Title: Guardians of the Galaxy
Developer: Eidos-Montréal
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Action
Price: $59.99
Square Enix and Eidos Montreal's Guardians of the Galaxy might not have the participation of the movie’s cast, but it exudes no small measure of charm all the same. Following the story of Star-Lord and his ragtag bunch of misfit friends, it throws you into the thick of things. You must brawl, shoot, and explore your surroundings as best as you can, all while enjoying the excellent writing.
These characteristics also work to help you. You control only Star-Lord, but you're able to ask the assistance of the others to assist you during fights, or to help solve the plethora of environmental puzzles in Guardians of the Galaxy. Someone like Drax uses his brute strength to take opponents down, but can also lift heavier objects to help you proceed. The same goes with Groot, who uses elongating limbs to help bridge gaps or provide crowd control.
In fact, the Devil-May-Cry-like combo system encourages you to actively work with your team. By using their special abilities while simultaneously fighting and mixing in your own combos, you build towards striking against the game's stronger foes. The mechanics are pretty neat, if uncomplication, and really hammers home the point that Guardians of the Galaxy isn't so much just Star-Lord but that of the entire squad proving that it’s collectively greater than the sum of its parts.
When you're not bashing in enemies, you're dealing with the environments. None of them are particularly challenging to navigate, but exploring tends to reward you with additional lore and fanservice, letting you come out with journals, sneak peeks, and references that will make any Guardians of the Galaxy comic book fan squeal with joy. The environments themselves also never get stale, having you traverse abandoned space ships, infested caverns and alien worlds. You're mostly set on a linear path, but the areas you do get to explore look absolutely beautiful. It's got a fair amount of content to it as well, with first-time playthroughs lasting about 15 hours to 16 hours depending on how thorough and skilled you are.
Really, the only thing holding Guardians of the Galaxy back is its repetitive nature. The combat and exploration are pretty decent as a whole, but they can get a little draining, especially against the tougher enemies you might encounter. Fights aren't difficult, but they do last quite a while. and while you have a decent number of upgrades available to kit out the characters and maximize their potential, the combat always feels just a bit lacking as if it's missing a mechanic or two to spice things up.
That said, its personality is more than enough to carry this single player experience all the way to the end. It might not be a game you'll replay any time soon, but it's game you'll fondly remember if you're a Guardians of the Galaxy fan. It's sleek, it's stylish, it's witty, and it's a great take on this lovable band of superheroes.
THE GOOD
- Knocks your socks off with its great voice acting and witty dialogue
- Solid combat and exploration
- Excellent storyline, with a heady mix of serious plot points and funny jokes
THE BAD
- Gameplay feels a little too shallow
- Can get repetitive
- Cutscenes can take a while
RATING: 8/10
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