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" Release Date: June 4 Platforms available on: PC Developer: Gazillion Entertainment / Secret Identity Studios Publisher: Gazillion Entertainment Genre: MMORPG A massively multiplayer online game set within the Marvel Comics universe has been on the cards for a long time, but a project of such scope carries as much risk as it does opportunity for the studio bold enough to take it on. Gazillion Entertainment and Secret Identity Studios were the developers tasked with bringing more than 50 years of comic book lore to the medium of video games with Marvel Heroes - a free-to-play action-MMORPG featuring some of the most iconic superheroes ever dreamed up. With great power comes great responsibility, and these studios had both to contend with when wielding the prestigious Marvel license. They have certainly handled it with the care it deserves, but that&amp;#039;s only half the battle.  Marvel Heroes takes place from a top-down perspective and draws the majority of its gameplay cues from dungeon-crawling classic Diablo; and this comes as no surprise given that Gazillion president David Brevik co-created the Blizzard series. Gameplay is mission-based and action-driven, with lots of looting thrown in for good measure. There&amp;#039;s a traditional levelling-up component, player versus player battles, skill trees and a crafting system. The game may be a little short on originality where the core mechanics are concerned, but its storyline will strike all of the right chords with the comic book fanatics. Combat itself draws heavily from Diablo, and that is certainly no bad thing. It&amp;#039;s minimalist in a pleasingly retro sense, with the two mouse clickers and a handful of buttons all that is required to pull off a range of super-powered special attacks. Gazillion had unrestricted access to the Marvel Comics library, and they have taken full advantage of this, doing classic characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America and Daredevil justice, and giving some of the lesser-established heroes and villains a share of the spotlight. Acclaimed comics writer Brain Michael Bendis penned the game&amp;#039;s storyline, a tale that sees various supervillains aiding Doctor Doom in his attempt to harness an ultimate power that could hold the key to world domination. Marvel Heroes is divided into chapters, with the story playing out across hand-drawn cutscenes that the diehards will appreciate.  Players have the choice between one of several popular Marvel heroes - with many more available to unlock in-game or via monetary transactions - and a typical mission sees them travelling to a familiar location from the Marvel Universe to carry out assignments for various non-playable characters. The game doesn&amp;#039;t stray far from the traditions of the MMO and RPG genres, with tanks, ranged and status-inducing heroes to choose from, and some potential for play-style customisation through the investment of skill points. There&amp;#039;s plenty of scope for tailoring your character&amp;#039;s attributes and combat style without carrying out a single microtransaction. Looting is a huge part of the game, with felled enemies and smashed objects nearly always yielding a new item to equip, such as specialist weapons, new armour and other trinkets.  Combat itself draws heavily from Diablo, and that is certainly no bad thing. It&amp;#039;s minimalist in a pleasingly retro sense, with the two mouse clickers and a handful of buttons all that is required to pull off a range of super-powered special attacks. Powers are tied to spirit and stamina metres that regenerate automatically, so combat strategy usually involves employing evasive manoeuvres until they recharge, then unleashing all hell. It&amp;#039;s all very standard RPG and MMO stuff that will feel overly familiar to Diablo fans, or those well-schooled in either genre. The comic book fans might forgive this shortage of inventiveness, but the rest are unlikely to be won over so easily. That said, Marvel Heroes delivers variety in no short supply. There&amp;#039;s a co-op mode that the developers have ensured runs smoothly thanks to effective communication options, and a handy matchmaking system that comes into play when you sign up for a mission.  Tackling missions with a group of companions gives them an entirely different flavour, with players forced to think about how their particular character class fits into the equation, and how best to use it in harmony with the group dynamic. The only real drawback here is that many of the players wandering around the in-game world are identical. There is no reference made to the fact that there are hundreds of Iron Men and Spider-Men on the scene, and this lack of variance can be disorientating in team-up situations. Marvel Heroes won&amp;#039;t win any prizes for originality, but it is an extremely fun game in its own right that makes effective use of the license at its disposal, and it&amp;#039;s always refreshing to encounter a free-to-play title that is intended to be precisely that. There&amp;#039;s reply value aplenty too, courtesy of a fairly straightforward PvP (Player vs Player) mode that pits your skills against others in team-based scenarios, and countless bonus missions to tackle once you have completed the game. Microtransactions are available purely for the purpose of additive content, and are by no means essential to enjoy the game. Premium purchases include everything from bonus costumes to new playable characters. Those who are really taken by the game will find it difficult to resist the draw of the latter, given that a play-through with an alternate hero can provide a radically different experience, with new powers and exclusive items to take advantage of.  In typical MMO fashion, Marvel Heroes isn&amp;#039;t the most graphically-sophisticated game out there. Attention to detail has been applied to the environments to ensure authenticity, but the characters&amp;#039; models appear small and lacking in detail. Outside of the lavishly-coloured cutscenes, there is little to feast your eyes on, though the minimalist graphics do heighten the retro charm the developers were going for. Marvel Heroes won&amp;#039;t win any prizes for originality, but it is an extremely fun game in its own right that makes effective use of the license at its disposal, and it&amp;#039;s always refreshing to encounter a free-to-play title that is intended to be precisely that.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/review/a488486/marvel-heroes-review-pc-a-fan-pleasing-diablo-esque-mmo/>