Avengers Review: 3 Ups & 8 Downs

2. Wasting One Of The Best Casts In Gaming History

Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Nolan North, Travis Willingham. Right off the bat the casting for Hulk, Black Widow, Iron Man and Thor are exemplary. Nolan North as Tony Stark is inspired, and Bailey's take on Widow walks a line between charming and professional that even Scarlett Johansson occasionally missed.

Jeff Schine and Sandra Saad are lesser known as Cap and Kamala respectively, but they both bring their A-game - especially Saad.

What's just outright weird then, is how they're given such little time to shine.

Character-specific missions - the gold standard of which is still Mass Effect 2 - play out the same as everything else, only you'll get one additional cutscene featuring said actor as the character discovers something about themselves.

Iron Man's is notably rushed and flat - ostensibly the entire 2008 Iron Man movie condensed into a few seconds, and that's before I get to the lack of group dialogue.

Yes, you can force interactions between characters by visiting them in their rooms, but by virtue of how the story is structured, you're not seeing group dynamics until the closing half hour. What comes before is awash in moroseness as each individual has to be convinced to join back up, but even on-mission there's a distinct lack of chemistry.

I have no doubt this group of actors would be phenomenal together if allowed to improvise and riff on the source material, but every line feels restricted and focus tested; every plot beat and character "revelation" expected and rote.