Check Out Footage of the What Could Have Been THQ’s ‘Avengers’ Movie Game

When was the last time you were excited about a move-game tie in? Was it Days of Thunder 2011? Tron? It was Tron…wasn’t it?

Games based on movies are notorious for their lack of ingenuity, polish, and often times, any respect for the source material whatsoever. This, of course, means that any tie-in games that do show potential can never see the light of day, as it would upset the balance universal karma… or something.

THQ studios in Brisbane were working on a promising Avengers game to release alongside the 2012 summer blockbuster movie. Keyword being “were”. Due to a “strategic realignment” of its development studios, THQ elected to close the studio down, halting production of any current projects. Normally, I’d say bully for THQ – with their recent releases falling into the “decently subpar” category ( Homefront and 40K: Space Marine among them) I would be alright with them taking a step back from their full-speed-ahead mentality.

But not this time. The Avengers was going to be a first person shooter / beat ‘ em up combo focusing on four-player co-op. Showcased in the pre-alpha footage below are Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, and Thor – all as playable characters. While some aspects (such as Cap throwing his shield) didn’t look brilliant, it still looked like a lot of fun; especially for any True Believers out there.

Flying around in Tony Starks power suit seemed like a blast, and tossing enemies around like ragdolls as Hulk looked horrendously fun. Each character had their own set of abilities, as well as a series of finishing moves that are surprisingly brutal (i.e. Hulk snapping a Skrulls neck like a twig).

Perhaps The Avengers game will be shifted into other hands before the film comes out next summer, but for the time being we’ll just have to wonder what might have been… And play a lot of X-Men: Destiny until we find out. In the meantime, check out the exclusive footage of the never-to-be-seen game below.