The storyline is the kind of stuff that your epic comic mini-series, like Secret Wars, are made of. The heroes of the Marvel Universe are united in an effort to fight off the universal domination efforts of Dr. Doom and his newest super villain group, the Masters of Evil. Leading the effort in this alliance are icons that have been major figures of the comic industry for decades now, like the ultimate patriot, Captain America, the wise-cracking Spider-Man, Norse God of Thunder Thor, and the fan-favorite X-Man with an attitude, Wolverine.
These characters are featured in some of the game's impressive cinematic sequences, but by no means are you limited to playing them when the action is dropped in your lap. In our demonstration of the game, which was running on PlayStation 3 hardware, we saw playable versions of other popular characters, including Ghost Rider and the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing. Each character can be customized to a great extent using an RPG-based system of experience points that can be used to unlock new moves and new costumes with their own inherent attributes and powers. They looked phenomenal, with plenty of details in their costumes and flashy abilities. Particles and lighting appeared well implemented as well, including the fire effects emanating from Ghost Rider's face, made up of multicolored flames with flecks of blue, red, white, and orange.
The gameplay is very much reminiscent of the sort of action RPG that has generally been the stuff of Dungeons & Dragons-themed fantasy, like the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games and Everquest's Champions of Norrath. But instead of choosing different character classes and spells, the super heroes have their distinctive powers. Spider-Man, for instance, can encase an enemy in a full-body web cocoon, and suspend that foe from the ceiling, setting up for an easy punching bag type finisher. Captain America's shield can be employed for dramatic room-clearing effect. Toss the shield towards a foe, and you take full control of the shield's trajectory, allowing it to bounce off walls, angling from baddie to baddie with player-guided precision.
