In just a few short days, “Marvel Ultimate Alliance†and “Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2†make their new-gen debut on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Both games will be available digitally on Tuesday, so get ready to assemble your team and charge into battle.
We sat down with Mike Jones, executive producer for this Ultimate re-release, to talk about the franchise's past, present, and future.
Marvel.com: For those who don't know, tell us what “Marvel Ultimate Alliance†is all about.
Mike Jones: Well, “Marvel Ultimate Alliance†is one of the most celebrated game franchises in Marvel's history. It started back in 2006 as the successor to the X-Men Legends series, which was developed by Raven Software. But the Ultimate Alliance games went beyond just the X-Men and brought together Super Heroes from all over the Marvel Universe in an epic action RPG game experience with a huge focus on cooperative play. An “Ultimate Alliance†if you will. [Laughs]
Marvel.com: The title makes so much sense now! So, what makes Ultimate Alliance so special to Marvel fans and gamers?
Mike Jones: I think it comes down to the shared experiences and memories that people have from playing with their friends and family. Four people can play at a time—online or together in the same room—and “Ultimate Alliance†is all about teamwork and cooperative play; building your dream team of heroes and going on an epic adventure together! Everything from selecting your characters, to upgrading your heroes, team synergy bonuses, and moment-to-moment gameplay strategies give gamers endless ways to work together and create their own Marvel experiences. And for that reason “Ultimate Alliance†is very special to fans and us at the Marvel Games team.
Marvel.com: That sounds like a lot of fun—you can play “couch co-op�
Mike Jones: Yep! More and more games these days are strictly online co-op but “Ultimate Alliance†has both: online and local co-op. So you can find a group via matchmaking or get together with your friends to build your ultimate Super Hero squad and save the world together. You can also play single-player if you want to go your own speed but “Ultimate Alliance†really comes to life as a cooperative experience.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Marvel.com: Cool! Were there any changes from the original games?
Mike Jones: We wanted these re-releases to be as faithful to the original Ultimate Alliance games as possible—the definitive versions. However, the team did work really hard on improving performance, some UI and graphic enhancements as well as making the games compatible with modern platform features on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. They play really smooth.
Marvel.com: Why re-release the Ultimate Alliance games now?
Mike Jones: Well, it's funny; since we started rebuilding our games strategy and going on the road to Comic Cons and gaming events like E3, we're constantly being asked about Ultimate Alliance. “Are you guys going to do another Ultimate Alliance?†“Can you guys do a re-release of Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2?†It was actually kind of surprising how often it happens. It's been 10 years since the series began and gamers are still as passionate about “Ultimate Alliance†today as they ever were. So we thought this would be a great way to celebrate an amazing franchise that's about to hit its 10th anniversary. It's a perfect time to play these games if you missed them the first time or replay with new friends and new Super Hero dream teams.
Marvel.com: When and how can we get our hands on the game?
Mike Jones: Both Ultimate Alliance and Ultimate Alliance 2 will be available digitally on PS4, Xbox One and PC via Steam starting July 26th for $39.99 each or as a bundle together for $59.99.
Marvel.com: Fans are sure to be excited for the re-release, but does this signal a new beginning for Ultimate Alliance as a franchise?
Mike Jones: Following the footsteps of a proud Marvel tradition, I'll say: Anything is possible, True Believers!
More on Marvel.com:
http://marvel.com/news/video_games/26503/sdcc_2016_marvel_ultimate_alliance#ixzz4FKjy9UHe
