Marvel's Avengers

Strength of character is carrying Crystal Dynamics’ ensemble adventure

The optics of Marvel’s Avengers have so far crumbled under the weight of scrutiny, but behind the scenes things are looking quietly confident. Yes, the singleplayer demo does look overly choreographed, stuffed to the gills with quicktime events. But amid it all, there are brilliant flashes of the fastidious and creative individuals behind it all.

After watching Thor’s hammer and Captain America’s shield bounce around rooms at their beck and call, we’re not entirely surprised to find ourselves shaking hands with Vince Napoli, the designer behind Kratos’ weighty, recallable Leviathan Axe. Next, we’re introduced to Shaun Escayg, previously creative director on Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. These are people with a track record of meticulousness, and Marvel has been all too keen to work with them, not against them. “We wanted to tell an original story, and they were in sync with us on that.” Escayg says, “I draft; I send to my team; my team drafts; we go back and forth with Marvel – it’s been very collaborative. And Bill [Rosemann, Marvel Games vice president] is always on my shoots, he loves to see the actors bring stuff to life.”