For reasons still unknown, Marvel’s Avengers developer Crystal Dynamics seems reluctant to give fans what they want. Indeed, the studio still has yet to reveal any official gameplay footage for the title since its announcement at last year’s E3, but that all matters little now. Following on from the hazy leak showing off a slice of Black Widow and Hulk’s combat prowess a few weeks back, today’s offering is considerably juicier.
The premature showcase comes via San Diego Comic-Con and runs for a whopping six minutes. New gameplay for Thor, Iron Man and Bruce Banner’s alter-ego are all on show and you can check it out for yourself up above.
We’ve got a long way to go until release day hits, of course, but if we’re to judge based solely on the non-final build demoed above, Marvel’s Avengers is looking terrific. Persisting character design complaints aside, Crystal seems to have all but nailed the power fantasy of controlling each hero, not least Hulk, who uses the unconscious body of an enemy to batter their colleagues into submission. Praise is equally deserved for Thor and Iron Man too, however, both of which appear to have completely unique playstyles.
Personally speaking, one major concern of mine was that Marvel’s Avengers would be unable to replicate so many distinct superhero abilities in a single adventure. In light of today’s long-awaited update though, that’s no longer the case. Iron Man’s preference for aerial combat and Thor’s raw strength channelled through Mjolnir clearly shine here and should no doubt prove to bolster confidence in Crystal Dynamics’ ability to do each member of the Avengers justice.
Sadly, the leak doesn’t provide any further gameplay of Captain America or Black Widow, but SDCC is still ongoing. With any luck, this won’t be the only slyly-filmed footage uploaded online over the weekend, so stay tuned for any and all updates.
Marvel’s Avengers arrives next year, May 15th, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.