The narrative feels like a mix of stories that have already been done, with the Avengers arguing among themselves and having to band back together being an especially overused trope. In particular, Marvel’s Avengers has a horrible habit of setting up a conflict and then resolving it in the same scene. At one point, Tony and Banner have an argument which leads to Tony suiting up and the Hulk coming out to play. They smack each other around, and then literally leap out a window, disappearing from the scene. You don’t get to see what happens, but perhaps a minute later they both come back looking sheepish and all is forgiven. That kind of thing happens a lot.But the good news is that there’s still some decent character moments. Kamala’s relationship with the socially awkward Bruce Banner is sweet, and she gets to keep geeking out over working with the actual Avengers. Sadly, though, since Kamala is the real focus of the story it does mean the other Avengers are painted in the broadest of strokes. Thor in particular seems to almost get ignored in the storyline. His sole trait is his Shakespearian speech, but apart from that he might as well be kept in the cupboard. Captain America and Black Widow don’t do much better, either.Actual mission design is, at best, simplistic. Your goals are to either smash the enemy/random object or stand around in a small zone while a bar charges. Sometimes there might be a few places to stand in and the enemy might try to capture those spots. the mission structure and level design are bad . At least Anthem occasionally had a cool waterfall or temple or something. Marvel’s Avengers has nothing. There wasn’t a single moment where I thought to myself, “oh, that looks quite cool.” And the mission objectives are borderline insulting in their simplicity and their lack of variety. I’m playing as the Hulk and I don’t want to stand around in a box while a meter charges up.Matchmaking is rough, too. Actually finding a full-party is a bit like throwing a bottle over your shoulder and making it land right-side-up on Cap’s shield. That’s a pretty big problem in a game geared toward playing with others. And when you do get into a match the connection quality is pretty iffy. That’s a major pain in the problem when the post-campaign Hive missions can take up to 45 minutes to complete.Right now, I can’t recommend Marvel’s Avengers. It has too many flaws. But given a few months or maybe even a year, Crystal Dynamics could build upon the potential excellence that is here.
Three stars
0 Comments
|
AuthorTyrell CategoriesArchives
May 2022
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools.
|