Among the many expected and desired protagonists of this E3 2019 we find undoubtedly Marvel's Avengers by Square Enix, a title developed by Crystal Dynamics in collaboration with Marvel.
After the cinematic universe saw a first cycle close with the resounding success of Endgame, it was obvious that the stage of the Los Angeles fair belonged to this mammoth project that promises to be the largest and longest-running ever dedicated to the famous Avengers.
The presentation took place at the Square Enix conference, where the title finally took concrete form with the first trailer that tried to give a first taste of what this Marvel's Avengers will be.
We got to see it behind closed doors through a live demo that showed us the very first mission of the game that acts as a prologue and a narrative incipit to what will be the events of the story.
Before illustrating it, however, let's proceed step by step and explain: what is Marvel's Avengers? It is an Action Adventure designed primarily to be played in co-op, but that also allows for a single player approach. Although it is a game designed mainly to offer an experience close to the cinematic one - therefore very story oriented - in reality Marvel's Avengers will be a GaaS game, or a Game as a Service, along the lines of titles such as Destiny, The Division and Anthem. . So let's talk about games that once completed will keep players glued with a lot of activities, mainly related to the grind, the farm and the enhancement of your character. How does a service game marry with the characteristics of a title that focuses primarily on fiction? This has been the goal of Crystal Dynamics over the course of these years of development. Will they have succeeded? It is still too early to know, but let us tell you what we have seen.
The story of the game revolves around the one defined as A-Day, or the day where the Avengers failed. Just as the Avengers team is celebrating the opening of their new San Francisco headquarters, a terrorist attack by Taskmaster blows up the city, bringing blame on the Avengers and letting the team disband once. for all.
In the first game mission, we will relive that fateful A-Day, as the 5 main Avengers, namely: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk and Black Widow.
It will be the start of the dances Thor with his trusty hammer, intent on vanquishing terrorists with fast and powerful combos, alternate with his deadly powers of lightning. Thor is obviously capable of throwing the hammer and then returning it to himself, but while he is without one he can also get along very well in the melee. The main skills are used with the front lats and some of these allow you to throw enemies into the air, a move especially useful against enemies with impenetrable frontal shields, or even to power up to unleash his divine powers.
The second character to enter the scene is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, as we see him struggling in a classic flight session of the character as he tries to take down enemies in flight and, subsequently, those on the ground. Iron Man fights mainly from a distance, throwing his energy balls from his hands or making use of guided missiles. Its special ability is derived from the beam coming from its core on the chest, capable of making a clean sweep of everything it touches.
The scene then switches to Hulk, Bruce Banner's mighty green nature, which despite being a bit awkward and slow in movement, is endowed with frightening power. The Hulk is in fact able to charge enemies without the possibility of being stopped, and then grab the enemies with his huge hands and then sweep them away or throw them at other poor unfortunates. In some moments it will even be possible to take two at a time, and then crush them together as if they were flies. His strongest move allows him to create a devastating shockwave with just a clap of his hands. If that's not enough, the Hulk can literally tear large rocks out of the ground and then use them as throwing weapons. In the session played with the Hulk, he saw him running across a bridge, climbing and moving like an ape in a sequence that was partly reminiscent of the latest Tomb Raiders.
We come then to Captain America, leader of the Avengers and the one who perhaps has one of the potentially most interesting combat systems. His fighting style obviously revolves around the shield, but the ability to counterattack and take hold on enemies vaguely recalls the free flow of Batman Arkham, although it seemed more woody and set, compared to the fluidity of that of man. bat.
We then conclude with Black Widow, struggling in a fight against Taskmaster. It hasn't been clear yet if her fighting style that mixes firearms and hand-to-hand combat was limited to that boss fight or if it actually is what characterizes it. We think so, although some types of attacks by the beautiful Natasha seemed too scripted to us. Among the main skills, there is to make himself invisible for a few moments and take advantage of the enemy who will try to hit her blindly.
These are the 5 heroes with whom we will face the main campaign of Marvel's Avengers, alone or with three other friends. Each of them will level up as the game progresses and will learn new skills, new equipment and above all new outfits with which to customize our favorite characters in what will be a game that will be supported over the years to come. There are no micro transactions, paid DLC, lootboxes and any kind of pay to win form. Constantly the game will be enriched with new heroes, new items, new regions to explore and new missions. Among the new heroes, it is likely that the first to arrive in second place will be Ant Man.
Although on paper the design looks solid, we are still skeptical about several aspects, first of all a combat system that did not seem particularly fluid and smooth. Unfortunately, the characters do not seem to fully convince in their aesthetics and characterization (there has been a lot of talk about it in these hours and we have also written a special about it), probably the result of an unfair comparison with those of the cinematic imagination, but with which inevitably it must clash. This is why it is difficult to give a concrete opinion on what we have seen. Now more than ever, the need to try it pad in hand is a must to begin to understand the extent and quality of the project we are facing.
It will then be necessary to understand how the progression of Marvel's Avengers will take place, as well as to analyze the impact of the customization of the heroes and the possible variety of builds to adapt when playing in multiplayer with other players.
The Marvel's Avengers project, however, has invaluable potential, in its ambition there is no need to create a narrative universe to be merged with stand-alone titles, as it would be self-powered by the introduction of new stories, new characters and new missions. The game is scheduled for next May 15, 2020 so there is plenty of time to find out and dissect it enough to wipe out any doubts and uncertainties about it.
