Of all the new and upcoming games shown off during Square Enix’s E3 conference last night, Crystal Dynamics’ Marvel’s Avengers clearly has the most hype behind it. The publisher knew that to be the case all too well, having saved its world premiere for the show’s climax, but how much did we really get to see of the superpowered action-adventure? With gameplay noticeably absent from view, a concerning fog still hangs over the ambitious project that won’t lift until we see players directly take control of the Avengers.
So, with gameplay still forthcoming, what, exactly, were the main takeaways from last night’s presentation? First and foremost, we now have confirmation of the playable cast that will be available from day one. Unsurprisingly, the roster includes mainstays Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Iron Man, with the final interchangeable slot being awarded to Black Widow. Despite prior speculation that Insomniac’s version of Spider-Man could make it in, the web-slinger was nowhere to be seen. Not yet, at least.
In what’s sure to be disappointing for fans of the films, these versions of each hero won’t be performed by their live-action counterparts, though Crystal certainly isn’t cutting corners when it comes to hiring talented voice actors for each role. For the entire list of every confirmed character and their respective voice actor, see below:
- Thor – Travis Willingham
- Iron Man – Nolan North
- Captain America – Jeff Schine
- Black Widow – Laura Bailey
- Hulk – Troy Baker
With a wealth of free DLC already confirmed to include additional characters and regions, the above is sure to grow at an exponential rate post-launch, and we may even have received a teaser for who’s first in the reveal trailer. Hank Pym, or Ant-Man, as he’s better known, can be seen wielding a matter-manipulating device against an eight-legged mechanical monstrosity in the footage, at the very least confirming his appearance in some form or fashion.
That’s the current state of play for Marvel’s Avengers, though expect a whole lot more to be revealed in the run-up to launch early next year. Stay tuned.