TLDR
(For every review of a game in my blog, I'll have a TLDR section, which stands for "Too long, didn't read." Here I'll have a very short abstract of the review.)
Avengers Alliance is the best Facebook game I've played. It has a good storyline, and it really appeals to nerdy fans of Marvel comics like me. I give it an 85/100.
Avengers Assemble!
This game, based not only on the hugely successful Avengers movie of this year, but also on most of the Marvel Universe, is pretty much a free-to-play Facebook game. It's in the same genre of "social network" games as Farmville or Cityville from Zynga. That means you can play the game solo for a while, but to really progress, you need friends. (Friends give you "social currency" in the game, which is required to progress. Without friends, said currency comes much more slowly.)
Fortunately for me, I happen to have at least one friend who is actively playing the game with me, though we didn't really plan it that way. I don't even think I ever sent him a Facebook message about the game, or even a message saying, "Yo what's up? Haven't seen you in a while. Oh by the way how are you liking the Avengers game that we're playing?" I really should, though.
Map of friend's city, where I can collect daily rewards |
I have other inactive friends that I've connected to in-game, but just the connection itself also helps me. (That's why I also got my wife to play the game a little bit. She doesn't have to keep playing, and I'll benefit from being connected to her.)
The greatest heores on Earth
I'm a big Marvel fan, so it's a lot of fun for me to hire some of my favorite heroes, level them up, and use their powers against bad guys, some of them well-known villains from the Marvel universe. Here are a few of my favorites:
Tony Stark, the man, the legend |
Two words: OPTIC BLAST |
She doesn't have to be a telepath to know what I'm thinking ... |
Cool story bro
One thing that sets this game apart from the other social games is the storyline. It's not just fighting Marvel heroes against villains for no reason at all. Nor is the storyline a simple rehash of the Avengers movie. Instead (as far as I know) the story is completely original for the game.
Effect of The Pulse |
Who that total bad-ass? Nick Fury, ya damn right! |
By the way, the game also has a database of character and story info called "Marvel XP," which does a wonderful job expanding the world depicted in the game.
Marvel XP |
I choose you, Colossus!
Colossus giving poor old Bullseye a brass knuckle sandwich |
I guess it should be obvious from the screenshot that battles are turn-based and very strategic. It's a lot like Pokemon, except instead of pets, I have Marvel heroes. (Oh by the way, the guy in the upper-left corner is the "agent," i.e. the character that I myself play. Yeah, that's right, I play an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Buy new weapons. Like a kid in a candy store. |
The PvP pre-battle screen. I'm on the left, random player on the right. |
However, like all games that allow you to pay real money to get power-ups, truly competitive PvP isn't possible since it pretty much boils down to who spent the most amount of money. And if I did that, I wouldn't enjoy the fun of earning most of the rewards by playing the game and progressing. So yeah, PvP isn't for me.
Fortunately this game focused around PvE, or Player vs. Environment. Hence the storyline, characters, villains, missions, etc.
Bottom Line
Score screen after a victorious battle |
This is probably the most successful Facebook game I've played. It even got me to spend some money on it.
By the way, if you're playing the game, send me an invite. I can always use more AA friends. ;-)
Pros:
- Engaging storyline.
- Great graphics.
- Good pacing on the progression.
- Fans of Marvel comics like me will love it.
- Don't need to bother too many friends to keep playing.
Cons:
- Battles can get a little long and drawn out due to the slow pace of status texts that pop up.
My score: 85/100
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