Marvel Heroes

Fans of action RPGs and Marvel comics will have a decent time with Marvel Heroes. Just don’t get too excited to play your favorite characters without handing over some cash.

Go ahead and download this. It's free, after all.

There is a lot of fun to be had with Marvel Heroes as long as you don't expect it to mirror the deep experiences of its action-RPG brethren. Fans of the comic book world will certainly enjoy spending some time stepping into the shoes of their favorite heroes, just expect to pay a little bit (or a lot) if you want to be the biggest heroes.

In an era where superheroes are extremely popular, it is very smart to make a videogame and put large parts of the Marvel Universe in it. This is done pretty okay in the free-to-play action-RPG Marvel Heroes. It's not as deep and big as other online RPG's, which makes it attractive to the mainstream crowd.

In fact, Marvel Heroes throws open the Avengers Tower doors to an expansive amount of gameplay, whether you pay or not. I applaud the generosity, and fully admit that Gazillion scores a few bonus points for it. It's not the prettiest or deepest dungeon-crawler you'll ever play, but it's free and it'll run on nearly any system. For Marvel fans like me, it doesn't get much better than that.

Anyone just looking for an MMO will enjoy the levelling and questing, and even if you never pay-to-play you’ll still get to experience many of the game’s best features.

Marvel Heroes is a good game that would probably get more praise if it worked out some of its most fundamental issues out the gate. Lean character selection in a game as huge as this is to be expected this early in its life, but it isn’t something that had to be such a standout issue either.

When you consider it is a free-to-play MMO game, Marvel Heroes is a fun romp for any fan. This being said, the game does not bring anything incredibly innovative to the table and the price tag for some of those playable characters is a bit steep.

The game offers plenty to do and an impressive breadth of characters and skills to master, but some polish in certain areas could really help make it a game you’d want to pay to play. If you’re looking for a new MMO or a game with Diablo-like replayability, play Marvel Heroes first and pay for it later (if you want, that is.)

The best way to describe Marvel Heroes is, truthfully, average. Everyone should give this game a shot, just because it’s free and a fun distraction. But chances are you won’t be compelled to spend extra money on it. I wouldn’t describe these heroes as “super,” just “fun.”

I don’t know that I’d put it above other established franchises in the genre just yet, but if you have some affinity for Marvel and its characters along with Diablo clones, there’s certainly worse ways to pass the time than this.

With its shallow combat system and tons of characters, Marvel Heroes is just fun but lackluster. Gazillion tries to make you pay for everything; you might not, but you will get bored very soon.

As an action RPG or MMO Marvel Heroes is at best mediocre.

Marvel Heroes is a simple Diablo, by its creators. The Marvel characters are very well-defined and differentiated, as are its villains. You can play the full campaign for free, but it isn't exciting.

At the end of the day, though, these few good points don’t make up for the flaws with what should be the most important elements of a game like this - the combat and the loot grind - and an overall lack of polish. Being free to play, you don’t lose out on anything but 15 odd gigabytes of your data cap if you want to give Marvel Heroes a go, but with that said, it’s hard to recommend this game over the other free to play lootfests that are around.

If you hoped for World of Warcraft dressed in colourful superhero tights, Marvel Heroes is not it. It stands somewhere between typical MMORPGs and action RPGs and had considerable potential but fails to kindle any major emotions. Developers will have to work hard to refine this game. [CD-Action 08/2013, p.68]

If you're a fan of the comics and you like games like Diablo, then you'll find hours and hours of fun in Marvel Heroes. If not, there are much better free-to-play games out there.

Marvel Heroes could be described as a total conversion of Diablo in Marvel’s style. The visuals are good, the story isn’t original and the gameplay is always the same. The main problem is that after a few hours you’ll be done with the main quest and you'll be are forced to do the same quests over and over again to reach the level cap. Unless you pay some money to make it faster.

Marvel Heroes honours the Marvel material, but its game mechanics lack enough variety and personality to justify the intrusive and aggressive monetisation model implemented by Gazillion.

There’s little of the engaging combat and compelling visual progression systems found in classic isometrics like Diablo and Baldur’s Gate, nor is there the scope and wealth of content that characterises major MMO games. Given the talent and license behind it, that’s a real shame.

In the end, I don’t think this is really the game for either dedicated MMO players, or diehard Marvel fans. Many of the former won’t like the lack of true customization or group strategy, and, because of game mechanics, the latter will only get a loose approximation of the characters’ canonical abilities. That said, I think Marvel Heroes is uncomplicated and certainly entertaining enough to be a good primer for those new to online gaming. It’s a way to get familiar with the medium without being overwhelmed or overcharged for the experience.

Marvel Heroes is a colorful free-to-play role-playing game that doesn't always do its powerhouse of a license justice.

A hack & slash game without a skinner-box loot reflex is bad enough. T o make matters worse, the quality of the fighting mechanics never holds up with the wide roster of heroes. If your favorite Marvel character is in the starting line up of this free-to-play MMO, one go can't hurt. Still, it's a shame what this turned out to be, considering the promising license.