The acquisition of the Marvel license has shifted Activision’s action/rpg focus from solely the X-Men to also include Spider-Man, Blade, Captain America and the entire Marvel cast of notable characters. “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” will utilize over 20 playable Marvel characters in a world featuring over 140 Marvel characters to help write the destiny of the Marvel universe revealed in one of several epilogues. Decisions made by interacting with Marvel characters throughout the game will decide which epilogue is served up.
On paper, gameplay resembles the “X-Men Legends” series where gamers will put together a team of superheroes, power them up, and fight through various Marvel villains. New customization options not found in “X-Men Legends” will include creating an icon, vehicle, and building team reputation. Combat will take place on the ground, in the air and underwater, and feature grappling, blocking, dodging and chained team moves.
Both online and offline cooperative modes will track player scores to entice some friendly competition amongst teammates. High scores will also lead to faster power-ups and access to equipment. No word yet on how many players comprise a team but a solid guess would be four.
“Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” is due in stores this Fall for all next-gen (Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and presumably newly re-named Nintendo Wii), current-gen and hand-held consoles, as well as the PC. We’ll chime in again in roughly 2 weeks with our first impressions from E3 in Los Angeles.
