Square Enix has had a tough time getting their Avengers game off the ground. The title launched to reasonable popularity, with great praise surrounding the single-player storyline. However, the game's multiplayer looter components struggled to maintain gamers' attention, causing the player base to die off fairly quickly.
It was reported that the game has still yet to recoup the original development costs , which may be a factor in the slow, inconsistent updates. Prior to release, the developers promised continuous updates for years to come but five months after launch, only one major update has been put out.
The game's major content updates have been referred to as Operations, with the first and last being called Taking Aim. Avengers' first Operation introduced the Kate Bishop version of Hawkeye as the first DLC playable character , taking the team on a mission to rescue her mentor, Clint Barton.
Now that Clint has been rescued, the character is finally set to debut as a new playable character with his own set of moves and abilities in the upcoming Operation. Additionally, fans will be treated to a look at a post-apocalyptic future with a bearded Hulk.
OPERATION: FUTURE IMPERFECT REVEALED
Square Enix has released a new Deep Dive video highlighting new details for the next operation update, Future Imperfect, that features Maestro Hulk, Clint Barton, and others.
A new story trailer reveals Operation: Future Imperfect will take players to an alternate future where the Avengers were unable to defend Earth from a Kree attack and “all hope is lost.” The future timeline will include older versions of iconic heroes, including Hawkeye and the Hulk.
Clint's futuristic story will take inspiration from the Old Man Hawkeye comic series. The post-invasion world will see the character try to make up for his lack of involvement in defending the world from a Kree invasion by following a mysterious trail through the wasteland.
Meanwhile, the present-day storyline will take inspiration from the iconic My Life as a Weapon arc, also bringing in Clint Barton's fan-favorite dog, Lucky.
The story will have the Avengers take on a surprising new villain: Maestro — a version of the Hulk from the future who has absorbed excess radiation released by a nuclear war. Maestro has turned mad as a result of the radiation and has decided to rebuild the world in his image by taking down every hero and villain.
The futuristic wastelands will be a new region available on the war table, coated with deserts and Kree wreckage left behind from humanity's last stand.
Alongside a set of skills similar to Kate Bishop, Clint is equipped with new sword abilities inspired by his time as Ronin. Clint's special skills will include Quickdraw Reflexes to quickly dodge attack and a Dead Eye skill to focus aim at one enemy for increased damage. Additionally, the character will be equipped with a suite of new type arrows including a grapple, rocket, tripwire, and plenty more.
As with every other hero in the game, the latest character will be met with a huge suite of new skins and emotes, including a Ronin skin.
The new Future Imperfect content will be released on all platforms on March 18. Additionally, the update will bring the next-gen version of the game for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, which will deliver with it a host of graphical and performance improvements for the new consoles. The upgrade will be available for no additional cost to gamers.
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?
Players have been asking for Clint Barton's Hawkeye as a playable character before the game even released, so this is definitely a long-awaited addition that is sure to bring excitement to the game's dedicated players.
However, the Avengers game has had a tough time maintaining a sizable player base. The content showcased for the next update is welcome for the fans, but it appears to fail to resolve any of the major problems that have persisted with the game.
Most fans agree the biggest issue is the repetitive nature of the gameplay; the multiplayer components seem to re-use the same missions an infinite number of times, frequently repeating the story's Taskmaster fight.
Unless the developers manage to find a way to add more variety to the multiplayer, it's unlikely they will ever build a sizable fan base. Being the biggest film franchise in the world, the Marvel universe should be perfectly suited for a AAA video game, so it's a shame to see it not living up to the pre-launch hype.
Leaks have revealed plenty more characters are on the way to the game down the line, including Black Panther, War Machine, Quake, and lots more — with Spider-Man coming exclusively to PlayStation consoles this year.
Marvel's Avengers is available now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, with a release coming March 18 for next-gen consoles.