Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel’s Avengers

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Look at Crossbones

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Look at Crossbones

    It looks like the rumors of multiple villains were true for the upcoming Black Panther expansion. Game Informer just dropped a deep dive into the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers DLC, which included the reveal of classic Captain America villain Crossbones joining the game as a new villain. They shared the first look at the villain alongside some details courtesy of Crystal Dynamics writer Hannah MacLeod:

    Crossbones has some of the most iconic comic dialogue ever because he just enjoys himself so much, but he’s also got some interesting tricks up his sleeve. There’s always a lot of discussion of who we think our villains should be. Klaue doesn’t really get his hands dirty in the same way as other villains might, so we needed him to have a character who would have no problem with that.

    War for Wakanda

    It’s great to see another icon from the comics make a return and he’ll offer a unique challenge alongside Klaue. The red glowing energy also hints at him utilizing the new mechanics introduced. So, he’ll probably be equipped with Sonic energy, but they also teased an image of him wielding a giant battling gun.

    So, perhaps he’ll also make use of the Corrupted Vibranium. Game Informer and IGN were able to play through two missions of the game. They teased his mission shakes up things a little, as he’s joined by a sonic cannon that’ll make your life a tad more difficult. Here’s hoping there might be some other surprises in store for us.

    Source: Game Informer

  • New Villain Faction Revealed for ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’

    New Villain Faction Revealed for ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’

    It looks like we finally will move on from fighting robots and AIM, as Crystal Dynamics revealed the brand new faction coming to Marvel’s Avengers. The new Black Panther expansion will introduce the iconic villain Ulysses Kaue, who brings along his private mercenary army known as Klaue Company. Not just that, we also got a glimpse into two brand new types of enemies that’ll offer a brand new type of challenge to the game.

    The War for Wakanda expansion will introduce the enemy type known as Bruiser. As you can see in the image below, they wield a large axe and hit relentlessly. They are part of Corrupted Vibranium-themed villains that can turn into an overcharged mode. In this form, they’ll take reduced damage and will react slower to taking damage. It’s a permanent mode until they are defeated, but can be dispelled with a new status known as Sonic.

     

    A screenshot of a Klaue Company Bruiser, armored in red and metallic gear and wielding an oversized battle axe.

     

    The fact your heroes can add sonic-based moves means that your enemies can as well. The Strategist has a Sonic Aura, which acts as a shield. It deflects any type of projectiles and can even block melee attacks. Unlike the Corrupted Vibranium, it only stays active temporarily but the Sonic Wave will damage your hero if you’re not careful. As you might’ve guessed, you also can gather Vibranium-based gear that overcomes this barrier. You’ll notice their presence through the disc-like drones that he sends out while hiding on the sidelines.

     

    A Klaue Company Strategist with an active Sonic Aura

     

    It’s great to see new additions to the gear that also changes your playing style directly in the game. So far, the gears have mainly added some minor support buffs or debuffs, but this will force you to think about the way you approach these new enemy types. They confirm that the expansion will include more enemy types, but they want to keep some surprises for next week’s drop. There seems to be a lot heading our way with this expansion and it’ll be exciting to see how it all comes together.

    Source: Play Avengers

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Black Panther Teaser May Hint at HYDRA’s Future Presence

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Black Panther Teaser May Hint at HYDRA’s Future Presence

    Marvel’s Avengers is building up to next week’s release of the War for Wakanda expansion. Black Panther will finally be playable and we’ll get a brand new story to play through alongside additional missions. We’ll get our first full look at the character in action during the game’s latest War Table video. To prepare us for the character’s release, we got various videos hinting at the backstory of T’Challa, the Dora Milaje, and Wakanda.

    The latest offers more clues on Ulysses Klaue’s motivation and even reveals a sequence where T’Chaka fought alongside Captain America in the Second World War. We find out they fought against Ulysses Klaue’s father, whose legacy carries over into the DLC. This small detail serves more than just world-building, but might also have bigger implications for the game’s future than we might think. It may be our first hint at the introduction of HYDRA into the game’s universe.

     

    Klaue will introduce the game to a new enemy faction. While it seems he is acting in the name of AIM, it was never confirmed if his team of goons gets a unique name. I do not believe War for Wakanda will introduce HYDRA as the main faction, but I do think it’ll potentially give us the first seeds on their inclusion in the game’s future. Ever since the Cosmic Cube dropped, we’ve gotten more hints at familiar villains joining the franchise’s world. It might be possible the ending of this story arc is the beginning of their introduction.

    Klaue utilized resources from an underground HYDRA, who’ve been building their army in silence. They’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take action. He is chasing after vibranium for Monica, who vanished after the events of Cosmic Cube. So, he might need a new buyer and there’s someone on the market, who was waiting for the perfect opportunity. They did share a connection in the comics as well. It would be the perfect jumping-off point for their introduction into the game. The War Table will drop in a two-hour event hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and Ms. Marvel voice actress Sandra Saad on August 16h at 10 AM PT.

    Source: Twitter (War Table), Twitter

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Reveals UI Relaunch for Black Panther DLC

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Reveals UI Relaunch for Black Panther DLC

    It looks like the upcoming Black Panther release will include quite a bit more than expected. In the latest Marvel’s Avengers stream, Crystal Dynamics assembled alongside their UI director, who offered a closer look at their complete revamp of their menus. A big takeaway from the stream is that this new layout got established to also further expand it with their plans for gear and other additions to the game.

    The first major change to enable this was to create the possibility of a Loadout, which has been a highly requested feature since the game launched. They did confirm that the function won’t yet be available with the launch of War for Wakanda, but it will follow. It’s the first step to enable its functionality. Here’s the first look at the new character UIs:

     

     

    The first takeaway is how they centralized all options surrounding your character are. So, your loadout is not just a specific gear set but also what takedowns, emotes or skin you want to support that specific design. That’s not all, as we also have a more visual flair depending on which character you play, as when you switch characters, it’ll change the overall color layout. We also got a better look at Black Panther in the stream and his color template.

     

     

    The entire set-up is grid-based moving forward, and everything was united here. Skills are currently a separate element, but will also play into the structure of the Loadouts moving forward. It also is optimized to allow D-Pad use, which has been requested a well. There’s also a noticeable gap with skins and gear, which could hint at some future planned expansions. There’ also the naming of “Emotes” and this set-up will enable the inclusion of an emote wheel in the future. If you want to manage your gear, you can do it in a separate menu.

     

     

    They’ve upgraded the number of gear pieces you can keep. So, it’s now eleven pieces rather than the usual nine. You can also access the storage at any point in this menu and are no longer dependent on going back to the Helicarrier to access it. The true highlights here are the options to lock gear. So, you no longer can accidentally delete it. You can now also just hold a button to go through all gear, rather than doing it individually. They’ve also included the mass dismantling function alongside a mass moving option to add it into the storage. So, gear management was given a complete overhaul. They also added pulsating arrows to let you know instantly what gear you can upgrade.

     

     

    Furthermore, they’ve acknowledged that the text was too small. So, it’s now given a bigger spotlight and is also not hidden away in other menus. It’ll make going through the various Codex entries much easier instead of leaning forward on your couch. The overall UI changes will affect multiple sections of the game, as they even updated the Faction

     

     

    Yes, you no longer have to switch between machines to select your Faction missions. It’s all accessible through one computer, and it’s uncertain if there will be a new icon to highlight this option. It’ll take some time to adapt to the changes, but it’s very promising to see these adaptations moving forward. Crystal Dynamics said this is the first step towards a lot more functions and adaptations.

     

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Offers First Look at Black Panthers Comic-Inspired Outfits

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Offers First Look at Black Panthers Comic-Inspired Outfits

    After a brief hiatus, Marvel’s Avengers came back with a vengeance. The latest developer stream featured Crystal Dynamic’s Lead Character Artist. He gave us some insight into all the work that goes into creating these characters, which you can watch lie alongside some showcase of the details made to bring the Vibranium weave to life.

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1421218782744301568?s=20

     

    Let’s take a closer look at the various new comic-inspired costumes that were featured in the game. They started with a costume that initially showed up in a trailer for a few seconds. The Most Dangerous Man outfit was inspired by Kasper Cole’s time as the character, who was a New York police officer. He stole the costume without having any abilities. The artist pointed out that the toughest part was to make the long cape work due to how specific their engine’s physics work.

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1421216919726723078?s=20

     

    The next outfit is Black Panther in his king uniform. Yes, it is an actual playable skin in the game and not just used for cutscenes. What stands out is that T’Challa always has rings on his hands that he can use as claws to fight. It’s a Crystal Dynamics original design, but it takes inspiration from the character’s many iterations.

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1421219148886159363?s=20

     

    The next design is strongly inspired by Jack Kirby‘s original design from 1966. CD confirmed that they included the skin after seeing everyone’s excitement for him having a cape. They also teased that you’ll get a good look at every detail while using photo mode in the game.

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1421221857181769729?s=20

     

     

    Last but not least, the Strategist outfit is inspired by the 2010 run Black Panther: Man Without Fear. In it, T’Challa lost the abilities of the heart-shaped herb and still protected New York City during Daredevil’s absence. This version of the outfit includes many pockets to utilize the different tools while lacking his usual abilities.

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1421222994966454278?s=20

     

    The showcase of Black Panther in action also confirmed that he will not use a spear in action, but his claws. When the initial reveal of Christopher Judge in the role featured mainly pictures of him wielding a spear as a weapon. The heavy attack animation also showcases a special purple animation that showcases his attacks.

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1421224093475655680?s=20

     

    We’ll get a closer look at the costumes in a blog next week, alongside the first emotes. A Wakanda Forever emote was teased by the developers. We also can expect more outfits and even gameplay through their Social Media in the coming weeks as we near his August 17th release.

    Source: Twitch via Twitter

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: New Story Details Revealed for Black Panther’s ‘War for Wakanda’ Expansion

    We’ve finally gotten the confirmation on when Black Panther will join Marvel’s Avengers. He is releasing on August 17th and will be fully playable alongside a unique story titled war for Wakanda. In the past few weeks, we got some teases of the story and even a word from his voice actor, God of War’s Christopher Judge. With the official release date, we also got a bit more details on what the expansion entails, which was called the biggest content drop since the game initially launched last year.

    The official press release by Square Enix confirms that the free update will get a special War Table showcase that includes trailers and insight into the expansion on August 16th. We’ll also get an in-game event that will also add to the overall world-building, which is a curious tease. We also get our first story summary, which teases betrayal in T’Challa’s future.

    The story of the free War for Wakanda expansion revolves around King T’Challa, the Black Panther, devoted protector and current ruler of Wakanda. Blindsided by a betrayal and the resulting tragedy, T’Challa finds it difficult to entrust his duty to anyone else, even his sister Shuri, while also confronting those who wish to do Wakanda harm. When arch-villain Klaw’s forces threaten Wakanda’s safety, T’Challa must take the fight right to them to defend everything and everyone he holds dear.

    The mission will let you explore the jungles of Wakanda and various new environments, which were teased in an exclusive developer stream some weeks ago. To celebrate, the game also offers a free-to-play weekend from 29th of July up until the 2nd of August on PlayStation, Steam, and Stadia. All players get a resource grant, and you earn XP four times faster than usual. A new PlayStation tweet offered a tease of the new content:

    Source: Square Enix Press, Play Avengers, Twitter

  • Taking on ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ First Omega Level-Threat and the Super-Adaptoid

    Taking on ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ First Omega Level-Threat and the Super-Adaptoid

    We’ve been covering Marvel’s Avengers for quite some time now. Ever since the beta was released, we have been taking a closer look at the stories surrounding the controversial game. It had a rough release with a plethora of content getting delayed as it tried to fight through California wildfires and the pandemic on top of everything. After around eleven months, the first Omega-Level Threat has finally arrived alongside quite a few new and returning additions to fill out the summer. It isn’t the initially promised Cloning Labs but the second introduced OLT, Family Reunion. It’s a reworked version of a mission released with Kate Bishop’s DLC in December. After its initial release, I had the chance to tackle the OLT with friends to see if it keeps its promise of the game’s most challenging content.

     

    Marvel's Avengers gets first Omega Level Threat and multiplayer Mega Hives | EGM

     

    Crystal Dynamics has openly discussed that this OLT will feel “old” to the latest Villain Sector focused on AIM’s Monica Rappaccini. It is mainly a reworked version of the original mission that premiered in December with some tweaks. The new modifiers offer a different level of challenge as you face the Tachyon timer, which was never a big deal. Enemies are spawned very frequently with unflinching armors that sadly restrict you from making full use of your character’s juggling capabilities. On the flip side, you also make it difficult to just one-shot the various AIM bots and Keepers. It’s not a perfect solution, but it did force me to communicate closely with my teammates to ensure I don’t die or we run out of time.

    The true challenge is two-fold. The giant AIM mech is way faster than before and quite difficult to take down. It was a pleasant surprise and was a blast coordinating with others to take out its different weak spots. Then comes the true challenge of the game, the new Super-Adaptoid fight. At first, you can take a good chunk of damage off of it, but then it splits into multiple clones, and chaos ensues. We’ve probably got wiped around six times in the Super-Adaptoid fight, as we slowly adjust to the new moves. Even knowing what was coming didn’t make it any easier. My Thor had no chance and got knocked out frequently, as I have casually just looked for gear that I felt gave me good stats. It was a blast playing with my team and taking on the mission in a new way, as I mostly played solo until today.

     

    Marvel's Avengers Kate Bishop DLC content cut in new delay | Metro News

     

    Yet, the loss was exhilarating as we’ve kept getting closer and closer to beating the Adaptoid. Few shared their frustration with the mission, but I believe it does what it promised. It’s not perfect, as it does feel strange to remake an older level instead of adding something new, especially after a long delay. It’s even the small things such as reusing the old visual icon on the War Table rather than making it stick out as a unique mechanic. It truly feels like an element of an earlier era for the game, as it was still finding its footing as a service offering.

    The one thing I want to commend both the OLT and the Cosmic Cube Villain Sector, they’ve changed the way I played the game. I no longer use whatever random gear I get but sit down and go through each piece. As a more casual player, these new additions put me in a situation where gear matters. Yes, the gear doesn’t stick out as it could in the game, but the latest additions did make me sit down and think about what I want to do with my gear. So, I want to praise the game for pushing me to rethink my approach to it even 200 hours into my overall run.

     

    Marvel's Avengers Warbot Boss Mission Agony And The Ant Hill | Marvel avengers, Avengers images, Adventure video game

     

    Overall, I think the OLT was a great addition. It certailny isn’t perfect, as it could’ve benefitted from some surprises, and it’s time to test out new elements on how to add challenges besides through specific modifiers. They teased that future content will be closer to Cosmic Cube, which took me quite a few tries before I was able to finish it. It was a lot of fun coming together with friends online and take on this mission. If this is just a taste, I am hopeful and excited to see what the future holds for the game. I still hope that we get more randomization that can add to the challenge and even catch players off-guard. Here’s hoping Black Panther’s War for Wakanda update adds some new modes to extend the endgame in the future. Still, it’s a great first step, and it’s a great warm-up ahead of what they described as their biggest content drop to date.

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Details for July’s OLT Update Teases Super-Adaptoid’s Return

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Details for July’s OLT Update Teases Super-Adaptoid’s Return

    It’s been a long wait but the first Omega-Level Threat is getting released next week. Marvel’s Avengers has been teasing the endgame content since it was released. Sadly, the pandemic and a rough release had other plans and it continued to get pushed back. While the original Cloning Labs are still in limbo, Kate Bishop’s long-promised OLT got a release date. Now titled “Family Reunion,” we’ll return to the iconic mission with a brand new level of challenge. Crystal Dynamics shared a new blog post with more insight into what we can expect alongside the new trailer.

     

     

    Alongside a new Omega Exotic gear, the mission will provide players with weekly rewards when finished. It is multiplayer only and also includes the Multiplayer Mega Hives that include new Hivemind gear. The big takeaway from the OLT is that this is simply a template to introduce more challenging versions of content. It’s the same mission as Family Reunion that is more challenging. The big changes lie in the fight against the Super-Adaptoid who will feature new abilities. Some modifiers add to the challenge and you’ll face a Tachyon Rift timing.

    CD teases that this is merely a glimpse into what is coming with the future. Wakanda will get an OLT that features unique challenges and even enemies that push the story further. So, we should just see this as the beginning of that new direction. The update will go live on July 27th and there is still time to get a group of friends together to prepare for what is promised as the game’s biggest challenge. The game will also be free-to-ply from July 29th until August 1st on PlayStation 4, PS5, Stadia, and Steam. Xbox players will get it at a later date.

    Source: Play Avengers, YouTube, Twitter

  • Debra Wilson, Steve Blum, And More Join ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Black Panther Expansion

    Debra Wilson, Steve Blum, And More Join ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Black Panther Expansion

    Next month, Marvel’s Avengers will release its first expansion War for Wakanda. We’ll get introduced to a new Wakanda and Christopher Judge as T’Challa. We got a brief voice line from Klaue, who’s the main antagonist of the expansion in the first trailer. It hinted that the iconic Steve Blum joined the project, but there was no confirmation. Luckily, they took to Twitter and revealed the voice cast for the upcoming expansion, which includes Debra Wilson, Erica Luttrell, Dave Fennoy, and, as theorized, Steve Blum.

    The game has been piling on a memorable voice cast since the game first got revealed in 2019. The above-mentioned will join Christopher Judge in bringing this game’s version of Wakanda to life. It got confirmed some time ago that everything in this expansion will fit the new environment. So, they didn’t re-use any assets to ensure it’s a whole new world that the Avengers are about to enter.

    We got some teases by Evan Narcisse and Hannah MacLeod that we’ll see a unique dynamic between the characters. T’Challa and Shuri aren’t as close as they are in the movies. His time on the throne has given him a very different view of Wakanda’s future, which will lead to many conflicts. Okoye remains loyal to Wakanda but will still voice her opinion quite openly. Dave Fennoy‘s Zawavari is still a mystery and might have a minor role in the story.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Hints at Black Panther’s Backstory Ahead of ‘War for Wakanda’ Expansion

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Hints at Black Panther’s Backstory Ahead of ‘War for Wakanda’ Expansion

    The latest Marvel’s Avengers dev stream was quite an event. Not only did we get to chat with Christopher Judge on his approach to bringing Black Panther to life, but also some insight into the story by Evan Narcisse and Hannah MacLeod. They offered some interesting details on how they approached the story and the relevance of clearly defining this worlds’ Wakanda alongside its history. Here are some of the highlights from the dev stream:

    • Narcisse worked as a narrative consultant on the project. His work was to find the combination between the story and its game mechanics. He ensures that they satisfyingly inform each other and everything is told holistically.
    • Their focus was to follow an older version of T’Challa. In comparison to other versions, they wanted to dive deeper into his intellectual and scientific side. He likes to think things through before jumping into danger.
    • There was a lot of pressure following the films’ well-established version of Black Panther and Wakanda.

     

    Marvel's Avengers on Twitter: "One more day until #SquareEnixPresents! Here's a screenshot to whet your appetite.… "

     

    • CD was inspired by the concept of a superpowered state that was the main focus of the Enemy of the State comic storyline. When a nation is highly advanced, diplomacy might never be such a simple answer. Wakanda will face its biggest threat in the upcoming expansion and that will further explore the aftermath in a nation that believed it was untouchable.
    • T’Challa isn’t just a king. He is the living embodiment of Wakanda’s symbol. The Black Panther is a heavy burden to carry and it will inform his character. Plus, he’s been carrying this weight for some time. His worldview also puts him in conflict with Shuri. An event has shaped a crater in their relationship, which will get explored in the story.
    • He’s much more of an isolationist and is carrying some anger. He is still in control of his emotions, but it’s only a question of time before he hits his limit.

     

    Avengers Game: Black Panther Release Date Revealed With Free DLC

     

    • Klaue is also a unique adaptation in the game. He isn’t a mercenary or would-be colonizer. While his obsession with Vibranum remains, this version of the character is a scientist. He built his technology and is using AIM’s gear to his advantage.
    • They’ve explored the Dora Milaje history to inform their relationship with him in the game. In the comics, they were not only warriors but also concubines. So, Okoye has some traits from the films, but they tried to balance her respect towards her king in a curious way.
    • McLeod and Narcisse shared their experience tackling this ever-expanding story and confirmed that many stories get mapped out simultaneously. Their team works together on each operation, and it helps to put together how the story continues to evolve.

    It sounds very promising what Crystal Dynamics cooked up in their writing team. They teased more insight in the following weeks ahead of his release. We’ll get a gameplay showcase and even some hints on what to expect with the War for Wakanda expansion. The unique approach to the character is promising, and it feels like we’re about to enter a new era for Marvel’s Avengers.

    Source: Twitch