If you were searching for a way to ween the kids off of Barney and Teletubbies, and into more geekier pursuits, such as Marvel comic books, then look no further than Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet (MSHS: IG). It is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii as well as the DS.

 

 

Seeing that it’s targeted at kids, you will not find a deep thought provoking plot here. The game kicks off with Hulk and Iron Man, who are in the process of picking up the perfect birthday present for Thor. What could a hammer-wielding god with awe-inspiring lighting superpowers possibly need? Well a pair of fashionable boots of course.

 

These boots get mixed up along with Super-Skrull’s laundry though, which leads to the two heroes pursuing Super-Skrull (and their gift to Thor), only to discover a dastardly plot by Thanos to utilise the Infinity Gauntlet (delivered to him by Super-Skrull) along with the infinity gems to rule the entire universe.

 

Hulk and Iron Man escape Thanos’ clutches to alert the Super Hero Squad to stop the baddies. Will they lock them all up in some inescapable jail for all eternity (or at least ‘til its time for the sequel)? No ways, they will be dishing out a more suitable form of humiliating punishment: wedgies to all parties involved.

 

MSHS: IG is filled with this kind of childish humour with banter constantly being interchanged throughout the levels, between the two characters that you are playing with at any time.

 

 

 

Continuing the kid-friendly theme, is the main mode's (story mode) gameplay that sees players employing button bashing tactics from start to finish (attack, block, jump, advanced attack).

 

You start off playing with more brains than muscle Hulk and too-cool-for-school Iron Man, with all the consequent levels being playable with two characters (one you control and the other being AI controlled). You cannot choose which heroes to employ for each of the levels, but you can switch between the two heroes.

 

Although most of the actions within each of the levels, mostly clobbering bad guys and collecting gems, can be done with your favourite of the two characters, there will be the odd occasion where you have to switch to the other character to make use of his or her specific skill in order to solve a puzzle.

 

Some of these include using the Hulk’s brute strength to smash through a barrier blocking the way forward or the Falcon’s feathers of fury-powered speed in order to complete a speedy button-based puzzle in order to get a door opened.   

 

Even with these sections the levels can be completed without much (if any) thought, with there never being a situation where you feel that you are now so overwhelmed by the bad guy’s forces - kids’ stuff basically. 

 

 

 

Along with the minor-friendly story, gameplay and humour, the game also boasts cartoon-styled graphics perfectly suited for its target audience. The graphics overall though is rather basic, almost to the point one feels that the game is running on the PS2 as opposed to the powerful PS3.   

 

 

 

Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet sports basic cartoon-type graphics, an easy to follow storyline and unchallenging gameplay. If your kids are really young and this title will be their very first entry into Marvel’s comic world, then purchasing this game might be worthwhile. If not then we feel that its better to invest your R500 in something more worthwhile.

 

 

Simplistic storyline, gameplay and cartoon-themed graphics are age appropriate for small children. 

 

 

Everything else about the game.