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Gambit comes to Marvel Heroes
Gambit is one of those superhero concepts I wish I'd come up with. He's got it all, from the Cajun accent to the kick-ass name to the card-shark skills and kinetic badassery that's made him an X-Men favorite since his first appearance in 1990. Gazillion no doubt sees his appeal, too, and the company has finally added him to its Marvel Heroes title. The firm has also released a Gambit-focused trailer, which you can view after the cut.
Marvel Heroes now has PvP
Gazillion Entertainment has announced that Marvel Heroes' PvP mode, titled Fire and Ice, is now live for all players. Fire and Ice pits two teams of five (where have we heard this one before) in a battle that requires the guarding/attacking of giants as well as the assaulting of the enemy team's base. Defeating giants and other players rewards runestones that can then be traded for buffs and other utilities. If you're curious about Fire and Ice, check out last week's dev-hosted livestream of the new game mode on the official Marvel Heroes Twitch channel.
Marvel Heroes brings Asgard in with update 2.0
One constant to the Marvel universe is that no matter how big your last enemy might be, there's always someone waiting in the wings to make things even worse. Sure, the players of Marvel Heroes have defeated Victor Von Doom and shut down his nefarious plans... but someone was waiting to take all of his power just offscreen, someone with just as much of a chip on his shoulder. Now it's Loki's time to shine. Yes, the next major installment for Marvel Heroes is here now, and it's focusing on all of the Norse goodies you would imagine. That means new items, new enemies, new areas, and the Trickster himself as a playable character. You can log in right now to start adventuring across the Bifrost Bridge into Asgard proper, but if you're at work or something similar, you can ease the wait by taking a look at the new trailer past the break.
Diving back into Marvel Heroes
When I first heard that Marvel Heroes, by Gazillion Entertainment, was not going to allow players to make unique, customizable heroes to fight alongside classic Marvel characters, I felt the same as many of our readers did. I was shocked, hurt, and then angry. What on Earth would inspire a developer to skip not only one of the most important aspects of an MMO -- character customization -- but skip it in an IP that is begging for character customization? Instead of checking the game out, I walked away and played other titles. But I've given it a chance over the last few weeks and had a discussion with Jeff Donais from Gazillion, and now I realize that the developers were never attempting to make an open-world sandbox with infinitely customizable characters. Instead they have made a linear story-based romp with tons of loot, plenty of explosions, and more classic Marvel characters than you can shake an adamantium claw at. Getting over preconceptions and imagining a dungeon-crawler that is set in the Marvel universe will bring you closer to understanding Marvel Heroes.
Marvel Heroes 2.0 update adds Loki and Asgard
Thor: The Dark World is out in theaters today, and in a stunning coincidence, Marvel Heroes is delivering an Asgard-themed update at the very same time. Game Update 2.0, Gazillion's "biggest content update ever," has two big features. First up is the Asgard hub, where players will meet to go on a series of new missions through the otherworldly zones. And since Thor is already in the game, 2.0 introduces the next best thing, Loki, the god of mischief. Loki is a sorcerer who has two outfits available, the film edition and the not-tacky-at-all comic book version. Even if Asgard doesn't delight you, there's a reason for the entire playerbase to rejoice: Gazillion is expanding the starting roster of free heroes from five choices to nine. You can read up on these additions as well as the new legendary and ring item slots in the official patch notes.
Marvel Heroes announces Asgardian content, playable Loki
Marvel Heroes is a game known for its ability to suck players in to the universe of Marvel superheroes. Its linear play is also augmented by the much more open area of downtown Manhattan, and there is no other MMO that allows you to control heroes from all of Marvel's timelines and universes, from the movie franchises to the classic comics. And now we've learned the game is gearing up for a very nice update in November. So what's in store for this patch? Well, it just so happens that Marvel's latest movie, Thor: The Dark World, is coming out in a week or so. Gazillion Entertainment couldn't very well sit back and let the moment get away, could it? So it created an entire suite of content based around Asgard, Thor, and the new movie. We asked Jeff Donais, Creative Director, some questions to find out all of the details. Warning: There might be spoilers below!
Gazillion brings Squirrel Girl to Marvel Heroes
Squirrel Girl is now available in Marvel Heroes, according to a new post on the Gazillion website. Founders get Squirrel Girl and her modern and aviator costumes for free, while other players can unlock her by buying a hero pack, buying her directly from the in-game store, or earning her via eternity splinters. Gazillion has released a Squirrel Girl teaser trailer which you can see after the cut.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A marvelous, titanic super-hero September
I'm breaking up my usual format a bit for this month. Part of that is just out of necessity; DC Universe Online launched a big DLC pack that I talked about in the last column, which obviously was the focus for most of the past month. Champions Online just had an invasion event going that I didn't actually take part in; I've had enough invasion-style events to last the remainder of my natural life, even if the rewards for this one do look pretty awesome. Call me cynical. No, this month I'm focusing on two games, only one of which is actually out at the moment. One of these games has been firing on all cylinders and might force cynical old me to eat a bit of crow, which I'll happily do if it means that the game is better for everyone enjoying it. And the other... isn't. You can probably guess what I'm talking about, but you can also go ahead and jump past the cut to eliminate any possible doubt. I encourage it!
Luke Cage joins Marvel Heroes in update 1.3
As of last month, update 1.2 was Marvel Heroes' biggest to date. But that was then, and this is now: Today's update 1.3 surpasses its predecessor with even more content. Along with more unique items and an Iron Man rework, Gazillion Entertainment revealed a new hero (Luke Cage), new systems and modes, team insignias, and legendary quests. Additionally, the Lady Deadpool costume is now available. Players who want to earn special bragging rights can go back and start at level one again after they reach level 60 thanks to the new Prestige Mode. The Hero Synergy System offers more character customization as it unlocks account-wide synergy bonuses whenever a hero hits levels 25 and 50; these bonuses can then be equipped on any hero. The completion of legendary quests will give player rewards as well as the ability to craft Legendary Blessings for their artifacts and more. And finally, team insignias allow players to show off membership on previous teams. For complete details on these new systems and other fixes, check out the official patch notes. And get a look at Lady Deadpool in the trailer after the break [Source: Gazillion Entertainment press release]
Marvel Heroes update 1.2 gets Frosty
Gazillion Entertainment has deployed the biggest content update yet to Marvel Heroes, bringing a collection of enhancements and tweaks to several core aspects of the game. The defense system has been completely overhauled, survivability has been re-tuned, and a new hero has joined the fray. Update 1.2 adds the Heroic and Super Heroic difficulty modes for all heroes. Players who defeat Dr. Doom or reach level 30 can access Heroic mode; Dr. Doom must be defeated in Heroic (or players must reach level 45) before Super Heroic is made available. Both modes offer new loot and enemies to match the increased difficulty. Also new to the game are relics, which offer special stat boosts to heroes as well unique items that are as powerful as they are rare. Finally, Emma Frost is now a playable character, providing new powers like mind control and Diamond Form tanking. She can be purchased individually or through a special hero pack.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: All the superheroic news that was fit to print in August
Some months surprise you. When I went back through July's news a month ago, I was surprised to see that there had been a lot of superhero stories that I had collected but not really thought about; what I thought was a quiet month turned out to be quite active. August, on the other hand, was a pretty light month with only one major update that arguably could be pushed to next month depending on perspective. Incidentally, this was the first summer in a while that didn't have a good superhero film come out. Coincidence? Almost certainly. Our current month promises to have some shakeups. There's a Kickstarter in the wings for The Phoenix Project, and the other major titles all have patches just over the horizon. But today we're looking at the calm before the storm, known to most people as "August." Even if there weren't many world-shattering revelations, there are still some elements worth discussing.
Marvel Heroes game update 1.15 buffs XP, adds new costumes
Game Update 1.2 is just around the corner for Marvel Heroes players, but Gazillion isn't waiting until then to roll out a few much-needed tweaks and changes right now. The 1.15 update is out today and should provide a welcome boost to mid-tier levelers. The team has increased XP gain for levelers in Manhattan, although bigger adjustments are on the way next week. There will also be more cash from downed bosses to the tune of three times the number of credits than dropped previously. Other small changes include removing a few recovery animations to make powers faster and a buff to the Black Widow. Gazillion has also added a few new costumes as both drops and store purchases: the Black Panther Vibranium Armor, the Human Torch 2099 costume, and the Punisher Marvel NOW! costume.
Marvel Heroes dev blog talks PvP, defense, and new heroes
It's time again for Gazillion Entertainment's weekly Marvel Heroes dev blog, and this latest entry hops, skips, and jumps its way across a vast number of topics. First on deck are changes to the game's defense system and difficulty ratings; the dev team is working to reduce the odds of one-shotting and improve the experience for melee heroes. Also in the works: tweaks to Midtown Manhattan, the release of rare costumes to the in-game store, a boost to the drop rate for eternity splinters, and further iterations to the game's upcoming optional PvP system. Of particular interest is the team's confirmation that it can change hero behaviors between PvE and PvP environments, meaning basic hero components like crowd control and cooldowns can be tweaked separately for both styles of play. Finally, work continues on Emma Frost, Squirrel Girl, and Luke Cage, all due for release in the somewhat near future. Luke Cage can create (and throw) cars, Emma Frost brings new mind control abilities, and Squirrel Girl has... squirrels. Most changes featured in the dev blog should be going live on test servers soon, if they're not there already.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroic news for July
So how's everybody been? You all doing well? Because I'm super, and thanks for asking. For some reason, July was one of the first months since its announcement that seemed to be fairly quiet for Infinite Crisis; I can only guess that most of the staff was too busy playing to make announcements, which would be the ideal situation. But the other superheroic games on the market certainly didn't quiet down, with Marvel Heroes and Champions Online both making plenty of noise. Even DC Universe Online got in on the action, or tried to until SOE Live wound up being all about one game. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You want a rundown on the super scene from last month? It's all here behind the cut, so come on down and take a look. It's the third month since we moved over to the new format, and I can't help but hope that I'm starting to get into the cadence.
Marvel Heroes patch 1.11 breaks game, reverts back
Marvel Heroes was proud to roll out patch 1.11 last night, and the playerbase was proud to receive it. There was only one problem: It didn't work. Gazillion couldn't get the game up and running for everyone, and after several hours of outages, the team decided to create a new patch to revert the game back to a pre-1.11 state. CM Stephen Reid explained the studio's response: "After an evening of working to see if there was a quick solution to the issues we encountered when we brought up game update 1.11 tonight, we've decided to go with 'Plan B:' deploying a patch that essentially 'reverts' the live game to its pre-game update 1.11 state. This is safer and will allow the game to be up and for you to play in the live environment while we diagnose, fix, text, and redeploy game update 1.11." Patch 1.11 contained the Human Torch playable character as well as the new eternity shards system. Gazillion assures players that if they managed to log in last night and purchase the Human Torch, it will be safe and sound when 1.11 returns.
Gazillion trumpets 1.5 million registered Marvel Heroes users
I have a confession to make. I once registered as a Marvel Heroes user. This was before I confirmed my initial suspicion that the game wasn't my cup of tea, and it was motivated in large part by the fact that I cover many games that aren't my cup of tea for a living. My reason for telling you that I'm a registered Marvel Heroes user is because Gazillion is also telling you something about registered users in its latest press release. Specifically, the company is crowing about the fact that its game has 1.5 million of them. What it's not saying is how many of those users, like me, have never spent and will never spend a) any money on the product and b) any time playing it. But, hey, 1.5 million is a big number! Gazillion also announced that the game's new Asgard zone will release this Fall. Finally, a series of planned summer updates will include PvP and endgame additions, a new tier of "ultimate" items, and a new currency. [Source: Gazillion press release]
Marvel Heroes dev blogs talk fixes, price reductions
Marvel Heroes posted a couple of updates to its official website yesterday. The first is penned by Doomsaw, an MH designer who has a quite a lot to say in terms of what the dev team is currently doing. The game's defense system is being worked on, as are difficulty modes, PvP, itemization, raids, and more. The second update concerns permanent price reductions on both heroes and costumes in Marvel Heroes' item shop. Affected characters include Wolverine, Spider-man, Storm, Hulk, Iron Man, and Deadpool. Get the full list, as well as the full development update blog, via the links below.
Marvel Heroes makes it easier to earn new superheroes
While it's always been possible to gain new superheroes in Marvel Heroes via loot drops, Gazillion CEO David Brevik says that the current system is less than ideal. "The best loot should be challenging to acquire," he writes, "but we don't want players to be overly frustrated with the process of acquiring heroes." To address this, Gazillion is preparing to scrap the current hero token drops and institute Eternity Splinters instead. Splinters are a new type of currency that will drop from mobs more frequently than hero tokens did and can be saved up to purchase the hero of the player's choice. They'll also be used to purchase ultimate power upgrades and hero respecs. Brevik says that the team is committed to adding new heroes to the game so that players will always have something new to earn. He also posted a FAQ regarding the upcoming system for those who have specific questions.
The problem with F2P is dishonest product marking, says David Paris
Game developer David Paris has penned a new blog at Gamasutra focused on the stigma of free-to-play business models. Paris, whose bio lists him as the builder of the world's first subscription-based internet MOG (Valhalla), says that there's nothing inherently wrong with F2P that more honest product marking won't fix. And thus we come to the core of the problem - the lack of honesty about how much impact IAPs [in-app purchases] have on games. The truth is that F2P monetization is frequently very much about concealing exactly this impact from its players so that we will either play until we are so invested that we will cough up and pay, or so that we'll provide an audience for the whales to lord it over. Burying pay-to-win mechanics under an initial layer of skill-to-win, providing advantages that become required for competitive play, roadblocks or surprisingly reduced game functionality tucked underneath paid barriers that weren't obvious when you started. He cites League of Legends and Marvel Heroes as games that do it right and wrong, respectively, though he does criticize LoL for failing to offer an all-the-content-for-a-single-price option.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superhero news of June
June was definitely a month. And things definitely happened during it. And some of them could sort of be seen as relating to superhero games, so that's good. Unfortunately, most of them sort of... weren't. That's not entirely true, really. There was some news about superhero games all through June; it's just that most of it had very little to do with the here and now. Most of it focused around what will happen, where games will be going, and what players can expect in the future. There was a decided lack of news about what's going on right now. Still, that makes it no less worthy of review. So let's hop in the not-very-far-back machine and take a look at the news from June, which also featured some sort of gaming convention or another. I can't remember which one, exactly. It'll come to me in a minute.
