Marvel Heroes 2016 Kicks Off With Secret Invasion

Gazillion has launched a new event for its PC MMORPG, Marvel Heroes. Titled Secret Invasion, the new story chapter is based on the huge Marvel event of the same name which occurred in the comics in 2008. The event sees the Earth be invaded by an army of Skrulls, who have infiltrated the planet by "replacing key figures in the super hero community and ostensibly other positions of power."

Creative designer and community manager Ryan Collins described the difficulties faced in integrating the story with the game, saying "As an Action RPG, it's definitely been a challenge to represent a story that's about intrigue and subversion where your primary action is clicking bad guys and shooting fireballs as opposed to dialogue trees and such. In general, I feel that we've really nailed the feel of Secret Invasion by ramping it up in terms of action. There is intrigue – you get bamboozled by a Skrull reveal pretty early on, as you can see in the motion comic you’re revealing, but there's also all-out war with an invading alien race."

Although the story is based on the Secret Invasion arc in the Marvel comics, it is not a direct translation of the comic books. Although Marvel Heroes is in its own place in the timeline and has its own universe, the Secret Invasion update will have themes and references to the original story portrayed in the comic books.

The update will also introduce visual changes by updating the look of several characters, including Captain America, Black Widow and Jean Grey. More new visual changes to the other characters will be rolled out over time. The game will also be getting more than 50 achievements on Steam, and new leaderboards will be introduced.

Marvel Heroes was first released in 2013 for PC. The game is a free-to-play MMORPG developed by Gazillion. The studio has been rolling out regular updates for the game, including a recent update which added the fan-voted character Magik to the roster. The update for Marvel Heroes 2016 is set to launch soon.