Marvel Heroes Review

I never played the original Diablo game, but I definitely played the second. If I recall, it was my first (but not last) Blizzard PC game. I had played a couple of their console games prior, but I was never really an RTS fan, so I never really got into Warcraft or Starcraft. Diablo II was not quite like anything I had previously played. I'd tried isometric RPG's of various varieties, but the point-click-destroy-loot system was new to me. And, as simple as it was, it was fun and addictive. I'm sure the storyline, production values, and exploration helped, but I think it was that gameplay that kept me going. I'd played World of Warcraft for many years and received Diablo 3 as part of a subscription deal. When I played it, some of that enchantment was gone. Perhaps having moved onto the proper open-world MMO since my Diablo II days, the basic concept was simply dated. Maybe this sort of game was no longer fun to me. Or, maybe, the setting, characters, and story were just not as engaging as other MMO's, like Blizzard's own World of Warcraft...

And I do believe, for me, that was the case. I had first heard of Marvel making an MMO back during my City of Heroes days, a venture that ended up becoming Champions Online. Then there was Super Hero Squad Online. And finally, a game announced called Marvel Heroes. Admittedly, I had assumed at first Marvel Heroes would be an open-world MMORPG. After I had signed up for Beta and investigated further, I learned it was an online Action Role-playing game. Moreover, it was being created by David Brevik, who had created Diablo and Diablo II. This was a setting and characters that I loved, combined with the old Diablo II style gameplay. I admit, I was quite interested. In the end, I Beta tested Marvel Heroes for approximately six months before its release and I was pleased as I saw it become something great.

Marvel Heroes is Diablo with Marvel superheroes. If you can understand that concept, you know what to expect. You explore maps in isometric view, click on hostile enemies, and gather loot. In the case of Marvel Heroes, the maps are places like Hell's Kitchen, the Savage Land, and Castle Doom. Hostile enemies are everything from muggers and dinosaurs to iconic supervillains like Green Goblin and Magneto. Loot is where it becomes somewhat different. In many MMO's, even Iso-Action RPG's like Diablo, equipment changes your appearance as you equip it. This is not the case in Marvel Heroes. You find better equipment with improved stats, but the appearance of your hero only changes if you find/buy a new costume. While this may be (and has been) a disappointment to some, Marvel is rather protective of their licensing, and having Spider-man or Hulk wear a hodgepodge of mismatched jackets and leggings would both look odd and poorly reflect that licensing. Every hero has a number of different attainable costumes, which brings us to an important point.

Marvel Heroes is free-to-play. That is, there is no subscription or start-up cost. Gazillion earns their income be selling various items for an in-game currency called G's which is purchased with real-world money. That said, all costumes (save a few exclusive to founder, that is pre-launch, pack owners) can be found as random loot in game. Admittedly, the drop rate for costumes is not very high, but if you do not want to spend cash and have patience, you can find plenty of costumes for your hero. There are also various other store items that can be earned through attainable random-prize fortune cards at endgame. One other major item sold in store, and also attainable in game with patience, are this game's equivalent of Diablo's classes, and the reason you are probably interested in this game, the Marvel superheroes.

Each hero really is like his or her own class. While there is some overlap in utility of powers and, even, overall appearance of powers, each hero seems to at least be somewhat unique compared to others. More importantly, each hero seems to play like you would expect him to play. As of this writing there are twenty-one superheroes ranging from the iconic to the somewhat lesser known. The current roster is: Black Panther, Black Widow, Cable, Captain America, Colossus, Cyclops, Daredevil, Deadpool, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Jean Grey, Ms. Marvel, Punisher, Scarlet Witch, Spider-man, Storm, Thing, Thor, Wolverine, and, placed last for emphasis, Rocket Raccoon! Human Torch will be tested very soon on the new test server. Emma Frost will be introduced after that. Luke Cage, Nova (Sam Alexander version only), and Squirrel Girl will be coming in the future and may (or may not) be added before or mixed in with other unannounced heroes (and there are definitely unannounced heroes coming, Gazillion has access to virtually the entire Marvel roster and seems to be in this for the long-haul). When you create an account, you can only pick one of the free starter heroes: Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Storm, Thing, or Daredevil. You will receive another of these free heroes after completing the first mission and yet another after beating the, currently, final boss (more on that later). All other heroes can currently be found as very rare loot. This is being changed, however, to an attainable currency system that can be used to buy the heroes you want (with the current random loot version of heroes being removed from the game). Said system is currently on the public test server as of this writing, and will likely be implemented within a couple weeks. Also, again, heroes can be purchased through real money if you prefer paying over waiting.

What good is playing your favorite hero if you have nothing to do? Marvel Heroes has an original story penned by comic scribe Brian Michael Bendis. Introduced by a half CGI/half animated intro video (which is awesome), the story is mostly told by NPC dialogue and interspersed voice-acted motion comics. More story content will be added in the future. Most recently, a future Asgard story was announced, and all future additions of such variety will be, like the game itself, free to players. (Guardians fans, I would not be surprised to see something next summer). As it stands, you will finish the storyline proper about thirty-five levels before the current max level. Once there, you run cosmically enhanced version of previous levels and special group maps, to earn experience, better loot, and, possibly, special items like costumes. Each hero levels separately, so once you get one hero to endgame, you play through with another (and you'll have at least a couple others) for a somewhat different experience, as the heroes play differently and the maps are somewhat randomized, to an extent.

 

In the graphics department, I think Marvel Heroes looks great. It probably is not top-of-the-line compared to some current PC games, but it captures the Marvel style well, the environments look nice and all of the heroes, in my opinion, look great. In the audio, the sound effects and music are well done, but the star here is the voice acting. Aside from the various story scenes, each hero has his own distinct voice and he or she will quip to other heroes, to enemies, to bosses, after cutscenes, etc.

If you are not a fan of the loot and experience grind that often accompanies ARPG endgame, you may become a little bored at endgame in Marvel Heroes waiting for new content. There are social elements to this game, though. Marvel Heroes' version of guilds, called supergroups, are a great way to find people to group for instances or simply for chatting. The MMO element also means that in the hub areas and in the public combat zones, you will be running around with other players. Don't worry, on an enemy kill, all loot is instanced. That is, loot drops that is just for each player involved in the fight. No one can see what dropped for you, and no one can take what dropped for you. There is also instanced PvP, if that is your interest. Still much to be developed for that, but it might be worth checking out.

Marvel Heroes is not a perfect game. It had major issues at launch, it still has issues now. I must point out, though, that Gazillion has been respectfully quick at improving and fixing many such issues. In my numerous years of playing MMO's, theirs has been one of the most involved and responsive development teams I have ever seen. This is a game with real potential, and it is free to try and free to play, so why just take my word for it. Go to marvelheroes.com, create an account, download, and try it. Overall, I will give it a 8.5 out of 10 considering both its current state and its potential future.

(Note: If you are a fan of Rocket Raccoon, and, reading this article at this site that is a good chance, feel free to skew that upwards a bit. Having had major expectations for his implementation, I was actually very impressed at how spot on Rocket's model, powers, and even voice, done by the amazing Steve “Wolverine” Blum, were. Marvel Heroes is, solidly, Raccoonatic-Approved!)

<--- Closer view of Rocket and, yes, Groot (who he gets as a summon power at level 30)