Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth

Did You Know?

• The story is narrated by Uatu.
• All characters appear as their Skrull counterpart during the campaign mode.

Gameplay

The game is inspired by the "Secret Invasion" storyline and features characters from it. Each character has three unique super powers that can be chained into combos. Motion gameplay is used to unleash super attacks, velocity boosts, breakers, and frenzies, utilizing the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or the Wii U GamePad's touch screen on the Wii U, and the Kinect sensor on the Xbox 360. The gameplay is presented in 2.5D from a third-person perspective. Players can unlock alternate costumes and collector cards throughout the game. There are four modes: Campaign, Versus, Arcade, and Challenges. To achieve 100% completion, players must finish the campaign, arcade, and all challenges. Combat challenges involve four characters, with two player-controlled and swappable at will, except in certain stages that limit movement and controls. XP is awarded based on match performance, raising the player's rank indicated by an icon. Campaign Mode has five levels, each with eight stages totaling 40 stages, with predetermined combatants and a loose narrative. The first four stages of each level must be completed before the final four stages of any level are accessible. Campaign Mode supports co-op play. Versus Mode is local two-player combat, where players select a stage, two characters, and optionally unlocked costumes. Arcade Mode lets players form a team of two unlocked characters in any unlocked costumes through ten battles, and also supports co-op. Challenges Mode is divided into Training, Characters, and Trials sections. Training offers limited scenarios to learn controls. Characters familiarizes players with each unlocked character's moves.

Development and marketing

A video game with the same name as The Avengers film was planned for concurrent release as a first-person shooter/brawler for Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows, published by THQ and developed by THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tongue Entertainment. After THQ closed both studios, the game was cancelled, and the intellectual property rights reverted to Marvel. In May 2012, Ubisoft partnered with Marvel to develop Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth for the Wii U and Xbox 360. Tony Key, Ubisoft's US senior vice president of sales and marketing, stated excitement about teaming with Marvel to bring iconic comic book characters to life in motion-gaming. The Xbox 360 version is similar to Ubisoft's earlier game PowerUp Heroes, but with expanded gameplay and improved gesture recognition.

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews on both platforms according to Metacritic. Official Xbox Magazine noted that while the game mostly works as advertised, occasional missed moves and finicky menus disappoint, along with a bare-bones campaign and limited fighting venues. EGMNow stated that the gimmicks quickly become evident and tiresome, especially for those familiar with the comic arc, but acknowledged surprising polish and that it is one of the few Kinect games where controls actually work. The Globe and Mail gave the Xbox 360 version six out of ten, saying the game tires the player out but cannot convincingly portray Black Widow defeating Thor. Common Sense Media gave three stars out of five, describing it as a fresh way to tackle a fighting game that gets players moving, though tiring after a while. Metro gave both console versions four out of ten, calling the Xbox 360 version one of the least worst Kinect games that year with mindless fun despite control issues, and noting that the Wii U version has slightly fewer control issues but less novelty.