Marvel Heroes began it life as a PC game in 2013 and now finally console owners will get a chance to play as well with the release of Marvel Heroes Omega on the PS4. Fans of free online action isometric RPG/MMO’s will see the resemblance to Diablo, which is no terrible thing. The game has undergone months of re-gigging and updates to make sure that it looks as good as it can on a console. The tutorial has you playing with the Hulk and Captain America, but I’ve decided to stick with Deadpool as he has a nice balance of kick-arse power and comedic moves.

Progression through the game is firstly by playing the lengthy story mode, which should bring your character to around level sixty. The game relies on you grinding to upgrade your character and killing minion is an effective way to gain more experience points as well as progressively better equipment. It's worth taking the time to do this as the boss fights get harder the further you go in story mode.

In story mode, you are sent on many quests, the ultimate end is to stop Dr Doom from using the cosmic cube, the game's story has been penned by comic book writer, Brian Michael Bendis. This makes more sense on the PC version which has more extensive cut scenes. Each of the progressions gets you an animated cut scene reminiscent of the game's comic book beginnings. The gameplay also encourages you to talk to some of the AI characters to open up more of the stories background.

One of the wonderful things about the game is that it does not insist that you engage in a series of repetitive fights, this is your choice. It also contains timed events, which usually end up as differing forms of mob rush. In the large open arenas, you can find yourself fighting alongside many other players making some of the larger fights satisfyingly enjoyable mayhem. Even if you complete the extensive story mode there is still a lot of character progression to keep your interest and if you can find a fellow fan the two of you can take on the big bads in a local co-op.

The game provides eight slots for signature moves/skills, although there are more than eight to choose from, it allows you to create the build which most suits your playing style. With the design of the gamepad, eight makes the skills manageable and easily accessible as they are mapped to the right-hand buttons: you use the L2 to swap between the two sets of four. You can also map any of the skills you like to the individual buttons which makes for a smooth transition between skills.

The game's main useful currency are shards, which can be used to collect as many characters as you like. Although the console has only thirty-eight playable characters at the time of launch, all the main ones are included with a promise of more to come and all are free to play to level ten. Each of the characters have their signature moves as well as a limited amount of character vocal acting, although if you're playing for a couple of hours the vocals do not feel repetitive.

Being free to play, the micro transactions are limited to unnecessary but desirable objects like skins, so if you want a particular iteration of your hero which is not free then you’re going to have to shell out real cash. But as these are cosmetic they are not required to enjoy the whole game.

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Charles Packer