Huge Marvel RPG planned News

Activision and Raven have targeted virtually every conceivable platform with their next Marvel action-RPG - as well as opening it up to include much more than the usual X-Men characters.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will be released on all next-generation as well as current-generation platforms, handheld and PC, and will feature more than 20 playable Marvel characters including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Captain America. It's due out this autumn.

They'll combine forces in a game that - in an interesting twist - will not only determine the fate of planet Earth but also the Marvel universe, with a number of end sequences available depending on what the player does in the game.

That's "player or players", too, as Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will include offline and online co-operative story mode play - as well as a competitive mode that compares the stats of players and distributes experience points and equipment based on their actions.

At the heart of the game will be what's described as a new combat system, with players fighting in the air, on the ground and even underwater, using grapple, block and dodge moves, charging up powers beforehand and making use of objects in the game world and two-handed weapons to bring down their enemies.

Players will be able to customise the Marvel teams they build, choosing a name, icon and vehicle, and then establishing a reputation through gameplay, levelling up characters individually or all at once to maintain a balance.

And while the game is being developed by Raven, whose X-Men Legends titles have drawn critical acclaim in the past, the team will also be seeking input from Marvel Mangaverse writer CB Cebulski.

"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance delivers a new twist on action/RPGs where players' actions and choices ultimately determine what happens to the Marvel universe," says Activision's veepee of global brand management Will Kassoy, who's probably wetting himself at the prospect. "This coupled with the game's enormous character roster will deliver an action-packed experience that comic book fans have been waiting for."