Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth is a 2012 fighting game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft for the Xbox 360 (with Kinect) and Wii U. Built around motion controls, it casts players as Marvel superheroes and villains in a story loosely based on the 'Secret Invasion' comic event, in which the shape-shifting alien Skrulls infiltrate and threaten Earth, forcing the Avengers and their allies to fight back. The game features a roster of more than twenty Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine and various villains, battling in fast, two-on-two arena fights. On the Xbox 360 it required the Kinect sensor, asking players to perform punches, blocks and gesture-based special moves with their bodies, while the Wii U version used that console's controllers and touchscreen. Designed as accessible, spectacle-driven family entertainment leaning on Marvel's popularity, it emphasised flashy super-powered combat over fighting-game depth. Critical reception was poor; reviewers found the motion controls imprecise and tiring, the combat shallow and repetitive, and the experience a thin licensed product despite its appealing character roster. Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth is remembered as a minor, motion-controlled superhero tie-in, of marginal interest chiefly to Marvel fans during the surge of interest following the 2012 Avengers film.