Not long after former Blizzard Entertainment developers announced that they were working on a new Marvel game, the official Marvel Games’ Twitter account updated its profile picture (above) that fans believe is hinting at a new Fantastic Four game.
While many are convinced that this logo has something to do with Fantastic Four, some believe that it could be referring to the rumored Marvel vs. Capcom 4. It’s also quite possible that Marvel Games isn’t teasing anything at all but wishful thinking doesn’t hurt!
Hearthstone developers’ new studio, Second Dinner, recently secured $30 million worth of investment from NetEase for its Marvel project, which has been in development for six months already.
“I’ve worked with Hamilton [Chu] and Ben [Brode] for years and they are exactly who we want making Marvel games,” said Jay Ong, head of Marvel Games. “They and the team they’ve assembled at Second Dinner have made some of the greatest games in history. And now, working with the Marvel Games team and playing in the Marvel Universe…it’s going to be Amazing! Or maybe Spectacular! Or Incredible! Or Mighty! Or quite possibly all of the above!”
Second Dinner is already looking for fresh talent, and is encouraging people to apply by offering “competitive salaries, insurance, 401k – all that real-company stuff.”
“The team is really excited to get some new perspectives on the game and some awesome folks to help design and build it,” added Brode, who is Second Dinner’s Chief Creative Officer.
We’ll update our readers when we have more information.
[Source: Marvel Games (Twitter) via ResetEra]
Marvel Games Universe
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Marvel Games Universe
It's a project – nay, a vision – still in its infancy, but let's imagine what the future holds...
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Black Widow
Gameplay: Third-person stealth
Inspirations: Splinter Cell, Hitman
Natalia Alianovna Romanova, otherwise known as Black Widow, is arguably one of the cult favourites of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as evidenced by the studio's plans to spin out a standalone movie featuring Scarlett Johansson's agent in a post-Cold War america.
Now imagine if that same story template was applied to a video game, what would that look like? A third-person stealth title imbued with the spirit of Splinter Cell or IO Interactive's excellent Hitman reboot.
At least that's what we're rooting for.
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Doctor Strange
Gameplay: Third-person action
Inspirations: God of War, Hellblade, Tomb Raider
I’m just going to go ahead and tip my hat in the direction of Chandler Wood, PlayStation LifeStyle's Senior Editor, who dreamed up the idea for a Doctor Strange title in the style of Sony's most recent God of War. How's that for an elevator pitch?
The story of Papa Kratos is naturally much darker than most, if not all of the Sorcerer Supreme's material. But if the Powers That Be decide to adapt something in the vein of, say, Triumph & Torment, in which Strange comes to blows with Doctor Doom, it could deliver exactly the kind of spectacular, mind-bending adventure that Marvel fans so crave.
Frankly, there's never been a better time to green light a Doctor Strange title. Just imagine gaining experience to unlock all of the spells and tricks lining the Sorcerer Supreme's arsenal.
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Rocket and Groot
Gameplay: Third-person shooter
Inspirations: Kane & Lynch or Ratchet & Clank
Okay, I'm bending the rules a little here to nominate Groot and Rocket Racoon, but come on! A Kane & Lynch-styled shooter centring on the galaxy's greatest duo (sorry, Han & Chewie) as they stumble from one bad decision to the next? Where do we sign up?
Failing that, there's always a possibility to play on Rocket's softer side and skew toward a younger audience a la Ratchet & Clank. And we all know how successful that formula can be...
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Venom
Gameplay: Open-world action
Inspirations: inFamous, Prototype
Dark, brooding, unsettling – three words one would use to describe the latest trailer for Sony's Venom reboot, in which Tom Hardy wrestles with the alien symbiote.
Now imagine if that same storyline, one that draws from "Lethal Protector" and "The Five Symbiotes" was dramatically expanded by way of a fully-fledged video game.
And just like inFamous before it, a Venom game could potentially toy with Eddie Brock's tentative moral compass, and how it slips and sways depending on the situation at hand.
It would certainly lay the groundwork for a branching narrative, too, but Eddie Brock is a more layered, nuanced character than Cole MacGrath (and Delsin Rowe, for that matter), so there's plenty of dramatic potential here.
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X 23
Gameplay: Third-person action
Inspirations: The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls
Now that Hugh Jackman's reign as Wolverine has come to an end, everyone is beginning to ask the question: who is capable of wielding the adamantium claws in his absence?
It's a toughie, but as James Mangold's Logan proved, X-23 is just as intriguing and morally complex as Old Man Logan.
Dafne Keen played the young, conflicted Laura on the big screen for a story that is probably the closest we'll get to a Last of Us movie in quite some time.
Speaking of Naughty Dog's magnum opus, an X-23 game would do well to borrow gameplay cues from The Last of Us.
Give me the same post-apocalyptic world of Logan, in which the mutant population is on the rocks, along with the survival-based gameplay that makes The Last of Us so special.
Or, failing that, once the Disney-Fox merger is complete, Marvel Games may well decide to adopt a narrative-drive template in the vein of Beyond: Two Souls. Either way, it's about time X-23 was given her due.
