Our first look at gameplay footage from
Marvel's Avengers was met with a mixed response, but Square Enix has been working hard on the game since E3 and Comic-Con and they've now released an improved, official version just in time for Gamescom.
In a statement
released via their website, they say that,
"the team has been polishing the prologue to ensure the highest quality possible and will continue to do so with the entire game until it ships on May 15, 2020." It's also noted that they've been making
"to the visual fidelity, character models, animations, and more."
Black Widow definitely looks better than the last time we saw her, while the graphics and animations all appear to be a little more polished and what you'd expect from a game like this.
The costumes (which have been widely criticised by fans, particularly in the case of Captain America) remain the same, but that's really no big deal when they can be switched out for alternate versions based on the comic books.
Check out the 18-minute gameplay preview below:
Hit the "View List" button for a Q&A featuring more
exciting new details about Marvel's Avengers!
Is The Game Set In The Same World As Marvel's Spider-Man?
In
Marvel's Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes have relocated to the West Coast. In
Spider-Man, the wall-crawler mentions that it's a shame the team isn't currently in Avengers Tower because he's heard they're on, you guessed it, the West Coast. Does that confirm they're in the same world?
"Last time we were here, a year ago, discussing that certain character, the roof caught on fire," Bill Rosemann responded when asked exactly that. "And if I was to comment on that character now, I think the roof would fall on my head! So I will just say, right now we’re just focused on creating the best Avengers game."
It would make sense for them to be connected, but seeing as superheroes end up being outlawed after that tragedy, it could make it difficult to have the games tie into each other.
Captain America's New Shield
Fans haven't responded particularly well to some of the changes made to the costumes that Earth's Mightiest Heroes will be wearing in the game ,and Captain America, in particular, has come under fire.
Well, during the panel, it was revealed that the team decided to make some "small tweaks" to the hero's shield as well, and while no reason for that was given, you can see below how different it is now!
Tension Between The Avengers And S.H.I.E.L.D.
Apparently, the West Coast Avengers comics did indeed inspire much of what we'll see in the early parts of the game, while it's said that the team works with S.H.I.E.L.D. despite there being tensions between the two sides. How much do you want to bet Maria Hill is the one in charge instead of Nick Fury?
After all, her comic book counterpart never liked Earth's Mightiest Heroes and would no doubt jump at the chance to ensure superheroes are outlawed after the tragedy in San Francisco. As for that new Helicarrier, it's called "Chimera." In the comics, there's a minor X-Men villain with that name who is an interdimensional pirate from another Earth. Will she be the game's big bad?
How The Multiplayer Works
Details are still scarce when it comes to gameplay mechanics, but it's said that multiplayer co-op will include up to four superheroes. That will be the case in both the narrative story and missions, but before you start getting excited about a group of Hulks, each player will need to use a different character.
Unfortunately, there's no word on offline co-op, but given the way video games have been going in recent years, that seems highly unlikely. However, what will be interesting is whether you can play through levels again and again as different characters or if you'll constantly switch between them.
Superior Combat
The initial response to
Marvel's Avengers has been somewhat mixed and Square Enix will have to work hard to win those sceptical fans over in the coming months. Well, something that could help is the fact that the game's combat lead is Vince Napoli. He spent five years working on the
God of War franchise and it's said that what he learned there will end up being a key part of this game.
Does that mean a lot of quick time events in the game? We'll have to wait and see.
There's Still Hope For Hawkeye
The main team of Avengers in the game will be comprised of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and The Hulk. The question many fans have been asking, though, is where is Hawkeye?
His omission has caused quite a stir and, as of right now, it seems as if he won't be part of the main storyline. However, Bill Rosemann told fans during this Q&A that
"We love Hawkeye!" and added that there are definitely plans for more heroes and missions to be added down the line.
After this backlash, here's hoping Square Enix makes him a top priority...
What Will And Won't Be Free?
During the initial reveal, Square Enix promised that
Marvel's Avengers won't feature loot boxes and "pay to win" scenarios, but if we're getting what sounds like an endless stream of new characters and locations for nothing, how does the publisher intend on making money moving forward?
Well, character skins are one thing they intend to charge for, but some will be unlocked while playing the game itself. However, if you want Captain America to look like his big screen counterpart, for example, then chances are you will have to fork out some cash for the privilege of getting rid of that current, awful suit. As of right now, there's obviously no word on how much that might cost.
The Difference Between Offline And Online Play
Each of the game's story missions will be playable both offline and online but that won't be all; there will be co-op challenges and missions as well as certain things which you'll need to go online to play that will require four experienced players to defeat. There's still a lot of confusion about how all of this will work and it seems as if it's either going to work really well or be something of a mess.
Is It A Single Player Or Multiplayer Game?
"At Crystal Dynamics we love doing character-based storytelling, we love a well-crafted campaign where you have pacing," creative director Noah Hughes told
Mashable after the panel.
"If you want to go through that campaign even as a single player experience, we actually support that. You'll team up with AI companions in certain scenarios so you get those [Avengers] Assemble beats and all of that." There are, however, some big multiplayer components too.
Heroes will have skill trees, gear slots, and more to change how players use the heroes and much of that will revolve around taking The Avengers online to head into battle alongside other gamers.
"We wanted to make sure that that story could continue and that you had things you could continue to do. So there will be an ongoing story but [Avengers] is also a world of superheroing where players can assemble up to four players at a time and have that Avengers experience of defending the Earth from these escalating threats. That is a little bit more of that online."
Continue reading below for a recap of everything we
learned from the initial E3 reveal for Marvel's Avengers!
There Will Be Online Multiplayer Too
While
Marvel's Avengers has what's described as a "cinematic" single-player campaign, there's also going to be a multiplayer component which will feature teams of four heroes coming together to embark on adventures together. Specifics have not been revealed, but this is presumably going to feature each player choosing an Avenger to take into battle against various A.I. enemies.
Apparently, new characters will be added on a regular basis (meaning we'll be able to play as more than just the five Avengers seen in the trailer) along with different maps. All of that will be free of charge, but there's bound to be some sort of money making component here. Perhaps we'll have to fork out for different costumes or powers? This isn't all we'll be getting for free, though...
A Narrative That's Released Over A Number Of Years
This is both exciting and a little concerning at the same time.
Just like the multiplayer side of the game will feature regularly updated content, so too will the campaign. It's said we can expect the narrative to be updated over multiple years on a regular basis. Sounds good, right? Well, the problem here is that it could also be an indication that the initial story will be extremely short and in need of updating as time passes in order to keep fans interested.
So, if you're not a fan of playing with others, you could find yourself blasting through the story in six hours and then left waiting for new levels to be released. That's just speculation for now, of course, but it is a very real possibility so we'll just have to wait and see.
Where's Hawkeye?
It's now clear that the game will focus on five of the six original Avengers, but that's led to some backlash online (and during the presentation itself) due to the apparent lack of Hawkeye.
Fans were disappointed when he wasn't given the screentime he deserved in the movies, so not including him in the game seems like a huge blunder on Square Enix's part. Perhaps he will be added somewhere down the line but the fact that he's not going to be part of the main storyline is definitely something of a let-down. Maybe his unique skill set was just too difficult to pull off in the game?
Terrigen Technology
Remember when Marvel Comics started having all their storylines revolve around the Inhumans? That ultimately backfired on them when sales dropped, the TV show flopped, and fans made it clear they wanted the X-Men and not pale imitations. Unfortunately,
Marvel's Avengers was being developed around this time and that could explain the origins of the energy source in the trailer.
In a clip showing an argument between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, we learn that the "Terrigen reactor" was unstable when it exploded and destroyed a huge chunk of San Francisco and that's obviously a reference to the Terrigen Mists the Inhumans use. Will they be the game's villains? It seems possible, but regardless of their role, it will be interesting seeing if they help or hurt things.
Taskmaster
The trailer doesn't reveal the "horrific evil" that Earth's Mightiest Heroes will face in the game, but it's quite clearly Taskmaster who they come under attack from. It seems a little odd for him to appear here so soon after his fairly significant role in
Spider-Man, and we never learn just how important to this attack he actually is or whether it's purely a coincidence that he's there during this disaster.
Either way, it seems like we can look forward to taking him on while playing as Black Widow.
R.I.P. Captain America?
Captain America is supposed to be one of the game's playable characters, but it definitely appears as if he'll be killed off during the opening sequence. After all, he runs to that reactor just as it explodes and his teammates watch on, while Thor leaves his hammer sitting by an apparent memorial for Steve Rogers.
This means we'll only get to play as Captain America for a few minutes before he's taken off the board, unless, of course, he fakes his death or somehow returns. Getting to play as Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and Black Widow is still exciting, but it would be a shame to think that Cap isn't included because figuring out the mechanics of his shield was too complicated for Square Enix. We'll see!
Iron Man In Space
One of the trailer's most noteworthy moments comes when we see Iron Man in space, and this appears to be an indication that we'll get to take Tony Stark above Earth's atmosphere for at least one level.
Once again, I can't help but wonder if
Marvel's Avengers will follow
Call of Duty in the sense that we'll get to play through impressive levels with huge set pieces that are sadly only a few minutes long!
Brief Gameplay Footage
We're still waiting to see the gameplay footage that played on the floor of E3, but there are some snippets in this trailer. It all looks pretty good and it seems as if cinematics will be used to portray the powers of Earth's Mightiest Heroes when you either smash through bad guys as The Hulk, or pull off impressive fight moves as characters like Captain America and Black Widow.
SEGA tried and failed to make good video games featuring Cap, Iron Man, and Thor, so it will be interesting to see whether Square Enix can pull that off. After all, making the God of Thunder feel suitably powerful and putting us in the repulsor boots of Tony Stark is going to be no easy feat for them.
The Voice Cast
An impressive roster of video game talent has been assembled for
Marvel's Avengers, as we can look forward to hearing Jeff Schine (Captain America), Travis Willingham (Thor), Troy Baker (Bruce Banner/ The Hulk), Laura Bailey (Black Widow), and Nolan North (Tony Stark/Iron Man).
They're obviously very different to the movie versions, but this game is based on the comics, something which has led to a surprising amount of disappointment over the past 24 hours.
Abomination
Black Widow is also shown battling a mysterious robot who it's hard to identify, but that is indeed Abomination who The Hulk is squaring off with. That has all the makings of a fun boss battle!
Beyond that, we don't know which other villains will make an appearance, and the game's "big bad" remains a mystery. Perhaps more details on that front will be revealed soon. Here's hoping.
Hank Pym
It appears as if one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is going to be how much it delves into the wider Marvel Universe, and one brief clip reveals that we can look forward to meeting Hank Pym!
It seems he's perfected being able to use size-changing technology to deal with the robotic enemies the team will be facing, but what's not clear is whether he's a superhero at this point in time. After all, why would the heroes be so surprised that Ant-Man/Giant-Man can make things shrink?
The Release Date
There's no new
Avengers movie coming in 2020, but we can look forward to playing this game on May 20th! PlayStation 4 owners will get early access and exclusive content. However, it's still coming to the Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia, so Square Enix has all but Nintendo Switch owners covered (that would explain why that console has ended up getting
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 exclusively).