Marvel Super Hero Squad Online Review

Marvel Super Hero Squad Online is an MMO created by Gazillion Entertainment. The game allows you to play as you favourite Marvel Heroes while having the option to go on missions with friends and build up your team. The game looks to have been intended to include a really kid friendly attitude, employing a design which is easy to pick up and remember. So will Marvel Super Hero Squad Online appeal to the younger audience? Or is trying to target a younger age group not possible?

Gameplay
Marvel Super Hero Squad Online is a free to play MMO for the most part however it does enable you to get special items via Micro-transactions and gives you access to more exclusives items via the Junior Shield Membership. These can all be accessed through the in-game Shop where you can also purchase new heroes to add to your squad and items to be added to your headquarters.

From what I understood, MSHSO is a game which encourages you to collect various heroes, build their skills and basically build the ultimate team of super heroes. At the beginning you are given the choice to pick between two characters to start off with and then given a quick rundown of the game’s world and mechanics with the initial tutorial.

MSHSO adapts the point and click mechanics in which you control your character by clicking on a part of the world and then he or she will then go to that spot. You can also click and hold to have the character constantly follow you for better control and the spacebar is used to jump. At the same time while this control mechanic is available, the use of the W,A,S,D keys are also and that’s pretty much it, in terms of controls, I do however like its simplicity and what’s more simple then point and click right? Again the game was made for a young audience so this all pretty much comes together.

In order to get anywhere with MSHSO, missions need to be done and these can be accessed through the game’s environment hub or the hub on the bottom right of the player’s screen. Missions range in difficulty and at the beginning you will only have a few available to you with the rest having to be bought from the in-game Shop. At the Mission menu, you’re given the choice to pick which hero you’d like to undertake it and whether you want to team up with others online in order to complete it. It’s not always necessary, some missions definitely do require the help of others and while you may not earn as much XP, it does make things easier.

During the course of the game, you’re given the opportunity to pick up tickets which can be earned by defeating certain enemies or completing missions. These tickets can be used on the Prize Wheel which allows you to win Gold and Silver coins or other objects that can be useful to you. If you are a Junior Shield Agent, the Prize Wheel updates everyday with Gold prizes and once a gold prize has been won, it’s replaced with a silver one for 24 hours.

Graphics/ Sound
In terms of its visuals, Marvel Super Hero Squad Online is based on the recent line up of action figures by Hasbro; therefore the characters retain the toys more cartoony and friendly look which is clearly aimed at the younger audience, however the use of cell shading allows it to still stand out. Environments are not so expansive and are limited to a pretty small area of which there are several Zones that can be visited. As with the actual character models, the environments follow the same art style and stays consistent throughout.

Soundtracks vary depending where you are in the game world, therefore staying consistent with the current theme around you, however at times I did experience it awkwardly cutting off, only to return 7 to 10 seconds later.

Design
MSHSO features a design that allows for easy navigation to the different menus which can be accessed via in-game or on both the bottom right and left of the screen. These hubs as I’d call it don’t get in the way of whatever is happening on the screen and therefore don’t seem to cut the player off other then the fact that these menus can only be used with the mouse.

For a smoother experience, you're given the option to save the game’s files to your computer so things run as well as they can. Also you can adjust the graphical settings to best suit your system however even in saying this, the game seemed to be unstable most of the time as it would crash seven times out of 10 for me or wouldn't simply load up.

Final Verdict
Marvel Super Hero Squad Online is an MMO that waters down the Marvel Universe, so much that the younger among us can enjoy it. I like how they were able to translate the design of the toys and have them look the same in the game world and while this may not appeal to everyone, its sure to bring a new audience into the world of Marvel.

Gameplay = 5/10
Graphics/Sound = 7.5/10
Design = 5/10

Final We Know Gamers Score = 5.8/10
Had a chance to play the game? Tell us what you thought in the comments section below!

Marvel Super Hero Squad Online Review
Reviewed by Liban Ali
on Feb 01 2013

Rating: 5.8/10