Marvel Ultimate Alliance Q&A - Interviews

Matthew Paul, Producer, over at Activision got our Q&A back to us so fast he must be taking the whole "faster than a speeding bullet" thing seriously. In this quick Q&A we get to the bottom of what "140 characters" really means, some of the similarities between Ultimate Alliance and Raven Software's X-Men Legends series, a multi-platform release, and the possibility of seeing Spider-Ham make a cameo appearance. Thanks for your time, Matthew!

Review: X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (XB)

Review: Spider-Man 2 (XB)

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Marvel: Ultimate

Alliance Q&A Conducted by Omni

The fact sheet contends there will be 140 Marvel characters/heroes included in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Does this mean 140 playable Marvel characters? Or does it simply mean there will be a load of cameo appearances? (And will Spider-Ham be one of them?)

I love the suggestion for Spider-Ham! 140 characters was a Herculean task in and of itself, and that’s not including the many different costumes each hero has. The Marvel universe is so rich with great characters that unfortunately there are a few that we just couldn’t fit in. We searched through comics for the most memorable Marvel characters and wanted to do them justice. Many of them have never seen the light of day in a video game and we’re so excited to be showcasing them off for the first time. Trust me, there are so many great surprises in the game, it’s going to knock the socks off every Marvel fan. As for Spider-Ham, you’ll just have to wait and see when the game comes out if he’s in there or not. Sorry, I can’t give all the surprises away, can I?

As for the 140 characters, that number includes heroes, enemies and non-playable characters that gamers will encounter throughout the adventure. And these aren’t nameless grunts, but rather recognizable faces from the Marvel universe.

If we’ve played the X-Men Legends games, will it be easy to get right into Marvel: Ultimate Alliance? What lessons in regard to the control learned with Legends have been applied to Ultimate Alliance?

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a completely stand-alone adventure from the X-Men Legends series. Some of the basic concepts from X-Men Legends are definitely the foundation of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, so you can still switch characters on your team by a simple press of the d-pad. However, we’ve changed and improved so much, that it really is a whole new experience.

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What concessions have been made to ensure a smooth roll-out on multiple platforms? What platform is the lowest common denominator? Or is each version being tailored to specific platforms?

We’ve got a number of amazing teams working on the game that are dedicated to making

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each platform as good as it can possibly be. Obviously, the PS3 is going to be more cutting edge graphically than the Game Boy Advance, but they are two entirely different machines for different purposes. The GBA version is a great portable adventure with hours of game play, teams of four heroes and a big selection of characters to choose from. We’ve got exclusive features for many of the platforms to take advantage of their abilities, such as the unique controls on the Wii and extra characters on the PSP. My suggestion is that people buy the version of the game for the platform they enjoy playing on the most for the best experience. For example, if you ride the bus with your PSP and that’s how you game, then the PSP version can’t be beat.

Has the inventory system been finalized? Is it as streamlined as possible to encourage action over the role-playing elements?

In fact, the inventory system is extremely different. It is streamlined so that there really isn’t any inventory management. There is still equipment, but it’s much more rare and powerful when you find it and trading it among heroes becomes more important than stockpiling it. In addition to the equipment, we’ve added more character costumes that gamers unlock through game play. Whereas in most other games, the different costumes are purely cosmetic, in our game the costumes come with extra bonuses and unique abilities so deciding the look of your hero actually affects game play.

Besides Raven’s games, which video games based on Super Heroes have been your favorite?

I have to give props to Irrational Games for Freedom Force and its sequel. It was not only the first game to break the super hero video game curse, but is an excellent game in its own right. The story is excellent, the mission design is very tight and the variety in the game is astounding.

And of course I have to mention Spider-Man 2. What game truly makes you feel like Spider-Man swinging through the city? The first time I picked up the controller and started to web-swing, I was hooked!

(July 11, 2006)