Despite launching months after the blockbuster film, Avengers: Battle for Earth still captures a fair share of its entertainment value. The game's based more on the comic-book universe than on the cinematic adaptation, with a plot that closely follows the Secret Invasion crossover from a few years...

+ Accessible but empowering Kinect fighter; + Great comic-book look with many play options

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Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth is a 3D Fighting game featuring 20 different characters from the Marvel universe. As a fighting game, the goal is to avoid sustaining damage from your opponent while you utilize a variety of moves to drain their life.

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth is a new title for Kinect from Ubisoft Quebec. Unfortunately for core gamers, the previous sentence could be perceived to have two large negatives. First, a game based on the property of a recently released movie is typically a bad omen.

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth was a surprisingly pleasant gaming experience that makes sufficient use of the Marvel license while providing a solid and enjoyable gameplay experience that isn't hindered by inaccurate and unresponsive Kinect controls like so many other Kinect-aimed titles.

+ Brawler-gameplay is fun and frantic; + Motion-controls are accurate and responsive; + Co-op is great fun; + Beating random fools online is better

- Campaign isn't very extensive; - Story adaptation is average; - End of each battle reverts back to menu

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth may be one of the most surprising Kinect titles of the year. There's a lot to like about the way the game plays, even if it can be a bit redundant at times. The great thing is, you don't have to be just a comic book fan to enjoy Avengers: BFE.

Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth for the Kinect begins with a fantastic little animated scene where all the Marvel super heroes we have come to love are blasting away at each other and running amok in the streets of Manhattan.

So far it seems like the century of Marvel. There have been plenty of movies and games dedicated to Marvel's many super heroes and now Microsoft's motion-based peripheral, the Kinect, is getting its turn too.

Uh-oh. A fighting game using Kinect-only controls? Given the lack of precision and continued failure of the technology to deliver consistently satisfying 1:1 precision, we'd have put that down on our 'should never happen' list.

Earlier this year, test footage of a canceled Avengers game leaked out that featured elements from a first person shooter as well as action adventure games like Uncharted. When that game never saw release, fans were left wondering just what a game starring Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be like.

My review of Marvel Avengers Battle for Earth may surprise some of our readers out there. They might wonder why a violent fighting game gets such a high score. I will do my best to explain that. First let me dry the sweat off my face with a towel. Marvel Avengers Battle for Earth gave me a work out.