tian.khan: Avengers Initiative for iPhone and iPad review

রবিবার, ৯ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০১২

Avengers Initiative for iPhone and iPad review

Hulk SMASH puny iPhone and iPad in Avengers Initiative, Infinity Blade-style brawler from Marvel

Avengers Initiative is Infinity Blade starring the Incredible Hulk. At least right now. Marvel, their parent company Disney, and developer Wideload promise more Avengers will be joining the fray in future updates, including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow. If that sounds a lot like the cast of this summer's blockbuster Avengers movie directed by Joss Whedon, that's probably not a coincidence. This is a mainstream superhero game.

The story starts off simply, and familiarly for anyone who read Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers series. Instead of the Raft, however, it's the Vault that gets broken wide open, but a slew of villains do escape to wreak havoc on the Marvel Universe. Instead of assembling a new team of popular, if awkward characters like, Wolverine and Spider-Man to track them down, Ultimate Nick Fury calls on the classics. And first up is the Hulk.

Hulk is given one job and one job only in this game, and I'm sure you can already guess what it is -- SMASH!

And that's where the Infinity Blade part comes in. I don't know if it's licensed or not. I so, great. If not, Wideload has a Samsung-quality copies in their basement. Either way, it's incredibly similar, but not identical.

With Avengers Initiative, they've added some sophistication. You have to have more precise timing to succeed with Avengers Initiative than you did with Infinity Blade. You have to block and dodge and parry nearly perfectly, and then counter without missing a beat. It makes every encounter both more challenging and engaging, because you literally can't take your attention away for a micro-second. And that's a mixed blessing.

For advanced gamers, it makes for a more better, much sharper experience. For casual gamers, however, it makes for a more frustrating, more difficult experience. You can't just swipe and slash your way to victory. You have to earn it.

There's another problem brought over from Infinity Blade -- repetitive enemies. Right from the start you have to fight two Kronan's (remember Korg from Planet Hulk?) and two Skrulls (what became the Chitauri in the Avengers movie, seemingly absent their shape-changing powers here) back-to-back before you even get to the first boss-level bad guy, a Wendigo (think cannibal Sasquatch). iOS is a constrained platform and models are expensive, but variety is the spice of gaming, especially when you want to lure in a brand new gamer.

It's also awkward. Hulk doesn't block and dodge and parry Skrulls. He flicks them away the way you would a crumb on the table. Hulk isn't made of strategy and tactics. Hulk is made of rage. The Infinity Blade format might have suited Captain America more than Hulk, at least at the beginning levels. But let's chalk that up to artistic license and move on.

For added depth, you have the full-on leveling system available to you, and you can increase health, damage, stamina, and rage. You can also buy new powers. You start out with World Breaker and you can buy more as your purple crystal collection grows. You can also buy costumes straight from the classic comics, everything from King Hulk to Fear Itself Hulk to Maestro Hulk to... you get the idea. Items like medical packs and rage boosts, augments, and more are all for sale.

Which brings us to the in-app purchases. Avengers Initiative costs $6.99 up-front, and you can collect purple crystals in the game as you go, but like any enterprising title these days, you can also spend money in-lieu of time. Wan 10,000 crystals? $0.99 and they're yours. Want 800,000 crystals? $49.99 will get them for you. Want to level up? $1.99. Want to redistribute? $4.99. No questions asked. (Tell 'em Joe Fixit sent you.)

As mentioned above, there will also be additional characters added to the game in the future, which should increase replay value substantially.

Also on the plus side, the graphics are outstanding. Marvel claims console quality and while that's not exactly true of the latest, greatest console games, they do look fantastic on the Retina display iPhones and iPad. There's a touch of lag at times on the new iPad, but the quality and quantity of pixels they're pushing is outstanding.

Its also a lot of fun. If you ever blade the old Xbox Hulk game, the free-world one where you just walked around and smashed the living hell out of an entire city, there's a tiny taste of that vibe here. You're the strongest one there is, and you get to unleash it. The World Breaker. The Green Scar. The Sakaarson. He's come home to iOS. And soon, his friends will be coming with him.

The good

What, are you kidding me, HULK + SMASH!
Gorgeous graphics
Lots of depth
Tons of stuff for comics geeks

The bad

Could be overly challenging for casual players
Repetitive villains

The bottom line

Avengers initiative is good but not great, and will appeal to fans more than regular folks. If you love Marvel, the Avengers, and the Hulk, get Avengers Initiative and enjoy. It's not perfect, but it's Marvel, the Avengers, and the Hulk. If you like fighting games in general, and Infinity Blade in particular, you'll get a lot of the same action here, but with a new flavor that both more challenging if not quite as smoothly balanced.

If you could care less about the Hulk or Infinity Blade, and are just looking for a new game to try, Avengers Initiative is a mixed bag. It's not as casual-gamer friendly as some other games, and requires some tolerance and perseverance to get into. You might be happier with something sporting a frowning fowl on the splash screen.