Last night, Gazillion surprised Marvel Heroes fans with an exclusive sneak peek at Advance Pack 3. We recently speculated on who might make the cut, and I think we did an OK job. Many of our picks made the roster, but that roster is also one character short than we anticipated (seven instead of our anticipated eight). For me, 2016 is going to be a bittersweet year for new characters. Truth be told, I’m a huge fan of most of the picks, but like anyone else, I’m a bit disappointed some of my most anticipated characters didn’t make the cut. There is hope, as the seventh character hasn’t been revealed (or decided on?) yet, but I’m curbing my expectations.
So, is Advance Pack 3 meh? Or awesome? Let’s dig through the list of new faces.
ANGELA
As I noted in last week’s piece, Angela just doesn’t do a whole lot for me. I mean, she’s got a great story and striking visual design, but I’m finding it hard to imagine what will really draw me to the character. Then again, I’m not a game designer, so maybe the folks at Gaz will surprise me here.
RATING: Meh.
BLACK BOLT
Sadly, there aren’t as many Inhumans on this list as I expected. In fact, there’s only one! But I suppose if you are going to make room for one Inhuman, it may as well be the King of Inhumans, Black Bolt. I’m pretty ecstatic about this addition. Black Bolt is a great character to follow through the comics (be sure to pick up Uncanny Inhumans!) and his destructive voice will offer a unique approach to dispatching your enemies.
RATING: Awesome.
GREEN GOBLIN
We nailed this one last week and I couldn’t be happier for it. Justice! Angela may have won the fan vote, but the Goblin, his Glider, and his bag of tricks are sure to spice the roster up this year. This is easily my most anticipated character on the list.
RATING: Awesome.
NICK FURY
No confirmation on whether or not Nick Fury will be the “Nickromancer” fans have been hoping for, but I’m willing to bet Gazillion won’t disappoint here. Despite my love for Magik, I’ve never had the desire to play her as a summoner and I’m not really a fan of any of the other summoners in the game. Nick Fury could change all of that. Calling in a bunch of SHIELD dudes, and who knows what else, sounds like a lot of fun.
RATING: Awesome.
ULTRON
I’ve always found Ultron to be one of Marvel’s most boring villains in the comics and I can’t say I was a fan of him on the big screen either (or the movie itself, for that matter). Needless to say, I’m not at all excited for this pick. For those of you who are fans, he could be a fun blaster summoner type á la Dr. Doom.
RATING: Meh.
ELEKTRA
For me, Elektra is problematic for the same reasons as Angela. The difference is that I am a huge fan of the character. I’ve always loved Elektra and it was a damn shame that Marvel had to cancel her awesome solo book, but what the heck am I going to be doing with her in game? I feel like I might enjoy leveling her and maybe even red prestiging her, but I can’t see a character as simple and straightforward as Elektra keeping my attention for long beyond that. That’s not to say that Gazillion shouldn’t add characters like Elektra (or Angela) to the game, but the pressure is really on when it comes to your yearly roster and this is doubly true when your roster is roughly half the size it usually is. Kudos on that, by the way. Quality over quantity!
On the plus side, maybe this is a sign Gaz will get the rights to the Netflix costumes.
RATING: Meh-ish?
I’ll be glad to eat crow later if she turns out to be awesome.
???
Who will our lucky number seven be? I’m hoping Gazillion leaves it up to a fan vote. Even though we did end up picking Angela last time, I have faith that the community will select someone more interesting this time around. There are some fan favorites that were left off of this year’s list and almost all of them would make for a great seventh pick.
It should come as no surprise that I’d want Angel/Archangel to make it in such a scenario, but I’d also be happy with Spider-Woman, Bishop, Ms. Marvel, or Quake.
WHAT ELSE?
Advance Pack 3 also comes with some other goodies, namely four new team-ups (Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales Spider-Man, and two TBD), and a timed exclusive enhanced costume: Iron Spider for Spider-Man. I’m one of those weirdos that runs most of his team-ups passive, so I don’t really get too excited for new ones, but boy oh boy am I stoked for that Iron Spider enhanced costume. Symbiote Spider-Man will always be my favorite, but Iron Spider is a close second. I can’t wait to swing around in red and gold.
WHAT’S MISSING?
Mutants. Like the comics, Marvel has been marginalizing mutants in video games due to their little spat with Fox over the X-Men film rights. It’s really a disservice to fans, but at least so far Marvel Heroes has been an exception to this trend. Personally, I’ve been dreading the possibility that this trend would also hit Marvel Heroes, and I’m not really sure how to read Advance Pack 3 with that in mind. Is Gazillion now unable to get approval for adding new mutant characters to the game? I sure hope not. But I don’t suppose we’ll find out anytime soon.
I’m holding out hope that AP3 looks the way it does for no other reason than Gaz really wanted to add these specific characters to the game, but I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief until Gaz announces a new mutant character.
What’s your take on Advance Pack 3? Will you be picking it up? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
