After being fortunate to have the Avengers to play this weekend (quick thanks to Ron and Curly once again), I went back home and played some X-MenLE.
While I cannot give an indepth review of Avengers, what I can say is that each game made me appreciate the other. It was not a "which game should I keep like AFM vs MB vs MM", but rather "these games are really quite different from each other." I could see having each one since they are so different. This is not a A is better/worse than X post, but I will say I think those having a firesale on the X-MenLE games to get Avengers are making a mistake, but that is my opinion. I am liking X-Men even more than I did because of Avengers!
I do not have enough time on Avengers to really discuss the rules in depth and I never played any solo games so the flow/rhythm you get that way is a little different than when playing in turns. (Besides I did not have my notebook with me)
Anyway this is very loosely a side-by-side analysis of what I see:
Shot Patterns
X-Men offers some intricate criss crossing patterns. The shots are tight but satisfying when you nail them. The 3rd flipper helps with combo patterns. Many necessary shots and magnets are close by and in your face.
Avengers is a more open playfield, but also has tight shots, really tight shots. The shots are fluid and quick if you make them. Cap and Iron Man shots are whips. Repeat Black Widow shots are great with the spinner. I like the quick loop of B/W.
It is not a fan layout in the traditional sense of what people think of, but it has some fan aspects. I like the return of the upper rollover lanes that X-Men does not have. The talk is when the Pro replaces the THOR drop targets with standups the game will really get wicked fast-think ACDC.
I feel there is more to do on the side to side targets on X-Men (2 multiballs there)
Each shoots and feels quite different. This alone is a huge plus.
Multiballs:
Just focusing on the main character multiballs:
The bash feature on X-Men is just hit Wolverine. Simple enough
The bash feature on Avengers is HULK drop targets. Again easy enough, but add in the last shot (ramp or saucer) to start multiball and it is one notch harder.
The lock ball feature on X-Men is targets and physical locks. (I love the Rogue shot thank you very much). A little harder, but a more rewarding multiball.
The lock feature on Avengers is akin to TTT in LOTR. Spell LOKI at the bottom and lock balls. (These letters are hard for me to see) The lock shot is a long swooping shot at the left. Wow, this is sweet and totally different than X-Men (or LOTR for that matter). A more lucrative multiball and more satisfying than HULK to achieve IMO.
Avengers offers some 2 ball multiballs of Avenger vs Avenger which is neat.
X-Men of course has the 2 Villain multiballs.
And each offers wizard mode multiballs. (Have not seen Avengers modes yet)
Sounds:
The X-men sounds are fitting for the comic book theme. I like the Magneto Multiball music. A much as people complain about some of the voice sounds-it seems to fit the game presentation-A comic book, which may not be as intense as some prefer.
The Avengers sounds are mostly more serious and movie like. Very dynamic. It sounds good, but it has its share of campiness and humor. If you are an Iron Man fan expecting more Tony Stark effects from the Iron Man game, give that dream up. Really too bad there, but I can only imagine how much that would cost. I like the LOKI multiball effects over HULK. (Sorry, Hulk fans)
Lights:
Both games offer a great light show. The movie aspect feel of Avengers coupled with the sound adds excitement.
Rules (really my favorite topic on games I know):
Jury is still out of me on X-Men and I am still running old code. I like the V 1.2 rules mostly, no need to rehash it all here. Play many modes, all of which are super easy to start, work toward larger goals. Play the larger goals to reach the ultimate goal. Standard fare. Research previous discussions of pros vs cons.
Avengers has a bit of the old school hit this shot x-times to start flavor. But once you are in the mode there are 2 more phases, collect and complete. Seems to allow multi-mode stacking. It is much more work to win it. It feels like the code is much more polished than X-Men, but I did not see everything, not even close. (Like I said in another post, I need a lot of games to figure out details). I did not notice any major out-of-the box goofs (ie, it knows how to add jackpots).
Art:
X-Men (all versions) is beautiful art. They really got this right.
I think both packages on Avengers are sharp, with a nod toward the HULK version even though I am not a HULK fan. The blue is really sharp in person. Avengers is back to movie photoshop art. It does look good (and typical Stern) for what it is, but one thing that stands out is that I can't believe almost every single Black Widow pose is her jump-kicking or the mirror image of it. She looks better on the Iron Man game.
I will be interested to see the Premium and Pro packages.
Glitches:
Both X-Men and Avengers games have glitches, and in fact every single game that has come out has had some glitches. They seem to mostly get all figured out eventually, thanks to us in the player/collector community
I am not going to really going into a complaint fest of things I wish were different on each of these games (or every game I have played)
Summary-
I think both games work well in a lineup. It is not an either/or because the games are so different from each other. They both offer unique features, rulesets and playing styles which is a good thing, particularly if you can only have a handful of games. If you are in the Super Hero game camp (know anybody like that?), Avengers could be a good addition.
If you missed Ron's, Curly has one in the LSOG shop set up for folks to play. Make the trip, play before you pay, and enjoy.
Thanks for reading, now go play.
