Marvel: Crisis Protocol Needs A Zombie Mode
Marvel: Crisis Protocol needs to take a page from Marvel: Rivals and add a new zombie mode. Think of the possibilities!
Today marks the launch of the new Marvel: Rivals Zombie PvE mode. It’s kind of silly but that’s the point. Basically, players take on the role of the Superheroes during a Zombie uh…invasion? Uprising? Apocalypse? Anyhow, it was inspired by the Marvel Zombies Universe/Animation coming out.
I’m planning on giving it a real solid chunk of time this weekend. But that’s besides the point. I think Marvel: Crisis Protocol can learn a thing or two from this event. And it’s not as far-fetched as you might think.
But Marvel Zombies Exists…
Let me just start by saying that I know it take a while to get these types of things rolled out. Especially when you’re dealing with various different rights holders and all the legal stuff that needs to be sorted. On top of that, I also know we already have a Marvel Zombies board game.
Yep, CMON made a Marvel Zombies that was using the Zombicide rules. It’s actually got some neat miniatures that are slightly smaller scale than Marvel: Crisis Protocol, too. In this version of Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game, you actually play as zombified versions of the heroes trying to spread zombie disease (and eat people). There’s even a version of the game where you play as heroes trying to stop the spread. But do keep this game in mind.
What I’m envisioning is not a rehash of Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game. I’m talking about adding in a Zombie mode to Marvel: Crisis Protocol.
Marvel: Crisis Protocol – Zombie Mode
“But how would that work?” It doesn’t have to be super complicated. The idea is basically a horde of zombies are attacking and the Heroes need to stop them. At it’s core, this sounds like a Player vs Environment/Enemy (PvE) mode. That means it’s perfect for some super basic enemies that follow some sort of action script. Now, that could be an issue with the mechanics of MCP. But even that can be fixed with a few tweaks.
Zombies Assemble (2017) #3 via Marvel Comics
You could swap the alternative activations with “Players activate all heroes, then all zombies activate” system. You could also mirror some of the Ultimate Encounter activation systems where a couple of heroes activate, then a couple PvE Zombies go. Personally, I’d also like to see various zombie-types enter the fight. You could have slow zombies, fast zombies, zombie packs, mutated zombies, and even a boss zombie or two that’s a zombified version of the heroes show up.
“But what about the zombies miniatures?” That’s a great question! I’ve got a few solutions for that. The first is simple: Zombie Tokens. This would be the super fast option as making tokens is way faster/cheaper than making new miniatures. For players, if you’ve got some spare bases, those could also work well as your zombie stand-ins.
But why not use just the zombies from Zombicide? Here’s the thing: Asmodee acquired the rights to Zombicide IP earlier this year. Asmodee is the parent company of Atomic Mass Games. And now you can see why I brought that up earlier.
I know there’s a lot of hurdles here to get a Zombie mode into Marvel: Crisis Protocol. I’m just pointing out that Asmodee owns the Zombicide IP. And I know there’s scale differences there on top of the rule sets being completely different. Heck, if you really wanted a Zombie-slayer PvE game you could just go play Zombicide, too. That’s still available.
However, I think there is some potential there for Marvel: Crisis Protocol to put a spin on this with their own version. I know it’s already late into spooky season to get a zombie mode out now. But wouldn’t it be cool if we got something like this for next year? One can hope…
I’ve already put on my Jr. Game Design Cap and have been homebrewing this up. It works surprisingly well…
