Captain America: Earth-1

Captain America: Earth-1 is part of the Marvel: Earth-1 series of video games for Xbox 360 and PS3. It is the first in the series.

Steve Rogers (Earth-1) — Captain America

Controls and Gameplay

Earth-1 is an over-the-shoulder action adventure game. In it, you play as Captain America, using both open combat and occasional shooter and stealth gameplay to defeat enemies and advance.

Basics

Using the left analogue stick will make Cap move, and holding down X will make Cap run. While running, Cap will automatically climb over obstacles. Tapping X twice will make him roll. While rolling, Cap takes less damage from gunfire. Rolling into an enemy will make Cap jump over them, allowing him to avoid becomming hemmed in by foes. The right analogue stick changes the camera angle and L3 changes the shoulder the camera is looking over.

Combat

Hand-to-Hand

Combat is based around hand to hand combat and the use of Captain America's shield. Pressing Square makes Cap punch. If you time it correctly, pressing square again will begin a combo and deliver more powerful punches. When attacked, an exclamation mark will appear over the enemy's head. Pressing Triangle will make Cap block it, and pressing square immediately afterwards will deliver a more powerful counter attack. Holding circle and pushing the analogue stick in any direction will make Cap grab and throw an enemy. If thrown into another enemy, both enemies will take damage.

Once you have built up a combo of at least 7, Cap can use Super Moves, which are unlocked by levelling up. Triangle and Circle will make him perform a Combo Finisher, which is an instant KO attack, X and Circle perform the Smackdown, where he creates a shockwave by smashing his shield on the ground and pressing L1 and Square will make him perform a Power Throw, where he throws his shield, but more powerfully.

Shield Use

To bring up the shield, hold L2 and Cap will raise it into a throwing position. Aim with the right analogue stick and press R1 to throw. Holding L2 will also show the shields flight path in the form of a blue line which turns red when aiming at something of significance (such as an enemy or switch). Bouncing the shield allows Cap to take down foes from a distance or solve puzzles. When holding down L2, pressing L1 will mark enemies. Pressing R2 after marking enemies will cause the Shield to ricochet off multiples targets beofre returning to Cap. However, marking can only be used with enemies that are in direct sight and cannot be used on swtiches or levers. Tapping L2 is the Quickfire shield throw, where it will automatically aim at something the camera is facing. Holding R2 without L2 will make Cap bring up the shield defensively. This can be used to defelct ranged weaponry. When using the shield defensively, a set of crosshairs will appear, allowing you to aim deflected ranged attacks at a desired target (such as an enemy or something that needs to be destroyed) with the right analogue stick. The shield has a health metre of sorts in the bottom right corner. When being shot at, the shield will take damage and when it hits zero, Cap will stop holding it up. The metre regenerates when not being used.

Firearms

After defeating an enemy who is using a gun, Cap can pick it up with the X button. A set of crosshairs will appear, and Cap can shoot using R1. Cap can melee with with the gun using Square and will drop it after pressing L1. Cap cannot use the shield will holding a gun. Pressing R1 will make cap cover against a wall, and moving will make him walk while pressed against cover. Once you reach the edge, continuing in that direction will make Cap lean out. Pressing R1 again will make him uncover. While holding a weapon, pressing R2 will drop it and bring up the shield.

Stealth

Tapping R3 will make Cap crouch, allowing him to move silently and through small spaces. This lets him sneak up on enemieswithout them hearing him. Once in sufficient proximity, a menu will appear in the top right corner of the screen, with options in it. Holding down X will allow you to begin selecting an option and releasing will choose it. Will selecting, the game temporarily pauses. Cap's agility allows him to also reach vantage points, from which he can view enemy locations and drop down to attack.

Levelling Up

By defeating enemies, you gain XP which allows you to level up. With each gained level, you can purchase an upgrade. Upgrades are split into three sections: Combat, Shield and Captain America.

Combat Upgrades include:

Smackdown (Level 1 stuns enemies, Level 2 hurts them)
Throw (Levels 1 is just a throw, Level 2 gives greater distance and damage, Level 3 increases the speed of the throw so you are less open to attack)
Sucker Punch (increased damage to your first attack if you attack first)
Accuracy (Level 1 Weapon crosshairs shrink, Level 2 decreases recoil)
Critical Punches
Combo Booster (lowers the combo number from 7 to five)

Shield Upgrades include:

Distance (Levels 1-3 allows the shield to fly a greater range than the last one)
Ricochet (Level 1 allows two targets to be marked, level 2 allows 3 targets to be marked, level 3 allows 4 targets to be marked)
Power (Increases damage done by shield)
Refelction Accuracy (decreases size of crosshairs while holding the shield defensively)

Captain America Upgrades include:

Health (You start with four blocks of health, Level 1 brings that to five, Level 2 brings it to 6 and Level 3 brings it to 7)
Armour (Level 1 halves the amount of damage taken, Level 2 quarters it)
Agility (allows for quicker movement)
Regeneration (Level 1 recovers one block of health, Level 2 recovers 2)

Plot

Main Plot

The game opens with a large plane with the Latverian flag flying into view. On board, Captain America and the Black Widow are attempting to stop Doctor Doom's latest bid for world domination. They enter a room full of Doom's goons, and take them down. Cap opens the door and an arrow is launched at him. Deflecting it with his shield, he sees Hawkeye who apologizes, citing that he thought Cap was another guard. The three arrive in the cockpit, where Doctor Doom is barking orders. Doom turns and greets the three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents before attacking. After being defeated, Doom arms a bomb on board the plane, forcing Cap, Black Widow and Hawkeye to jump out. With Doom presumed dead, Nick Fury congratulates them on a job well done.

A year later, Fury uncovers evidence that Lucia von Bardas, who took over as ruler of Latveria upon the death of Doctor Doom, has been secretly providing money to supervillains. After being denied permission to send the Avengers after her, Fury secretly asks Cap to infiltrate the Castle, find out what she's doing and if necessary stop her. Cap agrees and suits up, before being air dropped into Latveria.

He arrives in Doomstadt, and comes across several Palace Guards harassing villagers. After defeating them, he interrogates them and demands to know how to infiltrate the castle. The guard tells him there is a passage through the guard barracks that would bring him out into the dungeons. He is also told not to go through the sewers, as von Bardas is keeping a monster down there, but the guard doesn't know what it is. Fury also informs Cap that a mole he has on the inside has confirmed that information. Cap decides to head through the guard barracks, and finds a vent that is too high up to reach. He throws his shield at some boxes to create a climbable path and sneaks through the barracks into the dungeons, where he is forced to climb around more vents due to a LASER security system.

After traversing the courtyard, he sees heads down a corridor and hears voices coming round a corner. Cap takes cover on wall and peeks round to see Arnim Zola talking with Lucia von Bardas. They discuss a "Third Day Project" before Zola walks off. Cap tails him to his lab, where he is seen by Zola who sets several mutated monsters on him. After defeating the creatures, Cap is blindsided by man with a metal arm and knocked out. He wakes up on Zola's operating table and is injected with a strange chemical. After breaking free, he stumbles out onto the castle parapets and falls off, landing in the river, where he has a flashback to WW2.

Cap and Bucky storm the Red Skull's castle with the help of the Howling Commandos and a guy called Logan. Together, they breach the outer walls but are separated when the Red Skull launches a mortar at them, creating a hole in the ground through which Cap and Bucky fall through. Cap and Bucky make their way through the castle and down into the hangars below, where Hydra goons are building a large new bomber. After defeating some Hydra goons, they see the Skull boarding the plane and chase after him.

Cap wakes up, having washed ashore by a small sewer outlet. He begins to head towards it, but is reminded by Fury not to risk facing whatever is being kept down there in his weakened state (if the player tries to go through the door, Cap will look through and see a man walk past down the pipe. Cap calls out, and when the mean sees him, he flees). Fury tells Cap that his vitals are dropping, and whatever Zola injected him with is killing him. Fury informs Cap that Doom was a skilled geneticist, and tended to rip off Reed Richards' designs for scientific equipment and call them his own. Fury goes on to say that if he can make it to one of Doom's old labs, Mr Fantastic could potentially walk him through how to operate the equipment and analyze his condition. Fury, using information from his mole, informs Cap that Doom's laboratory is out in the botanical gardens. Cap makes his way there and comes across several goons being warned by the metal armed man from earlier that Cap is most likely on his way there. Cap asks Fury if he knows who the guy is, and Fury says he'll look into it. After defeating them, the ground suddenly begins to rumble and the floor breaks.

Cap falls down into an arena, where he sees a crowd of thugs around the arena. In a throne overlooking the pit sits Lucia von Bardas, who tells Cap he should not have come. She then orders the Shocker and Scorpion to kill him for her amusement. After defeating them, Cap turns to take out von Bardas, but she has fled. He climbs out to chase her, but is ordered by Fury to go back to the labs and see if any of the equipment is still functional.

After checking the lab, he notes that most of the equipment has been destroyed. Fury notes that the Super Soldier Serum is keeping Zola's toxin at bay for the moment, but it's only a matter of time. Over the radio, Mr Fantastic confirms that Cap has hours at best. Cap decides to track down Zola, but before he can, he is shot by the metal armed man and falls unconscious. While asleep, he flashes back again.

On board the plane, Cap and Bucky make their way to the cockpit where they face down the Red Skull. After defeating him and some Hydra thugs, they begin trying to land the plane. However, the Red Skull manages to grab a gun and shoots Bucky. Overcome with rage, Cap beats the Red Skull into the ground, forgetting about flying the plane. They crash into the Atlantic and Cap is frozen. Bucky's corpse is washed out into the depths.

Over the Castle's PA system, Cap hears von Bardas announce that the Third Day Project will commence in 6 hours. Cap opens his eyes, but sees only darkness. He attempts to contact Fury, but all he hears is static. He realizes that the man buried him alive, and begins struggling desperately to escape. After digging his way out, Cap decides to climb one of Castle Doom's towers and make contact with Fury. After fighting his way to the top, he is able to call Fury who is relieved to hear he is till alive. Cap announces that Fury was right, and that von Bardas is concentrating the supervillains at the castle, like she is making an army. Fury informs him that his mole has just told him that MODOK is among the villains hired by von Bardas. Suddenly, AIM soldiers surround him and MODOK floats into view. He demands that Cap stand down and accompany him.

Cap refuses and launches his shield at the goons behind him, before diving off the tower at MODOK. The two crash back into an old store room and begin to fight, with MODOK calling in reinforcements. After defeating them, Cap demands MODOK analyze the toxin in his blood. MODOK complies and reveals that it is a mutagen, slowly rewriting Cap's DNA into that of Arnim Zola. After being asked for a cure, MODOK states that he doesn't know how to manufacture something like that or how to counteract it. Fury says he'll get Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic working on it. In the meantime, he suggests that Cap continue tracking Zola.

He heads off back towards Zola's lab, but discovers that since his escape from MODOK, von Bardas has locked down the castle. The only way to get back inside would be to head down into the sewers and hope he doesn't face whatever's down there. Before he can enter the sewer pipes though, the Zola growing within him takes over. Cap faces down mental clones of himself (but instead of dressing in red white and blue, they dress in purple and yellow, like Zola). After defeating them, Zola forces Cap to fight a mental projection of Bucky, who accuses Cap of failing to save him.

Physically and mentally exhausted, Cap drops to the ground. Over the radio, Sharon Carter convinces him to get back up and brave the future. He heads into the sewer, where he hears something roaring before muttering that he recognizes the roar. He continues down the path he's on, before seeing the man from earlier. After Cap chases after him, and tries to warn him that there is a monster down there, the man tells him that he knows. Cap suddenly recognizes the voice and tells Fury that von Bardas has been keeping Bruce Banner beneath her castle. Fury orders Cap to get out of the sewers, but von Bardas (who, as it turns out, has been listening in on their conversations) says that won't be possible. She then reveals that Banner has a shock collar on, and shocks him enough to trigger a change into the Hulk. Cap flees and notes that at full strength, the Hulk would have no trouble breaking out of some sewers. Fury agrees, and suggests that the Hulk must have been weakened somehow, presumably with another toxin from Zola. Cap manages to find a large pump room, and decides that he is in no shape for a straight up fight with the Hulk.

Instead, he uses stealth to cause the Hulk to damage himself. However, with his rage building, Cap realizes that soon the Hulk will be too powerful to defeat. He notices a weakened section in the wall and breaks the Hulk's shock collar with his shield. The Hulk charges him, and Cap dives out of the way, causing Hulk to break through the wall and back into the pipes, where he becomes stuck. Cap makes the Hulk recognize him and helps him escape. After bellowing at him one last time, the Hulk breaks through the pump room and out of the castle, creating a route out for Cap.

Fury suggests that, as they now have evidence of von Bardas kidnapping and holding an American citizen against his will, they have enough evidence to take her on and that Cap could leave. Cap refuses, stating that he still needs to find Zola. Cap heads up and finds Doctor Octopus ordering several technicians to continue testing the engines. He sneaks up but before Cap can grab him, one of Doc Ock's arms gets him in a strangle hold. After managing to pry himself loose, Cap and Ock fight, and Cap beats him by forcing him to ram his arms into generators. After defeating him, it turns out that von Bardas hired Doctor Octopus to build fission engines to turn Castle Doom into a flying fortress to rival the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. The components were what was on board the plane when Doctor Doom was killed. When asked about the Third Day project, Ock reveals it is a reference to the Bible, and Zola was brought in to help resurrect Doctor Doom in exchange for money and test subjects. Fury orders Cap to stop Zola from bringing Doom back.

Cap makes his way to Zola's lab, where he finds it abandoned. He turns to leave, but the Zola within attacks again, this time forcing him to remember the death of his mother. Enraged, Cap takes a broken pipe and uses it to cut the Zola out. Mr Fantastic points out that, as it is still in his bloodstream, the Zola will return. Cap points out that it felt good. He heads on, and sees Zola plodding down a corridor. Cap chases him into von Bardas' throne room, where he sees that a large coffin has been set up. Von Bardas refuses to allow Captain America to stop Doctor Doom's resurrection and dons a suit of armor akin to that of Doom. Cap fights her, and manages to defeat her, but not before Doom rises. He sees Captain America and orders him restrained. Von Bardas kneels before him, and tells Doom that his plans for the Castle have come to fruition. Doom then kills her for failing to prevent so much damage from coming to his family home and allowing peasants and foreigners in. He orders that the Castle take off, and knocks Cap unconscious. While unconscious, the Zola within mocks him for failing to stop Doom.

Cap wakes up in Zola's new lab. Zola announces that the reason he injected Cap with a Zola consciousness is that he plans to live in Cap's body, as he has come to want to live as a man again (as opposed to brain in a robot). Cap demands to know who the man with the metal arm is, and Zola reveals he is Bucky, but renamed the Winter Soldier. He tells Cap that a Russian submarine crew found him and brainwashed him into an assassin, before putting him on ice. Von Bardas made a deal with the Russian government and bought him, assigning the Winter Soldier to guard Zola so that he could bring Doctor Doom back from the dead. Zola then hooks himself up to a machine for swapping minds, and the Winter Soldier knocks Cap out. In the astral plane, Cap's mind slowly dragged towards Zola's body. Zola taunts him, stating that once he has been put in his body, Zola will destroy his old one, killing Cap. Through sheer force of will, Cap escapes and fights Zola. Zola cannot be defeated however, as his mind has been converted to data so he is effectively immune to mental attacks. He then looses several more Zola Caps on him to keep Cap busy and makes his way towards Cap's body. Cap defeats them and manages to put himself back in his body and breaks free.

Zola also returns to his body and orders the Winter Soldier to kill Cap. Cap fights him, and tries to remind the Winter Soldier that he was Bucky Barnes, but to no avail. The Winter Soldier picks Cap up and throws him out of a window onto a roof below, before jumping down. They continue fighting, with Zola shooting at them and reinforcements aiding the Winter Soldier. After being defeated, the Winter Soldier attempts to kill himself for failing (so as to avoid capture) by jumping off of the roof, but Cap catches his hand. In a moment of clarity, Bucky begs Cap to let him die, as he doesn't want to have to live as a brainwashed killing machine any more, but Cap refuses, pulling back up. Cap promises to get him help, but is kicked over by Zola.

Cap and Bucky take on Zola together, and manage to knock him off the roof, here he falls (presumably) to his death. Meanwhile, Doom has piloted his fortress into firing range of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Bucky and Cap return to his throne room to stop him, and fight Doom. They manage to defeat him (as he is weakened from recently being dead), but their fighting has caused the fortress to begin to fall. Fury calls Cap and tells him that the fortress is too big to destroy before it crashes, and that it will hit a populated area. Cap calls Fury back and tells him that he'll have to crash it into the sea. However, before he can, Doom gets back up and prepares to fire lightning at the two of them. Before he can, Sharon Carter storms in and shoots him. When asked what she's doing here, Sharon reveals that she was Fury's mole in Latveria, and informs him that Iron Man and Thor are trying to keep Castle Doom airborne. Before Cap can turn and pilot the castle, Bucky tasers him and tells Sharon to get him to safety. Sharon leaves and tells Iron Man and Thor to let the castle go. Bucky steers the Castle into the Atlantic and tries to make his escape, but finds the way out blocked by debris. Unable to escape, he lets the water rise over him.

Epilogue

Cap wakes up in the Triskellion. Sharon is at the end of his bed, and asks how he is. After affirming that he is fine, Sharon's phone rings. She answers it, and tells Cap that the call is for him. On the other end of the line, Nick Fury informs him that he has another mission for him.

Meanwhile, in the Atlantic ocean, a metal hand breaks the surface.

After the credits, the Cap will visit the X-Mansion for therapy with Emma Frost, to help him overcome the mental trauma of having his consciousness ripped out of his body. Through telepathy, Cap is put back in Doomstadt where you can begin re-exploring the castle and looking for any collectables you didn't get.

Cast

Captain America - Roger Craig Smith

Nick Fury - Michael Ironside

Hawkeye - Troy Baker

Black Widow - Lena Headey

Sharon Carter - Tara Strong

Bucky Barnes - Jon Curry

Arnim Zola - Toby Jones

Johann Schmidt - Steve Blum

Victor von Doom - Paul Dobson

Lucia von Bardas - Lani Minella

Extra Content

Captain America: Earth-1 has a lot of extra content, both downloadable and unlockable.

Alternate Skins

The non-DLC costumes are unlocked by completing challenges in the story;

The Secret Avengers uniform is unlocked by completing all challenge maps
The Age of X uniform is unlocked by defeating Arnim Zola
The Secret War uniform is unlocked by completing the Throne Room
The Secret Invasion Uniform is unlocked by defeating the Winter Soldier
The Ultimate Uniform is unlocked by completing the game

Hawkeye

There is also a downloadable Hawkeye adventure. It features Clint stopping an attempted take over of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier by Hydra.