Posted in: Atomic Mass Games, Games, Miniatures, Tabletop | Tagged: Atomic Mass Games, Marvel Crisis Protocol. Marvel
"Marvel: Crisis Protocol" Everything a Super Hero Game Should Be (Review)
Atomic Mass Games drops their newest game, Marvel: Crisis Protocol on an unsuspecting world today. You're seriously not ready for this incredibly fun game. It's also one of the best valued miniature games hitting the market, with far more packed into its $100 box than a lot of games.
My local game store received a demo copy of Marvel: Crisis Protocol from Atomic Mass Games about three weeks ago, and I was able to spend some quality time with the game. During that time, I was able to build and paint the miniatures, learn the rules, and help out the lovely and talented Stu Strange on demoing the game for folks that were curious about how it plays.
First off, the miniatures are incredible. They are a little bigger than your average wargames miniature, since they were modeled in 40mm scale. Your average wargames miniature clocks in at 28mm, so these Marvel: Crisis Protocol miniatures have a pretty impressive look to them.
The sculpts are excellent, and really capture the spirit of the characters. Since the miniatures are molded in hard plastic, they are a lot more durable than a lot of the resin miniatures that are out on the market today. Assembly is pretty straightforward, with very few mold lines to clean up.
The larger figures are also a lot of fun to paint, since you have a larger canvas to work on. The facial details are impressive, with Captain Marvel being my personal favorite. She just looks like she's about to smash through everything, and have fun doing it!
Value wise, you get 10 miniatures in the Marvel: Crisis Protocol core set, with figures of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel making up the Avengers team, and Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Doctor Octopus, Ultron, and Crossbones making up the Cabal team. You also get a starter rule book (full rules are free online), 10 dice, measuring tools, tokens, and a bunch of really good looking terrain.
The terrain is a pretty big part of the game, too. Your characters might have the ability to pick up some of the terrain in battle and smash their opponents with it. The game mechanics that allow this are simple to understand, and there wasn't a single demo game that didn't have a new player cracking up when they smashed an enemy with a car.
Overall, the true magic to Marvel: Crisis Protocol is in the game mechanics. The game doesn't take long to figure out, but there is a lot of tactical potential baked into the game. Each character has a unique way to play them, and figuring out their strengths and weaknesses is a lot of fun. Seeing how they work off of each other is a real delight, with some characters having abilities that get better when allied characters are nearby.
And speaking of allies, you can put your team together how ever you want. There are perks to using a team affiliation, but if you want to mix and match heroes and bad guys, there is nothing to stop you!
We demoed the game about a dozen times, and everyone who played it had a pretty good time. Only one player had a hard time with the rules, but it was also his first time playing a war game of any kind, and I think he still had a good time.
The release schedule for Marvel: Crisis Protocol is already looking pretty robust, with Hulk and MODOK getting released alongside the core box set. Black Panther, Killmonger, Shuri, and Okoye will be out in December, alongside a really cool looking Venom figure. Later sets include more Avengers, with the Guardians of the Galaxy looming somewhere in the future.
The biggest indicator of this game's quality, though, comes from my wife. She's been dealing with a miniature obsessed husband for 25 years now, and this is the first line of minis that has come out in all that time that she's completely on board with. That, friends, is a win.
Check your local game store for stock information, and make sure to order the upcoming waves of Marvel: Crisis Protocol! It's a great game, and tons of fun!
To see our article on how Marvel: Crisis Protocol plays, check here. For an in-depth look at the miniatures, check here. For our unboxing post, check here!