MARVEL HEROES REVIEW
I want to preface that I was quite skeptical about Marvel Heroes (MH) before I tried it. While I appreciate the movies and am familiar with the comics, I am not a Marvel “fan” by any means. I have written this Marvel Heroes 2015 review after playing the game thoroughly, which includes building multiple heroes to level 60 and experiencing nearly all of the features the game has to offer including end-game raiding. Having said this, I am very impressed. MH is like Diablo 2 merged with old-school Gauntlet and then had a superhero injection, complete with state of the art visuals. MH is also a hybrid MMO that is constantly bustling with other superheroes throughout the gaming experience. But more than that, it has a unique approach to crafting, end-game, diversity and replayability which I will cover in detail.
Created by Gazillion Entertainment in San Mateo, CA, MH was originally launched in June of 2013. The game was panned by reviewers and players alike, citing it lacked depth and polish. So the folks at Gazillion decided to re-launch the game in June of 2014 (this is where the 2015 came from) and everything changed. The game received rave reviews and was held as one of the best “re-launches” in the industry. While I did not play the original version, I can confirm this new version is an excellent product. What’s strange is even now, the game doesn’t seem to have the level of visibility that it should; I had not heard of the game until my wife told me about it, and she learned from a friend who was talking about it online. This lack of awareness and interest is probably due to gaming market saturation by so many products (often of questionable or downright bad quality) solely to support profiteering from a franchise. While the heart of MH is true to the Marvel universe, the game stands on its own as a direct competitor to other top ARPGs. My review dives into the heart of this game and covers why Marvel Heroes 2015 is a diamond.
CONTENT :
Heroes (52 review), World & Story, Missions (Shared Quests & Influence Missions), Raids, Team-up Heroes, NPCs & Enemies and Pets
The diversity in playable heroes is astounding and pure fun. The world is large, diverse and true to the Marvel universe. There is a never-ending flow of missions, and the team-up heroes make great companions for fighting the vast and wide variety of enemies, bosses and super villains. Pets are also a fun enhancement to the game, providing additional support.
Heroes (52 review), World & Story, Missions (Shared Quests & Influence Missions), Raids, Team-up Heroes, NPCs & Enemies and Pets
The diversity in playable heroes is astounding and pure fun. The world is large, diverse and true to the Marvel universe. There is a never-ending flow of missions, and the team-up heroes make great companions for fighting the vast and wide variety of enemies, bosses and super villains. Pets are also a fun enhancement to the game, providing additional support.
Heroes (52 review), World & story
At the time of writing this review, MH features 47 playable hero classes from the Avengers, Marvel Knights, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy universes. Gazillion adds a new hero roughly once every month. Want to play Iron Man, Squirrel Girl, Captain America, Silver Surfer, or Star-Lord? Not a problem. And not only do they play as you would expect, they also talk, banter, and chatter with the personality of the character. Deadpool is a riot. When you first play MH the game allows you to select from a pool of “starter heroes” (which changes every few months). You can take any of these heroes to level 10, but in order to progress beyond 10 you must choose the hero you want as your “first”. After that, additional heroes cost either Splinters or G points to purchase (covered below in Economy). The game does an excellent job of enticing players to play in a style that is representative of their hero. For example, it’s common to see Hulk fly in from out of nowhere, SMASH! and then jump away to smash something else while magneto floats around with a magnetic bubble filled with rubble. For new players wondering what to play first (or second), there’s a great guide here. It’s important to note that MH is more of an “account” game than a character game. It doesn’t have a character select login screen; the game throws you right into the world with your last selected hero. You can switch heroes on the fly, causing a quick reload of the area that particular hero was last in. This approach works very well.
Gazillion engages in a Hero adjustment procedure called a 52 Review. This is a process where the company conducts a multi-month review of a hero that was released before the addition of signature powers, taking into account player feedback, bug reports, play statistics, and numerous other factors to “refine and finish” a hero, which often involves the re-balance of powers and items, adjustments to play style, and sometimes updates to animations and graphics. When this process is complete and the new version of the Hero is released, Gazillion publishes the complete “52 review” of the hero in the forums for the public to read. A thread in the Marvel Forums tracks all heroes that have been through the 52 Review process.
The World of MH is true to the movies and comic books. You will battle Hydra, travel to Asgard, and fight Dr. Doom. You will also battle in subways, rooftops, jungles, science facilities, swamps, and a land filled with dinosaurs. Each region has its own feel and set of baddies to take down. The overall ambiance is well-done and immersive. Nearly every zone also has treasure rooms, which are mini-zones that usually have rare monsters and a chest to loot. The Story consists of 9 chapters that take the player through numerous quests and operational points such as the Avenger’s Tower and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. The player even gets to meet Xavier at his school for gifted students (and engage in defense of the school through a challenge). Destruction of HYDRA is a big factor in the storyline.
Missions dand Raids
At the time of writing this review, MH features 47 playable hero classes from the Avengers, Marvel Knights, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy universes. Gazillion adds a new hero roughly once every month. Want to play Iron Man, Squirrel Girl, Captain America, Silver Surfer, or Star-Lord? Not a problem. And not only do they play as you would expect, they also talk, banter, and chatter with the personality of the character. Deadpool is a riot. When you first play MH the game allows you to select from a pool of “starter heroes” (which changes every few months). You can take any of these heroes to level 10, but in order to progress beyond 10 you must choose the hero you want as your “first”. After that, additional heroes cost either Splinters or G points to purchase (covered below in Economy). The game does an excellent job of enticing players to play in a style that is representative of their hero. For example, it’s common to see Hulk fly in from out of nowhere, SMASH! and then jump away to smash something else while magneto floats around with a magnetic bubble filled with rubble. For new players wondering what to play first (or second), there’s a great guide here. It’s important to note that MH is more of an “account” game than a character game. It doesn’t have a character select login screen; the game throws you right into the world with your last selected hero. You can switch heroes on the fly, causing a quick reload of the area that particular hero was last in. This approach works very well.
Gazillion engages in a Hero adjustment procedure called a 52 Review. This is a process where the company conducts a multi-month review of a hero that was released before the addition of signature powers, taking into account player feedback, bug reports, play statistics, and numerous other factors to “refine and finish” a hero, which often involves the re-balance of powers and items, adjustments to play style, and sometimes updates to animations and graphics. When this process is complete and the new version of the Hero is released, Gazillion publishes the complete “52 review” of the hero in the forums for the public to read. A thread in the Marvel Forums tracks all heroes that have been through the 52 Review process.
The World of MH is true to the movies and comic books. You will battle Hydra, travel to Asgard, and fight Dr. Doom. You will also battle in subways, rooftops, jungles, science facilities, swamps, and a land filled with dinosaurs. Each region has its own feel and set of baddies to take down. The overall ambiance is well-done and immersive. Nearly every zone also has treasure rooms, which are mini-zones that usually have rare monsters and a chest to loot. The Story consists of 9 chapters that take the player through numerous quests and operational points such as the Avenger’s Tower and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. The player even gets to meet Xavier at his school for gifted students (and engage in defense of the school through a challenge). Destruction of HYDRA is a big factor in the storyline.
contiue......
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