Xbox 360 Review: Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet

Iron Man, Hulk and friends join forces for this not so bad game…

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet continues the excitement of the original Marvel Super Hero Squad with an all-new storyline that follows Season 2 of the hit animated TV series as shown on Cartoon Network. With new adventures, tricky puzzles, an expanded selection of Marvel Super Hero Squad members to unlock and play as, Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet is set to thrill gamers from here to Super Hero City.

Marvel Super Hero Squad is your typical side-scrolling beat-em-up with the odd puzzle, almost like a Lego game in its style. It’s definitely one for the kids, but that doesn’t mean that older gamers won’t find it amusing to play as young versions of the superheroes we’ve grown up with. The story is pure ridiculous, full of clichés, cheesy one-liners and cameos from pretty much most of the Marvel characters. There is even DLC that adds even more characters for those that wish to do so.

You can play the game with a friend, or if you don’t have one to play with you, then your second player will be controlled by the AI, but you can switch between them with a tap of the back button. The story places predetermined characters together, but replaying the levels with a mix of characters will help you get all the hidden collectables and achieve each characters list of heroic feats.

The pattern of gameplay is pretty simple, enter a room with your ally, beat up the incoming enemies, search around for collectables, and then repeat the same in the next room. You will come across a few puzzles and boss battles to mix things up, but it’s all been done before. On the plus side, The Infinity Gauntlet can be quite a challenge…even for the older gamers thanks to the rather hard Challenging difficulty.

I guess if there’s a real problem with MSHS, it’s that it all feels too familiar and gets repetitive, quickly. It’s almost a carbon copy of the Lego Star Wars formula, except TT Games knew how to make a better game. Not to run down this brief, but enjoyable game…it just feels like I’ve been here before…Visually, the game is weak for a 360 title and looks like an upscaled Wii version. Still, there is some charm to be found in the character models, despite the lack of detail. Voice-acting is mixed, but the one-liners are pretty funny and younger gamers will simply enjoy it.

The Verdict

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet isn’t a terrible game; it’s actually quite enjoyable in small doses. It just comes across as very average compared to the likes of the Lego games. Younger gamers will have quite some fun with the game, just don’t go expecting it to amaze them.