It's almost time to find out if James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" can live up to the promise of all the trailers and clips Marvel's been showing off. Before that happens, though, Disney has a little treat for fans a few weeks ahead of the film's release.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon is a real-time, turn-based combat title starring the Guardians from the film — Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer and Groot. The game pits you against Ronan the Accuser and his goons in a race to find the five pieces of the "Universal Weapon."
To help your squad defeat Ronan, the game asks you to recruit new heroes to the fight, train and upgrade them, and eventually unlock special attack moves. You can customize your Guardians with distinctive outfits and gear, or you could unlock more powerful moves by partnering two characters like Rocket and Groot for a single attack.
A total of 25 heroes are able to be unlocked and played as, including secondary characters from the film like Yondu and members of the Nova Corps, as well as villains like Nebula and Korath. A few other Marvel characters put in appearances, too, including Hulk and Beta-Ray Bill, even though they're not typically connected to the Guardians. Story mode finds you using those heroes to fight Ronan across 60-some levels set on six different planets, while Arena mode is an open battlefield where you can engage in combat scenarios and hone your skills. Most of the villain characters are only playable in Arena mode.
One downer about the game is that it costs $5 right out of the gate on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone (Windows PC users can snag it for $8), which may bristle players who are used to getting these sorts of movie tie-in games for free. The flip side is that there are none of the dreaded in-app purchases that dominate so many mobile titles. On top of that, Universal Weapon doesn't require an Internet connection to play.
No need to worry that Universal Weapon might spoil the film's plot. Game producer Aaron Norstad told MTV News that it's a completely different tale, complementing the film while recreating none of its story beats. The game script was written by comics scribe Dan Abnett, who's written many "Guardians of the Galaxy" comic books.
Abnett also said that updates are planned that will include new content and upgrades to keep the game fresh.
