Marvel Heroes is a brand new MMO from Gazillion Entertainment. It features a story written by Brian Michael Bendis, aka the new king of creating epic stories for Marvel comic books. It follows The Avengers team of Spider-Man, Captain America, Luke Cage, Wolverine, and Black Widow as they bounce around the world searching for a powerful tablet. This may sound like it should be easy for such well-equipped superheroes, but it turns out to be a daunting task to keep the tablet in sight.
The tale of Marvel Heroes is simple but engaging. Motion comic style cut-scenes tell the story, and features famous voice actors as familiar Supes. Drake Bell as Spider-Man, Nolan North as Deadpool, and Steve Blum as the fury fueled Wolverine. Each character will spill a quip out about another hero who is nearby, and most any heroes that encounters Deadpool just want his mouth to stay shut. Sound design is fantastic all-around, with key sounds like the “thwip” of Spider-Man’s web-shooters, to the “snikt” of Wolverine’s claws.
With such a riveting cast of characters to choose from, how did the gameplay pan out? Just think of any Diablo game, or even Marvel Ultimate Alliance and you have your answer. You set out into the world walking up on thugs and beating them to an inch of their life – unless of course you are Punisher or Wolverine, who leave bloodied corpses everywhere. This nets the character you are currently using loot and experience points to level up. Leveling up improves the chosen heroes strength and they can invest in various talents to upgrade or learn new moves.
Like many MMO’s on the market. Players can equip new items to make their character more durable or increase special attack functions. For example: Wolverine can place points in his healing factor from his talent tree, but he can also collect gear that buffs his healing factor a couple of points as long as he has it equipped. Players can even talk to Hank Pym (Ant Man) to use elements to add stat increases to armor and weapons. Not to mention, that players can swap to a different character at any time within the game.
There are a few downsides to playing Marvel Heroes, and a lot of it depends on how much you are willing to pay. Costumes and Characters are only purchasable by using Gold, which is only available by using real money. It’s also impossible to not look exactly like 30 other people running around on the field. You are going to see a bunch of the Hulk, Iron Man, and Caps scattered about the maps like roaches, that is inevitable. The sound will drop completely when transitioning back in forth between certain areas of the game. Oh, and the storyline is short; you may be able to knock out all the chapters in less than a week if you are speeding through it.
In the end, Marvel Heroes is a fantastic Free-to-play title for casual satisfaction. It highlights some excellent visuals of our favorite characters, combined with raw physics and a vibrant showcase of energy blasts and explosions. It was a treat to play as Spider-Man and all my favorites, but I am also a comic book nerd and love the “click until dead” system. Marvel Heroes receives a B+ from Geek Citadel. If you love superheroes, this title is right up your alley!
ave you ever wanted to brave the world by manipulating the elements? That’s what Element4l is all about. You start the game as a body of air and venture out to discover Fire, Ice, and Stone. These combined elements do not have any real goal other than to take in the sights of the earth. Multiple chapters deal with the parts of the human spirit, from Mind, Heart, Willpower and more.
The puzzle-platforming is structured around a crisp visual style; it reminds me of a similar game named Puddle. The world is shadowed out, and a vivid backdrop complements the shifting environment. Instead of a story of any sort, there are a few abstract cutscenes and wacky commentaries about your achievements or pop-culture. Beware though… behind its quirky aesthetic lies a puzzle title that challenges the mind and the limits of frustration.
Like a caring Mother at the beach, it holds your hand and guides you into the waves. It helps you learn to dip your head underwater, but after you submerge and wipe the salt-water from your eyes, you’ll look around for your helpful Mother frantically and realize she’s gone. In the initial stages, Element4l can be extremely brutal to play. It’s a steep learning curve to climb, but it’s worth it to learn how to solve some of the tougher challenges.
Without a doubt, you will cry out in anger a ton. It’s just the nature of the beast to grit your teeth and bear it. All of that frustration will stem from your personal failures as opposed to an ill-designed level. It’s pretty exhilarating, and there were quite a few times that I cheered in accomplishment. I will reiterate though, this game is not for the light-hearted, seriously, don’t play it if you don’t expect to restart continuously.
Element4l is a shining diamond in the dark when it comes to puzzle titles. The learning curve and difficulty will certainly be a turn-off to many, but it’s worth it if you’re fine with trial and error and repeating levels for a better score. Element4l receives a B+ from Geek Citadel. This extremely difficult title is amazing amounts of fun through bouts of frustration.
Actual Sunlight is a visual novel that follows the life of Evan Winters. He works a dreary day to day, and struggles deeply with depression. It stems from his rotund body and basic facial features. He lives alone in a depressing one-room apartment with a dresser that opens from the back. All that awaits him in life is his PS3, iPad, and a dusty Sony e-reader that once championed his dreams.
This is less of a game and more of a mature themed story with slight interaction. Depression and suicide are the main facets of the storyline. You lead Evan from object to object, and each interaction brings up text that expresses his thoughts. This can also lead to some developer commentary, or Evan having a dark conversation with his Doctor. His only true interactions are with his colleagues at work, and we will get to observe their lives through his despondent viewpoint.
This title is really a learning tool for those that don’t understand how another person could be ruled by emptiness. As a cheerful person, I was able to slip into the mind of someone who looks upon life with a bleak disposition. To take on his views as a worthless cog in the machine, unseen by women he cares about, or used by them as a friend and nothing else. His internal struggle against taking the drastic steps toward suicide or continuing to lead a dreary existence, teaches you to step back and look at your life with a new perspective.
The maximum resolution for this game is 640×480 and it clocks in at about 2 hours if you’re totally invested in it. This isn’t much of a video game, but more of an insight on how someone with pure self-loathing perceives themselves. It’s a learning experience and it may change your outlook on how you judge others in life. Actual Sunlight receives a B from Geek Citadel. This dreary visual novel is an enlightening piece of media that leads you on a path to self-destruction, and it never allows you to forget that when dealing with depression, life can be a downward spiral that is completely out of your control.
Actual Sunlight and Element4l were supplied to us by the developers!
