I hope you understand the double pun with the word To, and I hope it can make you understand why, after all, everything Marvel's Avengers along a road already trodden several times. Obviously there are really many dynamics to analyze, games to compare and we would need, to speak with absolute certainty, at least half a dozen long sessions on the game. Crystal Dynamics e Square Enix, but certainly in recent years these infamous Game as a Service have literally depopulated. But let's start from the basics.
GaaS is a genre of video game that, regardless of the specific "genre", has constant support with new content, capable of adding more than just stories to the title. The concept actually extends to everything related to subscriptions, cloud gaming, microtransactions and season passes (and related DLCs), but for now let's talk about the GaaS we know best, the ones that live for years and generate fantastic emotions and experiences. Among the three biggest in commercial terms are Destiny, Anthem and The Division, three different games but at the same time with the common dynamic of keeping many players glued to the pad (and headphones). Marvel's Avengers, even if Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics insist that the game will support a lot of single player too, it will be very similar: weekly missions, objectives to complete, teams to form and lots of fun among friends. So if we have experienced many similar games, can we make some predictions? Obvious.
An Ode to Marvel Heroes
The first thing that should be immediately highlighted is the brand: The Division, Anthem, Destiny, all started from scratch, with a world created from scratch and a long way to go to reach the hearts of the fans. Now think about Iron Man: you have probably forgotten all the plots of the three previously mentioned games. Let's not fool ourselves, the Marvel heroes are iconic, they are now part of our lives, they accompany us on the printed page and, for those who may have never found themselves reading comics, they are at the cinema practically every 3 months (pandemics aside). Cabbage, even our Gianluigi, bitter enemy of these heroes in tights, is almost beginning to tolerate them. This is the card that could prove to be a winner: when Destiny came out, it appealed a bit to Halo fans, but above all to those looking for a similar game, with evidently well-structured support. The second chapter didn't have the same luck. The Division and Anthem, given the lack of players in comparison to other titles, have never made that big leap (except for offers released on the base game).
Marvel's Avengers already has a host of fans: Anyone who wants to take their favorite character, customize it and take it into battle with their friends is already a customer. The game then is even at € 45 (bookable from k), so the expense becomes cheap for a game of the genre that will have all the contents for free (except for the costumes). This is what is called a jumpstart, an advantageous starting point compared to its "competitors". In short, from the Beta test we can say that the game definitely speaks to fans of the series, but those who have only seen a few movies at the cinema and have an unbridled passion for online games could find in Marvel's Avengers a travel companion for years to to come.
The Division of Roles
Shoot and shoot, nothing more. Obviously it is not so simplified, but the three games already mentioned above are good or bad shooters: you need to shoot enemies to kill them, and to do so some dynamics fall into those traps called cover, aim, etc. But then there is Marvel's Avengers, a game that completely shuffles the cards on the table, proposing a gameplay asymmetrical. Each character can (more or less) shoot, hit hard, jump, climb and dodge. The style is up to you, and not only on which weapon to use, but even whether to attack from a distance or from close, support or strike hard. The choices are yours, and having understood this the players must throw themselves headlong into the game. There will certainly be balance problems, some characters will become real war machines, but the idea of having a system so implemented that it gives me the possibility to be in a real team gives me goosebumps.
Because in the end these are Game as a Service: the possibility of having a game supported for a long time, to play and above all to have fun with. Obviously everything will have to be balanced and well managed, but if you fall among those kids who grew up wanting to fight alongside their heroes, maybe this time you will have what comes closest.
The Fate of Marvel's Avengers
So, what is the fate of Marvel's Avengers? Will it be a hit or a flop? Obviously the definitive answer will be given by time, but we can make some assumptions:
- Destiny (the first) was very successful thanks to the community, to the support given by Bungie and Activision, but above all to the fact that the game was never abandoned;
- The Division came out close to the previous one, but it was not very innovative, a bit complicated and with not too careful dynamics. Events came out later, but nothing sensational;
- Destiny 2 had some problems: the lost faith in Bungie due to the broken promises, combined with something out of place caused the agreement between Activision and Bungie to fall. Obviously now the game is recovering but it bears conspicuous scars;
- The Division 2 changed the setting but left the game very close to its predecessor, highlighting much deeper issues;
- Anthem tried to emulate Destiny (seriously, if you look at it now it's identical) but it didn't get the right support.
Then? So to have Marvel's Avengers as a worthy GaaS to live in over the next few years we have to hope for only two things: the support of the software house and a addicting gameplay. The second now seems to have its why (but only the final version will let us talk without doubts), while we trust Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix (and Hitman, for example, shows how Square knows how to support its products). It must be said that another great one lack, which Destiny covers perfectly, is the PVP: in fact, a way to be able to clash with our friends in battles of various kinds would be interesting to explore, and therefore we expect that sooner or later Marvel's Avengers will introduce it, if only so as not to be left behind.
In short, the fears should be much more than reduced, the complaints about any little varied content in the Beta should fall by the wayside (seriously, it's a Beta, what do you want?) And we should simply have fun thinking about the infinite worlds that could make us visit inside a Marvel's Avengers.
It doesn't hurt every now and then to be a bit optimistic and try to enjoy the arrival of a good game, rather than competing to see who finds the defects first.
