A must-play for true Marvel fans

BENGALURU : In terms of the gameplay experience, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is not something that we have never seen in the action-adventure game format. Guns go pew-pew, and there are way too many enemies — the usual spread. And as the game starts, it does little to make you feel included: with all-American references and excessive sci-fi jargon. However, 15 hours and when the game is almost done, the Marvel-indifferent gamer will find themselves apologising for how wrong they were. GotG has the best story in an action-adventure game I’ve played all year!

GotG uses the linearity of its gameplay to good advantage. It provides opportunity for character dialogues to be creepily sentient. Rocket (the pyrotechnic raccoon) holds a grudge against Peter the whole game, as revenge for the one time he accidentally offended him.

Dialogue choices have consequences in team performance in combat through the “Rally” option. The plot varies so vastly based on the aggregation of choices that Peter makes, underscoring the power of communication throughout the game. Simultaneously, it is hard to tune out of the cutscenes: Peter Quill’s upbeat attitude makes it awfully hard to get bored of conversation in the game. Every member of the Guardians has their idiosyncratic attitudes, that their stories keep us engaged throughout. 

With no real understanding of Marvel lore, I was quite clueless about the origins of Star-lord’s (aka Peter Quill’s) superpower. He had jet boots to make him fly, and a flashy pair of guns. Couldn’t anyone do what he does with the right equipment? But now, I am convinced that Star-Lord’s real superpower is being an amazing DJ. He is the king of space pirates, rallying his team by playing awesome music. His sea-shanty is ever-green ’80s rock. There’s nothing that numbs the repetition of non-substance combat like great music does. The excellent music choices alone, more than anything else, had me powering through 
the combat sequences in the game. 

This is not to say that combat in GotG is lacklustre. The combat upgrades and ending moves are fun and fights keep evolving as new moves get added through the game. It’s just that, it isn’t something spectacularly new for an AAA title, and the game has more redeeming factors that take the spotlight. GotG is a must-play for the already-convinced Marvel fan. For the potential Marvel universe enthusiast, GotG is the best way to consume this complicated sci-fi universe. The game released last week and is available across consoles – PS, Xbox, Nintendo, PC.

Anusha Ganapathi

 @quofles

(This economics graduate spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)