(I was always more of an X-Men guy.) The constant pop culture references can be grating, and most of the characters are selfish and short-sighted, even by Marvel superhero standards. But the truth is, the Guardians of the Galaxy are not exactly my favorite Marvel franchise. In any case, it’s difficult to judge a game I’ve played start-to-finish against one that I’ve played for only two hours. While Telltale’s combat is not exactly challenging, it did make for a much more memorable battle. In fact, in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, I gave my team a rousing pep talk as Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” started playing in the background - and then we were all gunned down by brutish enemies with nearly unbreakable shields. Every gunshot, sword stroke and narrow dodge syncs up with a pivotal moment in the song, making the battle considerably more stylish than the “shoot, dodge, wait for special attacks to recharge” rhythm from the upcoming action game. When you square off against the final boss, Heart’s “ Crazy On You” starts playing in the background. Since combat in Telltale games is also based on quick-time button prompts, the developers were able to do some cool things with timing. You don’t know who will live or die, or what else might get destroyed in the process. When Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon and Groot stand up to Thanos, Hala the Accuser or each other, there’s a real sense of danger and surprise. The relative scarcity of combat also gives fighting a lot of weight. Most of the five episodes have one big action scene toward the beginning and another one toward the end otherwise, the pacing varies a lot, from quiet character moments to intense chase scenes. As I mentioned in my Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy preview, I was essentially over the combat after two hours I’m not sure I want to play a whole game with that as its backbone.Īs an adventure game, Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy is more about choosing dialogue, making decisions, solving puzzles and simply immersing yourself in an interactive experience. Combat becomes background noise, and essentially loses all impact unless it’s against a particularly tough foe. While movies and comics use occasional action scenes to heighten the stakes or bring plot points to a head, most video games are all action, all the time, punctuated by brief cutscenes or puzzles. Generally speaking, video games have a different cadence than movies or comic books. But that’s not to say the game lacks combat - just that it uses combat sparingly. In other words, because combat is not at the center of Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy, it has the ability to focus on the character drama that’s at the heart of the comics. (Either way, I’ll never hear Dancing in the Moonlight quite the same way again.) Combat fatigue One moment toward the end of the game just about broke my heart, but I could have chosen to bypass it entirely. When your teammates rally to your side, it’s because you’ve built up a unique relationship with them - it’s not just a combat boost, as in the upcoming action game. Major character deaths hit especially hard, knowing that you might have made a different choice to prevent it. This won’t shock Telltale fans, but because you get to control where the story goes, the game can be surprisingly touching as well. Is it ethical for the good guys to control an object that has power over life and death? You’re allowed to say “yes” - and the story changes considerably if you do. Without a common threat to unite them, could the Guardians disband? Based on your choices, it’s a distinct possibility. What if squabbling siblings Gamora and Nebula could actually make peace? You’re welcome to try - and you might succeed. In other words, Telltale swapped “Can the Guardians defeat Thanos?” for the considerably more interesting, “Can the Guardians stay together without Thanos?”įrom there, the series to turn traditional Guardians lore on its head. But without the franchise’s most recognizable villain hanging over their heads, the Guardians find themselves lost and aimless. It’s not a fake-out or a misdirect the very first thing the Guardians of the Galaxy do is destroy one of the Biggest Bads in the Marvel Universe. In the very first episode of Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the team takes down the Mad Titan Thanos. While Telltale’s gameplay is admittedly nothing special (a dialogue-driven point-and-click adventure), it’s not afraid to pull the rug out from under the Guardians in the very first episode.īeware that spoilers for Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy ensue below: It’s arguably the lowest-hanging fruit for the source material.Ĭompare and contrast to Telltale’s take on the titular team. Besides, there’s nothing especially daring or unpredictable about making a third-person action game out of a superhero adventure franchise.
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