Marvel Heroes 2015 review: featuring Gambit… FINALLY

Gazillion Entertainment's Marvel Heroes 2015 is more of a re-introduction to the game to show how far it's come in a year since its launch. It's an action RPG with MMO elements, kind of like Diablo, which makes sense because the Gazillion CEO created Diablo and kickstarted the genre. It has an original story — scripted by Brian Michael Bendis — that combines super heroes from all of your favorite Marvel properties — including The Avengers, Spider-Man, X-Men, X-Factor, and Fantastic Four.

I'm not saying Marvel Heroes was a bad game when in launched in 2013. I had fun with the game despite its flaws. What I'm saying is that it took a year to become the game I hoped it would be. Marvel Heroes 2015 is the culmination of all the hard work and changes that Gazillion put in. So here's the good and the bad of Marvel Heroes 2015…

Most of the improvement with Marvel Heroes 2015 comes in the gameplay. Originally, kits felt like they didn't really mesh. Even when Gambit first released (my favorite character), he felt underwhelming. Not only are there tons of new characters and skins, but a lot of characters have had their kits reworked and have had powers added. Reworking their trees have made different builds possible, instead of the typical cookie cutter builds you were once forced to play. But characters aren't the only thing revamped; items, too, have been overhauled. There's tons of new gear in the game, and it gets thrown at you.

Whereas the game used to feel off-putting to solo players due to fluctuations in damage, that's since been fixed. It's entirely possible to solo most of the game if you want, but the game is also a lot of fun when playing in a group. Luckily, there are so many people playing that when you encounter that a boss, you'll more than likely have people helping.

And whether you're soloing or grouping, there's plenty of content that's been added. There are new difficulty modes for the story, cosmic terminals (which are boss runs that you can farm), raids, and X-Defense, an instance where you defend against waves of enemies. Other new additions to the game are Eternity Splinters that drop off of enemies and allow you to buy things that you'd normally have to purchase with real money, and the Omega System.

The Omega System is an alternate method of advancement. As you level up, and even at end-game, you'll be earning points that can be allocated into passive stat bonuses and other bonuses. There's a ton of options with these points as well. The last big addition I noticed was Team-Ups. This gives your hero a companion that's account-bound and usable on all of your characters. I've only used Spider-Man team-up, so I can't comment on the variety of Team-Ups available.

Aesthetically speaking, Marvel Heroes 2015 has a ton of detail. From the ability effects to the different costumes, Gazillion put in that extra effort to nail the details. I feel like there's still not enough variety in the environments, and levels/cities end up being monotonous. While the game has improved greatly, there are still a number of bugs, framerate issues and lag spikes that I've encountered.

With one character, I was stuck on a quest line that wouldn't let me complete the quest by clicking on an item after defeating a boss that wouldn't spawn. Without that, I couldn't advance to the next chapter. Also, the UI isn't very easy on the eyes. I feel like it's trying too hard when a simple approach to giving information would work so much better.

Make no mistake, Marvel Heroes 2015 offers a ton of content and hours upon hours of fun for free. Yes, free. While you have the option of spending real money on cosmetics, characters and boosts, you can earn a majority of it for free just by playing. Costumes and characters are hard to get when not paying, but you're never forced to pay money. Nothing will stop you from experiencing the game's content if you don't pay. It really seems that Marvel Heroes 2015 has found its way and is continuing to improve. It deserves your attention, and if you're a Marvel fan, it deserves to have you try it out.

You can follow Features Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. Or you can email him at LLiebl@GameZone.com.