Crystal Dynamics has revealed new details for Marvel’s Avengers that helps to shed further light on the game’s mission structure. Shortly after its initial E3 reveal, the studio confirmed that its ambitious superhero adventure would feature a multiplayer component. Early excitement on that front quickly U-turned to concern when it emerged that various portions of the anticipated adaptation of Marvel’s heroic group would be reserved exclusively for single-player purposes.
How and why those divisions came to be decided upon has, up until now, remained frustratingly unclear. Fortunately though, as part of a recent hands-on event at PAX West, attendees were given further insight into the separation.
Following the destruction wrought by Taskmaster on the events of A-Day, the destroyed Helicarrier, presumed to be Captain America’s tomb, is repurposed as a base of operations for the newly-reformed (sans Cap) Avengers. From here, players will have the option of carrying out two different mission types. The first, Hero Missions, will serve to further the narrative of Marvel’s Avengers and be single-player only. Here, character selection is disabled and instead will have players control a pre-determined hero as dictated by the story.
WarZone missions, on the other hand, can be undertaken either alone or with up to three others in online co-op. Each multiplayer lobby is given the choice of which character to use, though duplicates are a strict no-no. To avoid internal conflict, your best bet is to decide beforehand who gets to play as Hulk.
Both mission types will be distinct from each other on the world map, says Crystal, with more meant to unlock as the story unfolds. This means, of course, that single-player is mandatory for expanding multiplayer content. Not an ideal situation for those with no interest in playing solo, but a fair compromise.
Marvel’s Avengers is out next year, May 15th, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Google Stadia.
