The Marvel's Avengers beta brings with it a Helicarrier's worth of content for eager fans to sink their teeth into before the full game releases next month. It includes a smattering of different activities for players to try out, including three wave-based training rooms (called HARM rooms), five multiplayer-focused War Zone activities, several smaller encounters called Drop Zones and two full-length hero missions starring Hulk and Ms. Marvel, which we were able to play early.
The first of the two hero missions, titled "To Find Olympia," sees Hulk and Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel searching the pacific northwest for Tony Stark's Olympia Archive and the missing A.I. JARVIS. It's a great introduction to both Kamala's character and her role in the overarching plot while providing an action-packed first look at how the game's story missions actually play out.
Finding the Olympia Archive
The mission begins with Bruce Banner and a young Kamala Khan arriving in a seemingly tranquil forest somewhere in the Pacific Northwest searching for a hidden Stark Industries facility called the Olympia Archive. The two are on a quest to reassemble what's left of the Avengers after the disastrous events of the game's opening sequence. They believe that recovering Tony Stark's A.I. companion from the Olympia Archive will give them their best chance of locating the rest of the team.
The beginning of "To Find Olympia" is fairly straightforward, as players control the Hulk in a series of battles against the game's antagonistic A.I.M. soldiers in what amounts to a more detailed version of the tutorial on the Golden Gate Bridge. You'll smash your way through several waves of enemies while learning several useful abilities, all while enjoying Kamala Khan's hyperactive reaction to the prospect of meeting her childhood heroes.
Just follow the linear path, and you'll eventually find yourself at the entrance to the Olympia Archive. Here, you'll face a mob of slightly tougher enemies before busting down the front door and charging straight into the A.I.M.-occupied facility with Ms. Marvel closely following your trail of destruction.
The Incredible Hulk
The next section once again puts you in the over-sized shoes of the Incredible Hulk as you barrel your way through the building, clearing it floor by floor, while facing increasingly more difficult combatants as you near the top. And while much of the mission was a breeze up until this point, the introduction of some new enemy types, like shielded A.I.M. soldiers and wall-mounted turrets, make for some particularly tough encounters that will require you to employ every ability you've learned so far to survive.
The best way to stay alive when things get hectic is to stay aware of everything going on around you. Keep an eye out for the blue or yellow circles that indicate an attack you can dodge or parry, and be sure to constantly stay moving so that those pesky turrets have a hard time landing their shots. Also, watch out for the green and blue containers that are littered throughout the facility, as breaking these open will heal your character's resolve and can really save you during some of the more chaotic battles.
Once you've reached a wide-open area and reunited with Ms. Marvel, you'll come face-to-face with a mech-powered soldier and his cronies. Defeating them will trigger a series of explosions that send Hulk plummeting into the abyss as players take control of an inexperienced (and now very much alone) Ms. Marvel.
Ms. Marvel's Debut
A surprising and welcome addition to the main cast, Kamala controls quite differently from Hulk and has her own specific strengths and weaknesses. She's able to enlarge and stretch parts of her body at will, giving her the ability to punch enemies with her massive fists or swing from the environment with her rubber-like arms. This makes her significantly more agile than the Hulk but not quite as strong, forcing players to approach battle in a much more strategic manner than the big guy's more direct methods.
After activating a series of panels and fending off several waves of encroaching AIM soldiers, you'll eventually find yourself in a secret room containing Tony Stark's hidden stash of Avengers memorabilia; Kamala, who grew up idolizing these heroes after the events of A-Day, wanders around the room in awe while fangirling over things like a prototype of Iron Man gauntlets and a portrait of the team from their glory days.
It's one of the best moments of the entire mission that culminates with Kamala's discovery of the JARVIS drive they've been searching for. But before she's able to make her escape with it, she's confronted with the terrifying sight of Hulk's old nemesis: Abomination. Luckily for Ms. Marvel, Hulk finally manages to catch up at the perfect time and tackles Abomination just as he's about to turn our young hero into a pancake. They tumble through the floor and eventually face off in a wide-open arena that serves as the stage for the mission's climactic boss battle.
The Abomination Boss Fight
Defeating Abomination is tough, but doable as long as you put all of Hulk's moveset to use during the battle. Instead of charging in head-on, you should first wait for Abomination to attack, then dodge just as the circle appears. This allows you to break through his defenses and get in a few good hits before he's able to block your attacks again. Keep up this method and whittle down his health until he turns bright green, which appears to be a form of radiation that damages Hulk if you get too close.
At this point in the battle, wait for an opening when Abomination stops glowing and begin unleashing your hero abilities to do major damage and end the fight as quickly as possible. You'll likely take a lot of damage during this phase, so hit Abomination with everything you've got and take him out before you succumb to his toxic green aura. Doing so will end the fight, as well as the mission, with an incredibly satisfying take-down that only Hulk could pull off.
Overall, the "To Find Olympia" hero mission is a fantastic way to introduce beta players to the game's structure while providing a promising first look at the quality of storytelling and fan service that fans can expect from this new take on their favorite heroes. With instantly likable characters in Ms. Marvel and Hulk and entertaining set-pieces sprinkled throughout, this early look at Marvel's Avengers hints at greater things to come in the full game.
Developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix, Marvel's Avengers arrives on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia and PC on Sep. 4.