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Lenovo’s making the leap from a land far, far away to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maintaining its partnership with Disney, Lenovo has announced Marvel Dimension of Heroes, a new augmented reality game for its Mirage AR headset. The game, available on Android and iOS smartphones will be free. In addition to the new game, you get some new hardware -- a pair of Universal Controllers. With the new controllers, Mirage AR is priced at $249. You can also purchase the controllers separately, but Lenovo has yet to disclose the price.
And if you’re jonesing for more Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, the game will have new levels to play and play nicely with the Universal Controllers.
I had the opportunity to go eyes-on with the Mirage AR and had fun battling the Kree as Star-Lord.
Marvel Dimension of Heroes
In Marvel Dimension of Heroes, players can play as one of six Marvel Heroes (Star-Lord, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Captain America and Thor). You’re fighting against Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension. Together with his team of super villains, he mounts a successful surprise attack on Earth. Now it’s up to you to make things right.
Dimension of Heroes offers three modes of play: Story Mode, Survival Mode and Co-op Mode. During Story Mode, you play as each of the heroes as you fight the likes of Loki, Ronan the Accuser, Ultron Prime and Winter Soldier. Survival Mode is a horde mode of sorts, letting gamers play as any of the six heroes and face wave after wave of enemies. Those with the highest scores will land on their chosen hero’s leaderboard. Have a friend that owns a Mirage AR and all the accessories? Then you’re ready to play Co-op mode. Team up with your friend and battle the forces of evil while fighting for the highest score.
During my Star-Lord demo, the Universal Controllers became the Guardian of the Galaxy leader’s pair Kree submachine guns. It was pretty apropos fitting as I was blasting through waves of Kree bots and ships. As I fought, I slowly charged my special move, which for Star-Lord was a powerful laser. It came in handy for stronger enemies sporting armor.
At the end of the level, I faced off against Ronan the Accuser. The Kree warrior threw everything but the kitchen sink at me, but I handily dodged most attacks by moving around in the test space. The tracking beacon during a good job of keeping up with my movements which lent a realistic feel to the battle at hand. Using a combination of well-placed shots and deploying my super at the right time, led to Ronan’s defeat and signaled the end of the demo.
Universal Controllers
The game ran seamlessly and I was impressed with how quickly I got the hang of using the Universal Controllers. They’re lightweight and comfortable to use and hold. The analog sticks, bumpers and triggers are placed in a natural, easy-to-reach spots for your fingers. It made the controllers feel like a natural extension of my body. I’m definitely curious to see how they work with different heroes, particularly Black Panther and Thor. I also wouldn’t mind seeing how they enhance Jedi Challenges.
Bottom Line
Overall, Marvel Dimension of Heroes seems like a fun way to spend a few hours. Fans of the Avengers or Marvel in general will find a lot to like in this game. The Universal Controllers are comfortable, easy-to-use and made me feel like I was going toe-to-toe with one of Marvel’s most notorious villains. I’m excited to see how the system fares during a full review.
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