We played the beta of the new Crystal Dynamics title in both its single and multiplayer offerings. An experience that raises several questions.
Going into a high-budget production based on a Marvel license is not an easy undertaking. There are innumerable unsuccessful attempts to transfer this cultural phenomenon to the video game, increased by the Cinematographic Universe, which is now forced to respond to this anthology of films. Crystal Dynamics has placed this responsibility on its shoulders with a truly ambitious project, which wants to be many things at the same time, with the risks that this entails if things do not finish bearing fruit. It is early to know whether or not Marvel’s Avengers is what many fans expect; However, after a generous amount of hours playing beta we can already anticipate that ideas are superfluous, although not all of them are executed satisfactorily.
So that no one gets lost, it should be said that Marvel’s Avengers will divide their experience into the individual and multiplayer aspects, often interconnected, a balance that seems necessary to guarantee for those users who are looking for a popcorn action video game and those who embrace the idea of game as a service that the American study has told us so much about. Unlike the demo we tested at Gamescom almost a year ago now, the result has improved. Not only the faces, something trivial and that does not influence the game experience, but some animations, movement of the character and the damage box, more precise.
Let’s talk about how Marvel’s Avengers feels at the controls
That initial demo on A-Day, when the Golden Gate Bridge catastrophe occurs in a devastated San Francisco that culminates in the persecution of the Avengers and the appearance of the inhumans, continues to serve as a tutorial; it is there, in fact, where this beta that we have played on a PlayStation 4 Pro begins. The sensations are remarkable, but not as much as we would have liked. Control is different if we manage Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Natasha or Thor, with a complex and promising character enhancement system where unlocking skills is, so that we can get an idea without leaving the universe of the house of ideas, much like Marvel’s Spider-Man. As we complete quests, find chests, or meet objectives, the character will level up numerically – accompanied by stats like melee damage, medium range damage, defense, and the heroic special attack – a simple approach to the role we’ve already seen. in other references such as Destiny or Warframe; an inheritance that feels good to him because he knows himself valid. It’s very clear. As clear as that range of options we were talking about. Once we open the menu, the skill points are the currency of exchange to unlock new movements of all the available types: simple movement; strong attack; skill with the hammer on duty; special … It is addictive and encourages you to get every improvement because it does not influence aesthetic parameters but is playable.
The problem behind this clever design idea lies in the empirical experience that is run at the controls: it is a very systemic video game. It would not be fair to use the word “repetitive” now because this is a beta; There is a long way to go in the complete work that will be released this September, but for now that feeling of exhaustion can be palpable from the first missions, with a scheme based on cleaning the area of enemies in closed environments to go to the next, very pounding buttons, after all, because artificial intelligence is far from perfect. We are convinced that Crystal Dynamics is taking note of the general feedback from both future buyers and those who start playing this beta as of August 7, because it is a crucial element that can ruin the gameplay. The title will have four levels of difficulty; We have taken on the missions at Normal level to accurately calibrate the standard vision of the Shawn Escayg and Sctot Amos team. The sensations are, at least for now, of a little challenging title due to the minimal opposition of some soldiers who are sometimes deficient, who do not neutralize, they are just there waiting to be hit by that enormous green monster. Regretful reminiscence of how little bad Rise of the Tomb Raider had (2015).
Is the combat satisfactory? The truth is that yes, with the exception that this is not a hack and slash and, therefore, it should not behave as such. If not, there would be no point in that endeavor in the main and secondary skills menu, accessories and other elements that are willing to offer something different, that when you are Thor you do not feel Hulk only with a hammer.
Kamala Khan, the queen of pirates
The best so far is Kamala. The confirmation of a modern icon of the Marvel universe, the young heroine of New Jersey from the 2010s batch, is one of the best things that could have happened to Marvel’s Avengers. The second story mission (Hero Mission) we’ve played, framed long after A-Day with the Hulk as an accompanying mentor, is a pretty typical third-person shooter. A linear initial environment where we advance between jumps and nooks and crannies while listening to both characters’ voices what has happened and what seems to be happening. It works, but it does not because of what we are being told – we hope the story goes further and does not stay in the mundane – but because of the character of Ms. Marvel. Very well characterized.
That innocence, lack of experience and grace of the character initially created by Sana Amanat is similar to that of Tom Holland as a wall-climber in feature films of recent years. She learns on the go, feels inexperienced and transmits determination to be someone in that new generation of heroes endowed with superpowers at least surreal. In his case, polymorphism, the ability to be a luck of Monkey D. Luffy or Elastigirl, for the duchos in One Piece or the Pixar family. He is arguably the most fun character to control by allowing close-range combat to be accompanied by medium-range combat in near real-time; not to mention displacement. His arms, which are stretched as if there were no such thing, will take us from one side to the other of the scenarios where there is an option to get hooked. In addition, aesthetically the design of environments will not disappoint anyone. A huge forest in the Pacific Northwest of America that serves as a bridge to find the last known JARVIS location.
Again, we are skeptical of the way in which the story missions structure is carried out, because at the end of the day in this concrete one (Find Olympia) we end up pressing a series of switches to power a gate and solve the puzzle, We went up to the top of a building to find the objective and it culminated in the confrontation against a boss who also did not leave us very convinced. The recurrence of quick time events does not seem to be too numerous, but it does exist and it is there on a recurring basis, a not very original procedure of ending action scenes accompanied by cinematics.
With these two individual missions with which the beta of Marvel’s Avengers begins we have reached several conclusions. The first, that the campaign mode is not a banal element but that there is a real plot purpose that is not being overlooked; although the full duration and how it is extended with the sub-stories derived from each of the additional characters (such as Hawkeye and Spider-Man, the latter only in the PlayStation ecosystem) remain to be seen. The second is that exploration will be essential. The stage design is correct, especially indoors, with a multitude of chests and unlockables of various kinds. Again, let’s hope that it does not fall into an archaic design at this point of generation, because the idea can give much more of itself with the proposed base.
Multiplayer, a bigger challenge for Crystal Dynamics
According to Crystal Dynamics, with whom we were able to chat a few weeks ago in a video conference interview, “Marvel’s Avengers is going to be a constantly growing experience” where the campaign will be “just the beginning”. They are taking it to the letter.
Once this second mission is completed, we have before us what we could call an operating table where we can select the missions and undertake them both individually and cooperatively, the HARM Room. Fortunately, there is matchmaking, although in many missions we will be forced to pair up with the specific character of the budding mission, without repeating any. The Lost Links Hero Mission again leaves us feeling bittersweet. Very large open environments … but somewhat empty. We do not understand very well the need to draw such vast landscapes that, although precious and especially attractive at the contemplative level, they are still a way of excessively lengthening the time it takes us to reach the determined objective. We are in Russia, in the tundra, and we have to find some links through a mission to defend the specific area with several waves of enemies. Whoever manages to complete that time bar before wins.
Apart from these missions – which we insist are from history but can be completed with accompanying characters controlled by AI or by real people online – we have several HARM Challenge Rooms, which are a kind of training zones on augmented reality machines holographic with waves of enemies. If we complete it we will unlock a nameplate that can be used in the final version of Marvel’s Avengers.
Finally, we come to the War Zone missions, whose main difference from the four Hero Mission available in the beta is that these focus on the main story, while the first ones are much broader spaces, with an emphasis on exploration, cooperation and, in short, repetition as many times as necessary until we get the most precious objects. In case anyone asks, in the beta we can only repeat the War Zone cooperative missions, not the history missions. At the moment, we have participated in various types of missions of this type. One of them, the Drop Zone, supports a much smaller structure with a single objective. Ideal for uploading experience and unlocking add-ons, the amount of which is simply enormous.
Game-as-a-service mindset
Although it seems that the cross game will not be a reality in the short or medium term, Marvel’s Avengers is determined to try to get there to stay. He does not have it easy, neither for the moment nor for his idea. The competitiveness in this type of multiplayer experiences is massive and the complex task of amassing an active, faithful community is a challenge for Square Enix. They have the opportunity to do something different and take advantage of the vein of generational change. If they manage to constantly feed it with content and respond to user requests, which are not going to settle for classic grinding – there are many victims on the road in recent years – we may be facing a title to keep talking about. in two or three years. There are elements that invite us to optimism, while others have left us cold. We want something new and distinctive about this title, not an amalgamation of already known ideas. We have to wait for the final result to see if it meets our expectations or not. The potential is there.
Now, any Marvel fan is tasked with at least trying out Marvel’s Avengers because the Crystal Dynamics translation exercise respects the original license. This is very important and does not look like it will fail in this regard. The danger of wanting to cover a lot and not finally reach anything is his biggest contingency, but the sensations are much better than a few months ago. They have the tools, they are licensed and they have a team with plenty of experience.
Marvel’s Avengers will go on sale on September 4 on PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia and PC. A version of PS5 and Xbox Series X will be released soon, coming as soon as both consoles go on sale. In addition, those who buy the current generation versions from Sony and Microsoft will get the new generation digital edition for free.
