Marvel's Avengers Is An Absolute Mess

The Game At Its Core

Many people point to the long list of technical issues and cite that as the main reason the game suffers and is disappointing. But even if the game ran at a constant smooth 60fps with no crashes, it wouldn't be that great. There are some serious issues with the combat and the game is designed to be a repetitive process to support the service side of the game.

To the game's credit each hero does feel unique and it can feel great when you pull off a string of combos against a wave of enemies. This was a big criticism of the beta that doesn't really hold up for the main game. But the way the Avengers have been underpowered is honestly just insulting.

The game will often bombard you with projectiles from off the screen that you can't even see or dodge in time. The actual dodging mechanic doesn't feel right either. It never feels responsive and you'll often miss the prompt and get hit anyway. It's nothing like the Arkham games and it's not a fun challenge at all, it's infuriating makes you want to put the game down.

The Incredible Hulk and The God Of Thunder shouldn't be able to be knocked back by a small robot.

But let's say that the game ran fantastically and combat was extremely fine tuned. Well, the game still only features the dullest enemies and a few locations that could be from any game, not an Avengers game.

It's understandable why Crystal Dynamics would have repeating enemy types, but could we fight more than just robots and A.I.M soldiers? Why are we stuck fighting in Utah, a snowy tundra, a forest and a city when the Marvel Universe is full of great and unique locations?

There are only three real supervillains you actually face off against too: Taskmaster, Abomination and M.O.D.O.K - the latter with the assistance of a Kree Sentry.

Two of three of these you got to fight in the free beta!

It just feels so dull and small for an Avengers game. The game didn't need twenty bosses in twenty different locations, but the amount of content in this game is so disappointing. When you compare it to any of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games it's laughable. Those games take you to Asgard, Skrullos, Latveria, Hell, Attilan and so many more, yet the best we get in Marvel's Avengers is the same generic biomes.

At the end of the day the game at its core just isn't that fun. It had so much potential yet failed to capitalise on it. Why aren't there aerial battles for Thor and Iron Man? Stealth sections for Black Widow?

All characters feel differentiable to control over time, but we're always using them for the same boring activities, in the same boring locations, with the same boring enemies.