Marvel Contest of Champions

Overall Opinion: Through its presence in both film and TV, Marvel Comics has become one of the most well-known intellectual properties, and Marvel Contest of Champions looks to make the most of that appeal by giving players a wide selection of Marvel characters and test their combat prowess in one on one battles. Contest of Champions casts you in the role of a Collector, tasked with collecting the most powerful heroes and villains available and testing their strengths in the arena. It might not be the most stirring narrative, but it facilitates the collectible driven style of gameplay admirably. The cosmic nature of the setting leaves you with dozens of characters to amass, and most of these characters offer variants from other forms of media and alternate universes. Gameplay within the arena resembles a very stripped down variant of a console fighting game. Characters have access to extensive move sets that include special moves with cool down timers, but almost all gameplay can be handled with a simple tap or swipe of the screen. A combo attack system is in place that rewards players for mixing up heavy and strong attacks with blocks and charged attacks, but in the heat of battle, it's often just as easy to rapidly button tap your way to victory. If the combat itself is lackluster, that's because it doesn't constitute the core mechanical loop of the game. Playing to some of the most popular standards in mobile gaming, Contest of Champions is centered around developing and evolving your ever-growing cast of Marvel characters. The combat itself relies on a rock, paper, scissors system of strengths and weaknesses, meaning that you need a varied and well-balanced roster to be successful. Progression is less about the thrill of combat in the moment and more about the development of your roster. Characters grow stronger and develop more powers as you use them in battle, and each individual fight in the arena is another step towards the next level. The design work is strong. Contest of Champions uses nice looking three dimensional models on a two dimensional plane, again mimicking the standards of popular console fighting games. A variety of backgrounds, pulled from throughout the Marvel universe, are available as arenas, and the extensive selection of characters reflect their looks from comics, film, and TV. This level of personality doesn't always extend to the minute to minute game though. A lack of substantive voice work somewhat minimizes the personality of the different characters, and their distinguishing values in battle often come down to variations of the same moves and special attacks. This is a free game with monetized elements. It's fairly generous about creating a path to success to players who don't want to spend money, but there are options to immediately increase your stamina or get more chances for pulling characters if you'd like to spend real cash. Both player vs. event and asynchronous player vs. player options are available.

Pros: A diverse range of characters pulls deep from the Marvel catalog Fluid animation and attractive 3D graphics Free to play

Cons: Monetization can create a gap between big spenders and free to play players Gameplay in the arena is somewhat repetitive Characters can become repetitive