just doesn't make sense to have an outfit based on an iconic costume and then change it all because of equipped gear. Personally, I like this choice because having my favorite hero skin from the comics or films makes me feel more emersed in the world.
Again, I'm only about 45% of the way through the campaign but I am loving the story. There are parts where I wish it would go on a little longer and not give me an answer right away so I could do more and explore the Marvel world, but overall it's been a great experience. Accompanying the great story is the fantastic voice acting. I think many people were anxious about the voice cast for this game because we've all grown to love the MCU counterparts but I have been super satisfied and impressed with this voice cast and how they present the characters. The Uncharted series has always been a love of mine and I thought this game had some Uncharted aspects to it with puzzles and movement, but it was great to hear Nolan North (Nathan Drake) as Tony Stark. When I first saw his name on the list of actors I was concerned that all I would be able to hear is Nathan Drake, but he has done a fabulous job at completely becoming Tony Stark. The actress who plays Kamala Khan, Sandra Saad, has done a phenomenal job at making me love the character. This game could have gone very wrong had the script and actors tried too hard to be different from the MCU actors, but they stayed true to the characters themselves and that shines through in their performance.
One of my favorite things about Marvel's Spider-Man game was the movement. When I play Marvel's Spider-Man it's so satisfying and mesmerizing to be performing all the amazing acrobatic feats, swinging through the city, and beating up bad guys. The visuals for that game are absolutely beautiful and the game's controls and movement make it one of the best. Marvel's Avengers has good movement and a solid button layout. A lot of people have called it a "button masher" but I think that's all in how you play the game. I personally don't mind games that require button mashing, but I know there have been many times when I've played this game and I had to strategically press buttons to get the best results. The light and heavy attacks are as I expected, one fast and the other slow, but they look good when you're doing them. Spider-Man is a character who is capable of doing crazy acrobatic moves while fighting, Thor and the Hulk not so much. To me, it makes sense when I see the Hulk moving and fighting as if he were actually eight feet tall and over a thousand pounds. Just like it makes sense that when swinging Mjolnir around there's a lot of power behind the motions and not a ton of speed and nimbleness.
Overall, I'm loving the campaign part of this game. The game's developers already have a list of other playable characters they plan on releasing in the future so I'm excited to see what DLC add ons they will give us with the campaign. Comparing it to other games, it greatly resembles Destiny and the Borderlands series because of the looting, gear upgrade system, and character skill trees. Movement is very similar to that of Destiny as well but certain characters also move and feel like they're part of an Uncharted game. I personally don't consider this a button masher game like a lot of other superhero games are because of how strategic you have to be with dodging and being aware of your surroundings. The Ultimate Alliance games (one and two at least) were very chaotic and it was easy to play and just press buttons and make it through levels. Each movement I make in this game feels deliberate and does a great job in capturing each hero's unique fighting style in correspondence with their body type and abilities.
Arguably the biggest feature of this game is the multiplayer mode, known as the Avengers Initiative. Similar to Destiny or Borderlands, players can join with random players or their friends to create a team of four to complete missions together, gather loot, and smash villains. I have only played this a few times, so much of what I'm referring to now is coming from what I have read or heard other gamers say, but I think this has the potential to be a lot of fun especially if you're playing with friends and definitely when more characters and missions become available. Playing as the Avengers with a group of friends is an absolute blast. As much as I love the campaign, I think it's great that we are finally able to play together online as our favorite heroes. A really cool feature that this game, both campaign and multiplayer, has is the puzzle aspect that is within each level. Some puzzles are easy to solve and require you to shoot a couple of things that are right out in the open to unlock some sort of prize but other puzzles require you to really think and analyze the area. The addition of the puzzles into the game adds a layer because it becomes more than just killing enemies and collecting their loot, you clear an area and then you look around to find dropped and hidden treasure. Finding the loot, after solving a puzzle, really makes it feel like you've worked towards something.
Like Destiny and Borderlands, this game requires you to grind for XP, materials, and gear. I'm already planning on repeating missions to level up my characters and just farm XP. Gear is something that you definitely need to be successful in the game but as you collect the gear found in the early game, it's really not worth upgrading. From what I've noticed, and then later had confirmed by other gamers, the late-game loot is what you want to collect and work towards. Everything you get early and mid-game is purely to keep your character at the level they need to be in order to not get destroyed during missions. This is going to be a game that I'll have to invest time in to get the gear I want and the characters to the level I need them to be. The cool thing about this game, which has been getting a lot of ridicule from others, is that it's not totally finished. We have the early version of this game and there are so many more characters to come and level up. I did the same thing in Borderlands and Destiny, repeated levels, collected loot, farmed materials, etc. That's going to be this game the only difference is that now I'm playing as my favorite Avengers.
I've given you my input, now it's time to discuss other people's reviews. I've done my research to prepare for writing this piece, I've read blogs, watched videos, and listened to podcasts so I have heard a lot of what other people are saying about this game. As a whole, it comes with very mixed reviews. People love the story and the campaign, but they wish it was longer. People love the multiplayer experience, but they're getting tired of replaying missions and gear grinding. The biggest thing I want to point out in this section is that we have a lot more in store. It's expected, as it should be, that when a game comes out it is complete. I say complete in the sense that there are no bugs, glitches, or technical issues with the game itself. I think this is a valid expectation. As gamers, we wait years for games to come out and when they have technical issues, it's annoying. Marvel's Avengers has been struggling in this area. It's only happened to me a few times, but occasionally during cut scenes, everything will freeze and then speed up like everything is being fast-forwarded. Other times, I've gotten stuck while jumping and landing on a spot I thought was safe to land on (see video below). Occasionally character's mouths don't move when they're talking, and the load screens are quite long (although not nearly as bad as Battlefield V... talk about brutal). Because of these things, I agree, the game came out not finished. Some time should have been taken to fix these issues especially since thousands of people tested out the beta when it was available.
Aside from that, the game is finished. Is the story long? Yes, long enough. Are there a lot of playable characters? Yes, there are enough. Is there enough to keep you going post-game? Yes, I think so. I consider this game to be finished because we already know, we were told from the very beginning, that after the game was released the team was planning on giving us DLC with new characters, missions, and stories that linked different "plot holes" within the game. People are freaking out, "there's not enough to do! The game isn't complete!" Yeah, it is. Guys, girls, gamers, we are only a month, one month, into the game's release. We were told that more characters would be coming out, there's a roster with eighteen names on it. The game is finished, for now. Is there more coming? Yes, there are tons more but this is a game that plans on being around and relevant for more than just a month. It's going to be releasing more content for years and this will keep us playing. The characters, the story, the controls, movement, and potential will keep us coming back to this game. The Avengers roster has changed so many times over its history, look at how many heroes assembled in the MCU's Avengers: Endgame. People, believe me. We will be coming back to play this.
Looking toward's the future of this game, I think it will be super interesting to see what heroes are assembled and the order they'll be released. According to numerous websites, the following characters are already being developed:
Ant-Man
Black Panther
Captain Marvel
Doctor Strange
Falcon
Hulk Buster
Mar-Vell
Mockingbird
Quake
Scarlet Witch
She-Hulk
Vision
War Machine
Wasp
Winter Soldier
We know that the first DLC character to be released will be Kate Bishop, Hawkeye's prodigy, sometime in October. Hawkeye himself will be released at some point in November and for PS4 players, sorry Xbox and PC gamers, Spider-Man will be joining us early in 2021. That's a lot of playable characters to choose from. That's a lot of leveling up, gear gathering, missions, and news stories. Some of the characters seem like obvious choices to add to an Avengers game. Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Falcon, and Doctor Strange would have been some of the first on my list of heroes I assumed would eventually make their way into the game. Others, however, like Quake, Mar-Vell, and Mockingbird I did not expect and that makes me even more excited. Each character is supposed to bring a piece of the story to help make connections to the main one, so it will be wonderful to see those lesser-known Avengers make their way into the story. Some other characters I hope will be added to the game are Moon Knight, Luke Cage, Firebird, Quasar, and Nova. There's so much you could do with the Avengers team and villains it's insane.
Final thoughts, this is a very good game. It's not of the same quality as Marvel's Spider-Man but it's a good game. The campaign is delightfully written, the characters are well cast, movements feel like the actual action of the heroes you're playing as, and the controls feel good. Multiplayer is a lot of fun and has so much potential especially as more characters are added into the mix. This game is as finished as it needs to be at this point in time. There are some bugs and occasional glitches but this is a game that developers made with the plan to be around for a long time. There's so much to look forward to with the new characters, missions, and stories expected to be released with DLC updates. This is a game that brings people into the Marvel universe. It's separate from the comics and films but still pulls inspiration and references to keep fans happy. Whether your smashing enemies as the Incredible Hulk, soaring through the air with Iron Man, breaking bones with the mighty Mjolnir, grappling foes as a super spy, or inspiring your teammates with Ms. Marvel, you're going to have a blast playing this game and it's going to keep coming back for more.
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