Marvel's Avengers

[Frontier]

[Derek Metaltron]

They showed off a lot of stuff but all of it really screams too little too late, and their new levelling system is going to destroy any good will the new stuff might have created. Most of it still feels too similar.

[Ascended]

"Too little too late" seems pretty apt.

I think by the standards of what the game has done so far, Clint and his storyline were pretty good. But I don't think it's enough to turn the game around. It was never going to move the needle; it was supposed to be a supplement only, not a true expansion like Wakanda is supposedly going to be. And that would've been fine, if the game hadn't launched with so many problems and immediately fallen six months behind on content. If this had all hit back in November/December when it was meant to and the game had been healthy, it'd have been a great addition. As it is? Too little too late indeed, though a small part of me holds out hope that T'Challa will save us and turn things around.

Beyond Clint and the Wastelands stuff....I noticed a lot of new skins in the marketplace and they seem to be of higher design quality than a lot of what we've had before, and includes a lot of stuff pulled directly from the comics, including Widow's short-hair/gray suit from the 80's, Thor's Unworthy look (robot arm included), the 90's Jim Lee Iron Man from Heroes Reborn as well as the Fraction era bleeding edge armor. Definitely an upgrade as far as design aesthetics go.

Clint's skins are mostly awful, but....Clint's costumes normally are. Still, the default suit, the t-shirt skins, and Ronin all look pretty solid so there's *some* good options.

I'm not a fan, at all, of having the challenge card skins and emotes locked. That's f**king dumb, and what's even more dumb is that there doesn't seem to be anything on the screen telling you what it costs to unlock them. I decided to unlock what I *thought* was just the first challenge card skin for Clint, figuring I'd get a window asking me to confirm the choice and I'd get to see exactly what is required. Nope; it just opened without any confirmation. It unlocked the entire challenge card (including all the stuff I haven't earned) and used almost all my marketplace cash. I never actually bought any marketplace cash, it all came from challenge cards and whatever gifts the devs have given us so I didn't really lose anything, but I was holding onto that currency for Black Panther's release and now I'm marketplace broke, so pretty pissed about that.

After running Clint through his storyline missions he was somewhere around level 25, and running a few Wasteland missions afterwards got me to 30-something. Apparently leveling is going to curve slow as you get closer to 50 but at the moment I'm not too bothered by the extra time; Kate leveled too fast but *so far* Clint doesn't seem too slow.

Clint is a lot of fun to play. He gets around with Widow's grapple line and Cap's wall running, and it makes for a lot of fun map navigation. He seems built for ranged combat far more than anyone else; you have your standard three types of ranged ammunition, which you can then modify with a variety of attack combos and talents, so dude has a lot of options and even his basic heavy melee attacks have some reach to them so you rarely have to get too close (and they combo and/or mod for even more ranged attacks). His ultimates are fun, if not terribly original. I really, really enjoyed playing him.

Unlike the other MCU heroes in this game, I see very little of Jeremy Renner in Clint's combat, but given how MCU Clint has been treated I don't consider that a negative thing.

The Wasteland maps feel bigger than usual, or maybe they're just more open so they feel that way. But they're interesting, with broken tanks, crashed planes, rusting cars, and crumbled buildings littering the field, and the occasional Kree Sentry hand sticking out of the dirt. Tons of hidden chests to find and lots of secondary objectives to hunt down. Doesn't provide the kind of map variety we need of course, but it felt good to move through the setting. We spend most of our time fighting zombie AIM robots that don't realize the world has ended, and the lack of enemy variety sucks, but again, we knew this was always gonna be the case. And looking at the BP teaser, it seems AIM will continue to supply the majority of trash mobs in the game, at least until the Kree arrive (if the game lives long enough to get there).

I think the storyline was pretty good, and made good use of stuff from the Fraction era (pizza dog! rooftop grill parties!) while still weaving a narrative true to Clint's character and the game's storyline. We get some answers about Fury, make some minor headway in the over-arcing plot, and you're left with something that feels like a complete chapter.

Clint and his new content won't change your mind about this game or save it from its flaws. But if you enjoy playing Avengers, even if only once every few months like me, then it's gonna be a fun addition for you.

[Ascended]

This right here is what I'm waiting for. In my mind, BP is the game's make or break moment.

Given how popular T'Challa is, this expansion is going to get plenty of attention, and if the game provides the variety, updates, and upgrades it needs here, then maybe, just maybe, the game can be saved. But if all we get is the same thing we already have, we might not make it to the next hero before the game is shut down.

The good news is that T'Challa looks amazing; if that's his default suit we're already off to a good start visually. He sounds good, the body language looks good, and odds are he'll have a move list and animations that evoke the MCU, just like Tony, Thor, Cap, Widow, and Hulk do. Wakanda looks good too, and I'm curious about how they'll adapt Klaw here; I think he's a good choice for a new villain who will provide a different kind of challenge than Abomination, Taskmaster, Super Adaptoid, or Maestro have. I seem to have said this a lot lately, but there's potential here....it's just a question of whether the game will deliver on it.

The bad news is that it appears AIM will still be the primary bad guy, which means we're probably not going to have a lot of new trash mobs to fight (maybe AIM will send some new troops to Wakanda?). Whether the maps do something different or are just re-skins of the existing biomes is up in the air, but some of the vistas we see in this teaser have a verticality to them that I hope is reflected in the game play. Hopefully the missions have new parameters and objectives too.

I know my hope is likely futile and Wakanda will just do what the rest of the game has. But you never know. Remember when, shortly after launch, they were going to talk about T'Challa but changed their plans at the last minute because Chadwick Boseman had just passed away? That was several months ago and we haven't heard anything about the DLC since. It's not impossible that they've taken this time to adjust and change the content to reflect feedback from the community. It's not impossible that Wakanda will be what this game should have been from the start...or at least aim us in the right direction and give us a real solid push. I know it's very unlikely, and I really really hate that "coming later this year" vagueness, which makes me think they're nowhere close to getting back on schedule....but let me believe, for a little while longer, that the game *could* be redeemed by the king of kings.

[Zero Hunter]

They can add all the new characters they want to this, but it is not going to make any difference. This game is dead. Just let it go and work on something people might actually want. Instead of putting Black Panther into this trainwreck give him his own game. BP is the kind of character you could build a great game around pretty easy with his powers and tech. It could Marvel's Arkham Asylum.

[Frontier]

Clint's skins are mostly awful, but....Clint's costumes normally are. Still, the default suit, the t-shirt skins, and Ronin all look pretty solid so there's *some* good options.

His classic suits are the best, but I also hate t-shirt Clint with a burning passion .

I know my hope is likely futile and Wakanda will just do what the rest of the game has. But you never know. Remember when, shortly after launch, they were going to talk about T'Challa but changed their plans at the last minute because Chadwick Boseman had just passed away? That was several months ago and we haven't heard anything about the DLC since. It's not impossible that they've taken this time to adjust and change the content to reflect feedback from the community. It's not impossible that Wakanda will be what this game should have been from the start...or at least aim us in the right direction and give us a real solid push. I know it's very unlikely, and I really really hate that "coming later this year" vagueness, which makes me think they're nowhere close to getting back on schedule....but let me believe, for a little while longer, that the game *could* be redeemed by the king of kings.

I think back then they probably were just going to release a teaser trailer but they probably have more to show off now.

[Derek Metaltron]

Well the rumours were that Wakanda was going to be the first major update after the game’s release, maybe even only three to four weeks after, but they had to drop it because of Chadwick and wait until the Hawkeye content was ready, and that was doubly complicated because they already had to use months to fix all of the issues at launch...

[CosmiComic]

I haven't been able to play this game but with all the controversy I'm wondering how it is.

[Ascended]

His classic suits are the best, but I also hate t-shirt Clint with a burning passion .

I know you do. I'd love to watch you play through Clint's missions and bitch about the Fraction-isms. lol

I think back then they probably were just going to release a teaser trailer but they probably have more to show off now.

I'm sure a teaser is about all they had prepared at that point, yeah. But that doesn't mean they haven't re-tooled the content to respond to community feedback either.

[Ascended]

I haven't been able to play this game but with all the controversy I'm wondering how it is.

This was my review last September when the game launched. Since then most (all?) of the glitches and bugs have been fixed and two heroes have launched, but the content is still pretty repetitive and in need of more variation. This has become the game I play when I'm bored with my other games and need to switch things up; I'll log into Avengers once every month or two, play for a few days, and then I'm back to other games until I need another break.

This isn't in consideration for "game of the year" by any metric. Especially this year with FF7 Remake and Cyberpunk in the running (Cyberpunk *is* still releasing this year right, or was it delayed yet again?) but Avengers is a decent enough game. I'm a super casual gamer these days (I bought *two* games this year, more than I have in a long time!) so I'm not bothered by the fact that Avengers is kinda generic but if you have all the Destiny games and Far Cry and everything else.....the novelty of playing the Avengers will probably wear thin real quick.

The good: The campaign story is pretty good and feels like a proper Avengers tale. The character designs don't look like the MCU actors but are still recognizable (except Hank Pym for some reason). The voice acting is pretty solid in most places, and the interactions between characters feel mostly on point. Combat is *generally* fun (Hulk requires some leveling before he's any good) and once you get some levels in you'll usually feel pretty badass. Each character has their own set of moves and powers and while you're playing Iron Man you feel like you're playing Tony, and not "generic protagonist armored guy." The marketplace doesn't really have any "pay to win" crap, it's all cosmetics you don't need for any reason other than looking shiny or some currency you can earn quickly and easily just by playing.

The bad: The game needed some more polish and content before releasing; level layouts and bad guys are redundant and there isn't much in the way of super villains. It's a heavy gear grind with little incentive to keep playing beyond getting more gear or collectibles that provide blanket "invisible" buffs. I think I've run just about all the basic missions at this point and I already feel like there's nothing new to see and I'm just working on getting everyone to max level and getting them maxed out gear. Reports of errors and glitches and bugs are pretty high (as this thread can attest) though I myself have only come across such a problem once and that may well have been my PS4 overheating. The costume designs are pretty lackluster I think (though you'll likely find at least one costume you like for each character), and while everyone has a costume or two inspired by the comics there's usually no direct translation like we saw in Spider-Man's suits so you're still stuck with the questionable design aesthetics, only colored or tweaked slightly to look like "original sin" Iron Man or whoever. I also really loathe the cosmetic vendor; some stuff you can only find there and they rotate through a limited offering each day, so if you want that one specific, vendor-only suit for Thor.....you'll have to log in each day and hope it's available; with a dozen+ costumes for all six characters and only 2-3 offered by the vendor each day....good luck. I also really don't like the flight mechanic, it feels a little too loose to be really viable in most combat situations.

The indifferent: Because this is a multiplayer game where you can pick from a variety of heroes with wildly different power levels, things are balanced in a way that makes high-end characters like Hulk and Thor feel less powerful than they rightfully should. The level ceiling is low; you can't fly over most buildings because Cap and Widow have to be able to access the same places, defeat the same enemies, etc. So that's kind of good and bad depending on how you look at it. If this had been a single player game, levels could have been designed with specific characters in mind, but since you can pick any hero for any mission and can play with others doing the same thing, we end up with an Iron Man who can only fly ten stories high and a Hulk who can't throw a tank with one hand. But that also means Widow and Cap are viable choices too.

The good news is that most of the problems with the game can be fixed in future updates; new villains, minions, and levels can be added along with new heroes, more unique gear, bug fixes, etc. And I suspect that this is what will happen....but it's gonna take time.

If they put the work in, I think by this time next year Avengers could be a really solid (if still somewhat generic) game with enough variety to make most everyone happy. But right now it's kind of....average. I'm mostly happy with the purchase, but like I said I'm a super casual player and my expectations going in were pretty low. If you're more discerning, maybe wait for a sale or wait for more content to be added. We're getting Kate Bishop next month and Clint in November, maybe see what they add with those characters and decide then.

[CosmiComic]

Thanks.

With the recent additions, has it improved?

[Frontier]

I know you do. I'd love to watch you play through Clint's missions and bitch about the Fraction-isms. lol

You're not selling me on it .

[bruceleegreyhulk]

[CosmiComic]

how is Ms. Marvel in this game?

[Ascended]

You're not selling me on it .

I'm not trying to I think you might enjoy Clint's gameplay, he really does have some fun mechanics, but I don't think you'll enjoy his characterization. He's not straight up Hawkguy, but Fraction's run was clearly a big inspiration. Maybe you'd like their take on Clint, I don't know, but I think there's probably too much Fraction in it for you.

Thanks.

With the recent additions, has it improved?

Yes, but I don't know if it's improved enough to recommend getting the game. I never had the problem with glitches and bugs that a lot of people did but as far as I know most, maybe all of them, have been dealt with. So the game should run just fine. But since that initial review I wrote back in September, not as much content has been added as I had hoped.

Kate and Clint both bring their own storyline mission chains with them, and both are interesting narratives that I enjoyed playing through. They feel like Avengers stories, they feel like Kate and Clint stories, and I think Crystal Dynamics did a good job adapting and translating both characters (but unlike Frontier, I'm a Fraction fan). However, it only took me a couple hours or so to play through each mission chain, so there's not a *ton* of story behind either character. And while the narratives are fun, you're still running through mostly familiar maps fighting mostly familiar AIM robots.

Kate introduces a new kind of mission, where storms of exotic energy bring some new environmental hazards and mission parameters. These are higher level missions that drop gear with new buff/debuff effects, and they're fun....but you're still playing in existing biomes, mostly fighting familiar AIM forces.

Clint introduces the Wastelands biome, and that's a new map topiary that feels bigger than some others, but it's still a mostly horizontal map where you fight mostly familiar AIM forces, hunt down familiar hidden resource caches, and so on.

how is Ms. Marvel in this game?

I think she's pretty fantastic. The devs did a great job capturing her personality, and it shines through not only in the dialogue and voice acting, but also the combat style, emotes, and animations. She's fun to play and makes for a good team mate thanks to some tank-y abilities and a healing ultimate power. She's got a better selection of skins than most (though that's not saying much, I don't like most of the skins in game, though each hero has at least one that's decent).

See, I don't think there's really a major problem with what's *in* the game. It's a little generic but it's still solid and fun (especially if you're a casual gamer like me, and you haven't played every Destiny or Far Cry or Assassins Creed). The problem is that there just isn't enough stuff in the game. Not enough missions, not enough villains, not enough maps, not enough factions to earn reputation with, and not enough variety among any of it. Each map is largely the same thing with a different dressing; you hunt down secondary objectives which are always either "kill this special thing, find this special thing, or rescue this special thing." And you finish the mission by fighting a boss (who often isn't an actual supervillain and is just some big random AIM mech)....then you do it all over again.

It's a lot of fun at first. But it doesn't take long for the monotony to set in. I think if you're a casual gamer who only plays a couple hours a week, it *might* be worthwhile, if you're a big Avengers fan. But it'd probably be wiser to wait for Wakanda to come out and see if the developers do anything to mix it up and make it less repetitive.