Gazillion brings “Marvel Heroes 2016,” to next-gen consoles this spring under a hot new moniker: “Marvel Heroes Omega.” What? You’ve never played “Marvel Heroes”? Well we talked to Lead Game Designer Ben “TheArtofRawr” Gilbert about the transition and covered some need to know info for any Marvel fan new to the game.

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Marvel.com: Ben this is some seriously exciting stuff, “Marvel Heroes” making the big move from PC to consoles; I can only imagine how geeked the team is to put the game in a ton of new players’ hands.

Ben Gilbert: Yes! Everyone at Gazillion has been working overtime on both “Marvel Heroes Omega” for consoles and “Marvel Heroes” for PC. It feels great to finally be able to let the world know what we’ve been working so hard on. While it’s true that we’re very excited to introduce “Marvel Heroes Omega” to new players, we also haven’t forgotten about our PC players. Moving forward, we definitely want to hold ourselves to the same standard of quality for “Marvel Heroes” on all platforms.

Marvel.com: Real quick, for those players hearing about “Marvel Heroes Omega” for the first time, how would you explain it to them?

Ben Gilbert: “Marvel Heroes Omega” is one of those titles that doesn’t fit neatly in most traditional game genres. It’s part action-RPG, and with that comes a loot-driven progression system that finds players performing heroic feats, defeating infamous Marvel villains and collecting rare loot as they grow in power. But “Marvel Heroes Omega” also pulls a lot of design inspiration from MMORPG elements. That’s where the game’s long form RPG progression systems, like our recently introduced Infinity System, end-game challenges, and solo and group content, come into play.

With so many Heroes to collect and develop, and so much to do, there’s literally thousands of hours of replayability to find here. Finishing the game’s nine-chapter story campaign is really just the beginning—and we’re really proud to be able to offer that with a free-to-play game.

Marvel.com: Has the game gone through many changes making the jump? Any character balancing or new features added? Or is this the classic “Marvel Heroes” experience we know and love?

Ben Gilbert: Over the past three years, we’ve brought tons of new content, significant improvements to core gameplay systems, and major updates to visuals for our growing roster of Heroes from the Marvel Universe since the game first launched. I think the game’s in a great place right now on all platforms. Whether you’re used to playing “Marvel Heroes” on PC or planning to jump into “Marvel Heroes Omega” for the first time, I think you’ll have a blast.

I encourage all Marvel fans to stay tuned for more details on our upcoming closed beta programs for “Marvel Heroes Omega” on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One before we launch later this year.

Marvel.com: And what can new players expect jumping into the game for the first time?

Ben Gilbert: I think that one of the first things players will notice is how “Marvel Heroes Omega” plays with console controllers. Translating a mouse and keyboard control scheme to console wasn’t easy, but I think “Marvel Heroes Omega” feels great and I hope players agree!

Marvel.com: Do you have any recommendations for Heroes players should pick up to get a feel for the game? I personally can’t wait to optic blast enemies with Cyclops.

Ben Gilbert: “Marvel Heroes Omega” certainly does boast a huge roster of playable Heroes with members from the Avengers, Defenders, Inhumans, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. But with so many options, choosing your first Hero can also be a bit daunting.

My main piece of advice would be to not over-think it. If you’ve got a favorite Hero, like Cyclops, go for it! If you’re having trouble deciding, don’t forget that all Heroes are free to play up to level 10, which gives players a lot of time to get a feel for each Hero’s gameplay style.

Another thing to keep in mind is that “Marvel Heroes Omega” lets players unlock additional Heroes with Eternity Splinters. All enemies have a chance to drop Eternity Splinters and they show up regularly. So there’s no need to really ever feel like you’re locked into any one individual Hero. “Marvel Heroes Omega” is quite generous for a F2P game in this regard and mastering and maxing out your first Hero is really just the first step.

Marvel.com: What are you most excited for console players to check out?

Ben Gilbert: We’re all big Marvel fans here at Gazillion. We’re reading comics, watching the movies and television shows, and are talking about them constantly! So I hope players get a kick out of all the subtle nods to fans and Easter eggs we’ve put in the game.

Some of that shines through with our great voice work for every Hero that really captures the spirit of the character. Some of it appears through detailed designs for costumes inspired by all the cool looks in the [Marvel Cinematic Universe] films and Netflix shows. But a lot of it comes down to how Heroes feel.

If you’re playing as Cyclops, I really want players to feel like they’re playing as the Scott Summers they’ve grown to know and love, whether that’s from the comics, the classic 90s cartoon, the movies, other Marvel games, or a combination of all of the above.

Marvel.com: And when can we expect to download the game for ourselves?

Ben Gilbert: “Marvel Heroes Omega” will be heading to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this spring. But stay tuned for more details on our upcoming closed betas for both platforms. We’ll be sharing that info really soon on www.marvelheroes.com!

Keep visiting Marvel.com for more “Marvel Heroes Omega” news and interviews.