When it comes to the impending release of Square Enix's The Avengers, I'm a fellow of two distinct minds on the project. On one hand I feel it was inevitable that someone got to making an Avengers game finally, and I see a big chance for some literal record-breaking success here due to the obvious popularity of the brand over the last 8 years. Marvel's movie studios have been rewriting the art of blockbusters over the last decade for better of for worse, (usually for worse, as every big studio is desperate to follow in their footsteps but too lazy and-or stupid to figure it out) and it has resulted in a ballooning of brand recognition beyond anything that Marvel could have imagined when they were still making comic books. Everyone knows the Avengers in today's day and age, and that means it's prime real-estate for the most profitable entertainment industry in the world right now to get ahold of things, gaming. It's destiny. The only thing is, why didn't more effort go into it?
Now if you've paid attention to the marketing life of this game here you'll note that the cycle of this game has been defined both with confusion and anticipation in equal measure. On one hand "OMG, it's Crystal Dynamics behind the development? They made those dope Tomb Raider games, I love them!" and then one the otherhand it's "Okay, but what exactly is this game? Because we're seeing an abundance of gameplay but nothing that spells out of nitty-gritty of what to expect." Personally I think this was a purposeful move on the marketing side of things, to give people a game to ramp up excitement for without telling them what that game was, in order to allow them to fill in the banks and to avoid that inevitable moment of dawned realisation. I bet this project was in talks about for as far back as 'Age of Ultron', and they spent so long throwing it back and forth between studios that by the time it was presentable their original plan, to make a Destiny clone, was so far out of the 'cool' it wasn't even funny.
Imitating the looter shooter trend grew old years ago. Maybe that happened due to the apparent lack of content that the first Destiny had, or that the first Division had, or that Anthem had. (The list goes on.) It's just an entire sub-genre of game that demands too much player investment for too little return, and people already get that out of their mobile games, they didn't need it gripping them in their AAA releases too. Then there were the high-profile issues that rocked this world, like the truth of how Anthem turned out to be a completely unfinished product. That's the sort of revelation that leaves scars, not just in that studio's reputation and their publishers (already abysmal) reputation, but that of the entire genre. And thus it was a real shame that Avengers, after all these years, turned out to be little more than a riff on that formula once again. It just strikes me, and a lot of people, as behind the times in the same way that Fallout 76 did when it turned into a survival title. "No man, that ship sailed years ago. What are you doing?" Between this, Godfall and Overwatch 2, I'd say OW2 has probably the most reasonable justification for it's structure and probably will resonate the best. Avengers, on the otherhand, looks a little lost.
I think that was evident all the way back during the roundtable from a month or so back. This was supposed to be the information blow-out that was going to clear up all the miscommunication around Avengers and what it would entail, bringing everyone into the fold to get behind 'the new biggest game of our generation' or something. And what did we get? Well there was ample explaining and ample gameplay, but we didn't really come away with anything unlike the games of the day. That's the most disappointing part. The Avengers movies trailblazed their marketing and brand in a way never before achieved with Cinema, whilst this game just feels cookie-cutter and uninspired. The combat looked alright, but the gameplay loop was just collecting new gear to buff stats. (Where have I seen THAT before?) Even the multiplayer elements looked tired, with big 'strike team' battles that looked to be designed to be grinded day-after-day for the perfect rolled stat gear. The main enemy, A.I.M is alright, but not a concept seller by any means; and the all-star cast don't really shine at all so far. It's just a middle-of-the-road milk-toast product, as far as we can tell.
But it would seem that none of that matters; making an original game, establishing a strong foundation, winning over the audience, all of that is moot. "This is an Avengers game, afterall, so we don't have to earn the excitement. Do people know how much we spent to earn the license? They owe us unquestioning devotion!" (At least that's what I assume the sort of rhetoric flowing around the office is.) I say this because it's so clear that Square or Crystal, (or, more likely, both) are smelling their own gasses and have crowned this title 'too big to fail'. That's why, instead of establishing good will with their potential client base these fools are out making exclusivity deals. Exclusivity. Really? From the Avengers movies that bent over backwards to be inclusive in the later films and make room for as many folk as they could. (Maybe not a direct parallel, but you're picking up what I'm putting down. Right?) I don't know, I just think it's so regressive to start making shady exclusivity deals and it really speaks to a lack of confidence, doesn't it? If you've bagged such a big franchise, then why risk angering your client base by treating two-thirds of them like second-class citizens? Or do you think your brand is so big that you're untouchable? (We'll see about that.)
So what's the exclusive I'm riled up about today? Spiderman. That's right, the webslinger himself is going to crawl onto Avengers as a Playstation only hero. ('Friendly neighbourhood' my ass) And may I just voice how short sighted of an idea this is. The beta for Avengers just landed and early impression are already voicing how the game feels devoid of variety and how there's a lack of character distinction, and now they're starting to ration out potential roster boosters as version exclusives? Well that's how you lose my sale, at least, I was already dubious about this game but now I know I want no part in your game if this is the way you want to start things off. Antman is coming as DLC and Spiderman is coming as a backroom deal with Sony, and the game isn't even out yet. (This bodes terrible for the cohesive growth of your game, Crystal!) But if you think that's just a sad direction for their marketing, wait to you see the pathetically embarrassing promotions that the marketing team have cooked up. (Warning: this stuff is really sad, you may want to sit down.)
So maybe you've seen the screenshot going around of the cast of the game clad in a red and white colour scheme, vaguely reminiscent of the time-travel outfits from Endgame. This is an example of the cosmetics within the game which will form the backbone of their monetisation efforts, yet this specific instance is particularly indicative of their desperation for marketing too. You see, these are said to be leaked screens of exclusive skins only available for those that are customers of Verizon or Virgin mobile. Seriously. What is this, 2012? I thought we left this level of pathetic cross marketing in the FPS age, are you guys seriously so hard up that you need to revive it, or do you really think that you need to one-up freakin' Call of Duty in order to be a 'serious game'? There's more as well, such as more retro skins that are linked to purchases of 5 gum (I'm losing the will to live) and, for the customers who choose to pre-order at Gamestop, a struggling retail chain desperate to assert itself as a still-serious force in the gaming market/industry, you get a pin set. It's limited edition. (I've lost it. Kill me now.)
What more do I need to say about this, what more can I say; this is straight up embarrassing. Honestly, for Crystal Dynamics and Square (I have a feeling this isn't all Enix, but they certainly had a hand in it) to be pimping out Avengers so aggressively to any brand with some spare change in their pocket, it just reflects poorly on the industry as a whole. Where's your damn class and decorum, people? You represent one of the biggest publishers and am holding one of the biggest licenses, and this is what you choose to do with it? Being absolutely truthful with you, this actually grosses me out a little, I don't feel comfortable signing on with a game that resorts to these lows and I'm slightly starting to lose my respect for Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider series, which I've loved up until now. I hope this is the worst things get and that everything from here on is smooth sailing for the game, but even if it is I won't be along for the ride. I'm just not down for giving money to these sorts of people, and certainly not when there are actual original and good-looking games literally on the horizon. (Hey Cyberpunk, please don't do what these guys have done.)
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