Marvel's Avengers - Black Panther: War for Wakanda, preview
Marvel's Avengers - Black Panther
If you have read our review of Marvel's Avengers, you may remember that we recognized the excellent potential of Square Enix's GaaS, net of an excellent single player campaign, a multiplayer mode to be reviewed and several technical problems that conversions for platforms of new generation have only partially solved. A year later, it cannot be said that the developer Crystal Dynamics did not support the game, albeit slowly, but neither that he managed to overturn the cold opinion that the public and critics have matured towards a project centered on such a prestigious brand. . Now it is therefore up to Black Panther: War for Wakanda the arduous task of ferrying Marvel's Avengers to 2022 with a real expansion, that is, a much more substantial content than the previous updates. We had the opportunity to view the first hour of the game: this is what we discovered.Chadwick Boseman and his importance in the MCU
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther faces the Golden City As the title suggests, Black Panther: War for Wakanda is centered around the new hero, the third joining the cast after Kate Bishop and Hawkeye. It is of course the ruler of Wakanda, the Black Panther or Black Panther, if you prefer the English name.Legend has it that T'challa should have joined the Avengers already last year, but the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, convinced Square Enix to postpone an update that, just at that time, would have been in dubious taste. In reality, the universe of the Avengers branded Square Enix has nothing to do with that of Marvel Studios and Disney, but in recent years the character of Black Panther has become absolutely iconic: the interpretation of Boseman in the 2018 film has raised a global interest in a hero who until recently was much less represented even in comic books.It is no coincidence, then, that the guys at Crystal Dynamics were really inspired by Marvel. Cinematic Universe for this new content, defined as expansion due to the amount of additions, which include not only the new playable hero, but also an entire new region divided into multiple maps, two new bosses and their henchmen, as well as an extension of the level maximum that our characters can reach.
Missions in Wakanda
Set in Wakanda, of course, the expansion begins with a Black Panther raid on the borders of his king gno, under attack by the mercenaries of Klaw who are looking for the precious vibranium: among them there is also Crossbones, another well-known super villain that T'challa faces in combat before returning to the city. The Royal Palace of the Black Panther, which overlooks the town of Birnin Zana, is the new outpost that sits alongside the Helicarrier and the Ant Hill from the original game. Here the sovereign welcomes Captain America and Iron Man, who have come to seek his help to rebuild the Avengers in view of new threats: to earn his loyalty, they must first help him defend Wakanda from Klaw and his assassins.Marvel's Avengers: Shuri in the Black Panther: War for Wakanda expansion Comics and Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will recognize some familiar faces: in addition to the aforementioned villains, we also find Okoye, the captain of the Dora Milaje they serve Black Panther, and Shuri, the genius sister of the ruler who built his combat suit. We liked the character design of the characters, although it tends to be too much like movie characters, and above all the default costume that the protagonist wears in the first few bars of the game, except for the bizarre Black Panther emblem on the chest.
In some ways it reminded us of the armored suits of Batman in the Arkham video games by Rocksteady Studios, but still maintains a sinuosity and elegance that make it look imposing and agile at the same time, but also armed to the teeth and very dangerous. Of course, you will be able to unlock many other costumes including those that appeared in comics, cartoons and so on.
Enemies, villains and bosses
The details of the Black Panther costume in Marvel's Avengers La campaign that the guys from Crystal Dynamics showed us therefore continues in the company of the Avengers, and in particular of Captain America, Iron Man and Ms. Marvel. In the splendid Royal Palace, full of tasty details such as the guards who stand to attention when their sovereign passes by, it is possible to access various features and services, including the command console to open the world map and choose the missions to be faced. .Black Panther then leads the Avengers into the jungle to the cry of "Wakanda forever!" and there the gameplay becomes a bit more banalotto, because the objectives remain the same as a year ago. It is necessary to defeat the enemies, human and robotic, to which a new category is added that protects itself with shields vulnerable to sonic blows only, and to conquer certain control points to complete the assigned task and continue towards the goal of the turn, usually a elevator that will lead us to the next map, hiding its loading not exactly cleverly.
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther together with the Avengers The maps that we have been able to view outline an interesting variety in the new region: Wakanda is made up of large woods , rocky slopes overlooking the Golden City, but also underground caves and labyrinthine corridors separated by high walls half technological and half natural. At the same time, Crystal Dynamics does not seem to have made any changes to the tried and tested, but criticized, game formula, made up of continuous skirmishes with tough enemies that sporadically alternate with bosses and mini-bosses.
In the presentation shown to us , Black Panther at one point confronts Crossbones, who employs a mix of firearms and close-range attacks to keep the ruler away from the cannon aimed at the Royal Palace. The player must then beat Crossbones enough to force him to medicate himself under a defensive barrier which, however, leaves the siege weapon uncovered: at that point it will be necessary to change target and focus on the cannon until it is destroyed and put the villain on the run. br>
Crystal Dynamics has promised at least two new bosses, and if Crossbones is one of them, the other is almost certainly Klaw. The demo we watched shows us this villain in some cinematics of the story, including the one in which Black Panther cuts off his arm, transforming him into the super villain we know from comics and movies: the promotional photos depict Klaw with a mechanical arm, so we can hypothesize that its enhanced version will give us a hard time in subsequent missions of the campaign.
The skills of Black Panther
Marvel's Avengers: an alternate Black Panther costume The duration of this content single player is still under wraps, but the guys at Crystal Dynamics are talking about a longer campaign than the two parts of Operation: Hawkeye put together, and that's another reason the developer talks about expansion, rather than just DLC. We remind you, however, that this update of Marvel's Avengers will also be completely free, and downloadable starting from August 17th.As for the protagonist, Crystal Dynamics has offered us an overview of his fighting skills. Black Panther is a melee fighter who in agility and destructive force represents a kind of cross between Captain America, Black Widow and Thor. The character attacks with kicks and punches, twirling and spinning on himself with the grace of a feline. The animators have done a great job: the movements of the character are fluid and convincing, although in the clashes the feeling of violence or impact is still lacking just as we had reported in the review. The variety of combos and special moves, however, once again confirms the goodness of the combat system which, although chaotic, remains a lot of fun. Black Panther can hit enemies on the ground and in the air, perhaps using walls and other surfaces to gain momentum and dive into the target like the animal that gives it its name.
Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther is the king of Wakanda In case of need, Black Panther can also resort to a ranged attack in the form of daggers which he draws and quickly hurls at the enemy's address. Obviously each basic attack can be enhanced by spending the skill points earned at each level up, so as to unlock new combos and combat features.
Its intrinsic ability is called Panther Cowl and basically allows you to parry every incoming hit both on the ground and in the air without interrupting the animations of the hero. The blocked shots - only the parable ones, to be precise - charge the kinetic energy stored in the costume, which we can then consume to enhance some attacks, making them even more devastating.
Marvel's Avengers: the poster of Black Panther: War for Wakanda The heroic move of support is called instead Kimoyo Beads and it is an area attack that not only inflicts moderate damage to enemies, but at the same time reduces their resistance to impact damage, making them easier to stun and interrupt. King's Mercy is instead the Heroic Assault Move: by pressing the corresponding button, Black Panther draws a vibranium spear and throws it at enemies. With a little skill, up to three can be impaled and stunned at the same time. Even this Heroic Move, like all the others, can be specialized and enhanced: for example, the Meteoric Impact ability causes the spear, once it hits the target, to emit an area impulse that damages all surrounding enemies. The Ultimate Heroic Move is Bast's Chosen: by using it, Black Panther increases the damage it can inflict and reduces the damage it receives for a certain period of time, and also can use its intrinsic ability without consuming its charge.
Black Panther seems like a very fun hero to play, even if he may not really represent the triumph of originality in terms of gameplay. The formula of War for Wakanda appears perhaps a little too similar to what has already been seen in this year of Marvel's Avengers: fans of the game will appreciate this injection of new content completely free, but we doubt that this expansion will be able to convince those who are already. moved away or just didn't even want to try the Square Enix title.
