Last year, we got one of the greatest 2D beat’em ups featuring some of the most iconic Marvel characters. While I thought the roster was already large enough with some well-known and not-so-famous heroes, Tribute Games Inc. and Dotemu decided we needed even more fighters, and two new ones have just landed on the roster. Marvel Cosmic Invasion has prepared a new DLC bringing The Thing and Cyclops to this beat ’em up. After some hands-on time with Manhattan’s best brawler and the leader of the X-Men, I can confidently say that both of them are among my favorite characters, and it just shows that the quality when it comes to bringing heroes to the fray keeps rising.
Rock Meets Laser Beams
As soon as I learned about Cyclops and The Thing making their way to Marvel Cosmic Invasion, I couldn’t contain my excitement, especially since the former is one of my favorite heroes. Naturally, as someone who had already beaten the campaign several times with different heroes, I decided to take these two for a spin and see what skills they brought to the game.
I started most of my runs exclusively with Cyclops and The Thing as support, and like previous characters, the studio embraced everything that makes these heroes iconic. Cyclops has a combination of melee and ranged attacks, being able to blast enemies from afar, but up close, he turns his normal attacks into a close-quarters combo. His special skill allows him to fire his laser beam until his energy runs out, and he also has an anti-air move, with a dodge that also damages enemies instead of parrying. Oddly enough, while I was looking forward to making Scott Summers my new main, The Thing ended up being the best of the two.
The Thing, despite his size and tank-like look, ended up feeling more versatile than Cyclops. He has a melee combo, a charge haymaker punch, but my favorite move is the one where he basically becomes a cannonball and just bounces twice around the arena. This skill can take flying enemies down, and if timed right, even damage those with shields. On top of that, he has a grappling move, allowing you to fling enemies away from you or smack them a bit before throwing them. Yet, even if I loved The Thing’s kit a bit more than Cyclops’, when it came to their ultimate moves, Cyclops’ Optic Blast took the crown.
Two Excellent Additions
In the end, and just like many other members in the roster, The Thing and Cyclops are superb additions that fit the game perfectly both in style and gameplay. While I was surprised that good old Ben ended up being my favorite, I’m just glad the developers continue to bring pure fan service to Marvel fans by adapting all the iconic comic-book skills that have made these heroes stand the test of time. And now, with a second DLC coming sometime this year, I couldn’t be more excited to see which other heroes Tribute Games and Dotemu are cooking up.
