Avengers Initiative is the first in a series of episodic Avengers games. This one stars the Hulk, and it should hit later tonight as the game sees separate releases around the globe. Eli and I shot some footage of the game in action, and that’s available below if you’re wondering exactly what this game is all about.
You won’t need to see any moving pictures if you’ve played Infinity Blade, though, as this is basically that game. In your mind’s eye, just substitute the swords for punches and the demons for the colorful villains of the Marvel universe, and you’ve got a great idea of what Avengers Initiative is all about.
If you’re not in the loop, think of Avengers Initiative as a brawler. In the game, you control the Hulk across a series of one-on-one, gesture-based fights where attacks are generally 1:1. Swipe left, and Hulk throws out a left-hand punch. Swipe up, Hulk throws a vicious uppercut. When enemies dish out attacks, you can counter them with blocks or counters or even side-steps. Perfect timing of these moves dazes bad guys, allowing you to go nuts on them for a few undefended seconds.
We’d love to point out a lot of points of differentiation in the combat sub-systems, but there aren’t many. Like in Infinity Blade, Hulk has a special meter that, when charged and used, dazes the opponent. But he can, however, spend block stamina to get off free shots that would normally just graze an opponent in Infinity Blade. Also, after each fight, you can build up a meter to do a devastating finishing move.
Anyway, the point of the game seems to be to subdue “big" bad guys while slugging your way through regular ones. In the second level, you’ve got to take care of an electric dude who kinda looks like Venom but is totally not. In the first, you fight a werewolf-man. In both, you’re fighting random Krull dudes on the way to reaching these guys. The game is guided much like Infinity Blade, so you’ll be tapping on specific points to advance through the game’s levels.
There’s also a currency: gems. With these, you can buy augments that give you health or rage or damage bonuses among other abilities. You can also buy special costumes that add modifiers to gem drop rates, give you XP bonuses, or bump up the possibility of a med or rage healing item dropping. Gems can be purchased with IAP.
It’s kinda wild how closely Avengers Initiative copies Infinity Blade. Even the UI pause button that appears in the center top of that game’s screen makes an appearance in this. For what it is, though, Avengers Initiative is OK. We’re more interested in where the series is going. Will the Captain America game be totally different, for example?
Avengers Initiative will be available tonight. We have a full review forthcoming.
