Hero Up . . . or Hero Down? A bit of both, really.
From the main menu of Super Hero Squad you have four options, the first of which is called "Adventure". This is the main story mode of the game, upon entering it there is just one mission available for play, called "A Fractal Fragmented!" (Prologue). Once you complete it six more missions then become available, which you can play in any order you choose. The missions include "Where Walk the Wild Men?" (Wolverine), "This Hunger: This Hulk!" (Hulk), "By Brother . . . Betrayed!" (Thor), "A Falcon Too Fast!" (Falcon), "Magnets! Missiles! Mayhem!" (Iron Man) and "In Reflection . . . Revealed!" (Silver Surfer). Upon completing these six missions you then unlock the final mission in the game, called "The Monstrous Mind of Doom!" (Finale). The characters in brackets beside each mission is the character you must use by default for that given mission, but for the Prologue and Finale missions you can use whoever you want out of those six main characters. When you are at the mission selection screen, which is where you will end up once you choose Adventure mode, a status screen will be displayed giving you an update on whichever mission you currently have highlighted. This screen will tell you if you've earned the SHS Certificate of Service (basically I think this appears if you've simply ever completed the mission before), give an update on whether or not you've found the Secret Token hidden in said mission (these are found in just the six main missions, not in the Prologue or Finale), which sidekicks you've completed the mission with before, and you'll also be able to toggle Easy Mode on/off. Once you've chosen which mission you want to play, you will then have to select which sidekick you want to accompany your character during battle. Usually there are between 3-4 different characters available for this selection on each mission, which come out of a pool including Ms. Marvel, Invisible Woman, Storm, Thor, Falcon, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thing, Captain America, and Nightcrawler. Once this is done you are whisked away to your mission and the action commences. Complete all eight missions and you've beaten the game, saving Super Hero City from yet one more of Dr. Doom's schemes!
The second option from the main menu is "Battle", which encompasses the game's secondary mode. When you first enter it you will be asked to select a profile (1-4) and then you are taken to the game selection menu. This menu is broken down in to two sub-modes, the first of which is called "Versus Battle". Once choosing this option you first select which character you want to control, followed by which character you want your opponent to control. You can choose from amongst the six main characters in the game, as well as up to fifteen other characters that you can unlock during play in Adventure mode. Once the characters are decided upon you then set the Match Type, which includes Rules (Score Battle, Elimination Battle, Time Battle, or Training Battle) and Options (for Score Battle play to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 points, for Elimination Battle count down from 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 points, and for Time Battle play for 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes). You can also set any player handicaps at this screen as well. The last step is to select which arena you want to fight in. Originally there are just four options, but there are up to eleven others you can unlock during play in Adventure mode. Once you decide on the arena you are then whisked away to your battleground to engage your opponent!
The other sub-mode is called "Squad Battle", but other than a bit of a different set up with the profile when you originally start the mode, I can't see how it differs from Versus Battle in any significant way. I think it may have something to do with playing with other people online, but I can't really be sure.
Third on the main menu we come to the "Options" option. It is broken up in to four sub-options which include Audio (adjust music volume, fx volume, and voice volume sliders, as well as toggle subtitles on/off), Controls (view the game's control scheme), Enter Code (enter any six digit cheat codes you might come across) and Cheats (toggle on/off any of the six unlocked cheats you may have accessed).
The fourth and final option on the main menu is "Extras", which is divvied up in to three sub-options. These include Arenas (view arena artwork), Characters (view character artwork) and Movies (view unlocked gameplay movies). You can also press the Triangle button at this screen to view the game credits.
While out and about in the environments of Marvel Super Hero Squad there are a number of things you should look out for. Earlier I mentioned the Secret Tokens that can be found in each of the main six missions (one per mission) in Adventure mode. Each time you find one of these tokens you'll unlock an additional character for play in Battle mode. You must also be aware of Fractal Shards, which are tinier versions of the main Fractals you are seeking out in this game. These are usually obtained (in Adventure mode only) by destroying environmental objects (such as rocks, crates, lockers, desks, barrels, vehicles, lightposts, etc.) or defeating enemies. The more you collect the more likely you are to unlock bonus content for Battle mode (I believe these shards unlock additional arenas, but I'm not exactly sure). You must also pay attention to certain crates that contain special Fractal Shards (they have a green colour and look more like crosses) that replenish your health. The final thing you need to be aware of are Power Shards, which are special coloured shards that increase your character's abilities for a brief period of time (in the areas of attack, speed, health, knockback, and object).
As for Super Hero Squad's game screen, it is very sparse, which is nice. In the top left corner of the screen is an icon representing the character you are currently controlling, with a yellow bar beneath it that summarizes it's health (once this bar is fully depleted you are dead and must restart at the last save point). When you collect Fractal Shards an icon will briefly pop up beside this display that indicates how many of them you've collected in total throughout your current mission. During cutscenes and game movies the subtitles are displayed along the bottom of the screen. As for Battle mode, during any of the match types the characters competing will have the icons that represent them lined up across the top of the screen, starting in the top left corner and panning to the right. The usual health bar appears also, as does a tally of how many points each character has scored during the battle (for the Score Battle, Elimination Battle, and Training Battle match types only). Finally, when you are competing in a Time Battle match type the clock appears in the bottom left corner of the screen.
There are four options you can access during the game when you bring up the pause menu. These options include Back to Game (resume the action), Quit Game (exit and lose any unsaved progress), Audio (same as the Audio sub-option you can access from the game's main menu), and Controls (same as the Controls sub-option you can access from the game's main menu).
Now we come to the game controls, which are a bit complicated. To move your character around his or her environment simply use the Analog button. You can double tap it to do a quick dash, and you can pull it back quickly in the opposite direction as you approach an opponent to initiate a block. As for the directional buttons, press Up to reset the camera, Left to switch control to your sidekick, and Down to fly down while in the air, interact with environmental objects or pick up items, and set up a takedown move. The X button is used to make your character jump or evade (double tap it to hover if you have a character who can fly, then press again to land). The Square button initiates your melee attack, whereas the O button initiates your reach or power attack (depending on the character you are controlling). As for the Triangle button, it is used to execute a chain/finisher move. You can string combos together by pressing the Square, O, and Triangle buttons in a row in various sequences. The Square and O buttons are also used to throw objects you may pick up from time to time. As for the L button, it is used fly up while in the air. The R button is a bit more complicated however. In Battle mode it is used to auto-select/change targets, or if you hold it down you can use it to free target. In Adventure mode it is used to lock on to a target (hold it down), and if you do this in conjunction with pressing the Analog button you can use it to aim manually. Finally, the Select button will hide/display player numbers (in Battle mode only), while the Start button pauses the game action.
The presentation behind Marvel Super Hero Squad is pretty solid, the looks and sounds within the game are both very well done. The game developers stayed very true to the show as the characters and their environments all look very consistent with what you'll see of them on TV. The visuals are bright and colourful, sharply defined for the most part, and the game artwork and cutscenes are also very well detailed. The sound is also very good, the music suits the game action perfectly and the voice acting is fantastic. I'm not sure if they used the same voice actors that are used in the making of the show, but nevertheless it's pretty seamless.
Now, despite how good the game looks and sounds, it is not without it's flaws unfortunately. In this case the cons outweigh the pros, if not in number at least in severity. On the side of good you have how well the game comes across audio-visually, and I also really like how much bonus material and unlockable content there is to be obtained. The length of this game is also a plus as there are eight total missions, none of which can be considered on the short side. Add in an alternate game mode and you will get some pretty good mileage out of MSHS. Now, as for the cons, the one I found most frustrating is the camera angles. When you get close to walls or ledges or other such places, the camera angle can do a quick flip flop, which really interferes with your character's movement. Also, when you get in to a tight spot somewhere the angle sometimes points more towards the ground and you can't really see what's going on around you. I didn't like some aspects of the control scheme as well. First of all I found it very complicated and random, with buttons having numerous functions but those functions sometimes not making sense, seemingly being better assigned to a different button, perhaps? As for the targeting system, it is pretty much useless, it doesn't work great at all. The final downside I can think of is that the game doesn't go about explaining it's workings all that well, both in the instruction manual and in-game. I have no idea at all how I'm supposed to unlock the remaining characters and arenas (you can also unlock alternative costumes, but I'm not sure exactly how that happens either) as there's no information on that process anywhere in the game (outside of the Secret Tokens). I also don't know what the differences are between the different Battle modes the game offers, there is no explanation of the distinction between them at all. A little bit more guidance in this game would have gone a long way.
In summary, despite some very obvious flaws and exclusions, Marvel Super Hero Squad is still a game worth playing. With how good it looks, how much fun it contains despite the issues, and how true the developers stayed to the Super Hero Squad franchise, those gamers who aren't extremely picky should be able to overcome and enjoy the game for what it's worth.