First Look: ‘Marvel Super Hero Squad’ for Wii

As we showed you, we got a special first look at San Diego Comic-Con of Marvel Super Hero Squad for the Ninendo Wii from developer THQ. Our video, seen here,  gives an exclusive first look at the game’s Battle Mode pitting the Silver Surfer against Magneto.

For those new to the Marvel Super Hero Squad brand, it started out as a Marvel Universe toy line for the younger generation, with more rounded edges, smiling characters and toned down imagery. The game set to be released in October of this year is also tied in to the upcoming Marvel Super Hero Squad cartoon series, debuting in September on the Cartoon Network. The game’s story is written to be a lost episode of the show.

Marvel Super Hero Squad will feature 21 Playable characters in the game between its Adventure and Battle Modes. The character list currently includes Iron Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Thor, Silver Surfer, Captain America, Magneto, Spider-Man (who must be unlocked through gameplay), Storm, the Abomination, Juggernaut, Doctor Doom, Ms. Marvel, Falcon and the Thing. There will also be multiple unlockable costumes for every character. More characters are expected to be announced in early September. There will also be a Walmart exclusive SKU with a yet to be announced bonus character only available if the game is purchased through Walmart.

The game features two main gameplay modes, Adventure Mode and Battle Mode. Adventure mode focuses on the story of the longstanding Marvel antiquity, the Infinity Sword, which has been shattered and had its pieces scattered all over Super Hero City. The players must collect them before the evil Doctor Doom can gather them for himself. Adventure mode can either be played as a single player game or in co-op mode. In single player, the player will be able to choose their character as well as pick a super hero buddy who adventures with them and is able switch back and forth on the fly between the two, similar in style to the gameplay of Lego Star Wars. The game also features drop in / drop out multiplayer to allow for ease of play for younger gamers. Starting with a trimmed down roster, players will unlock characters for Battle Mode as they explore more of Adventure mode.

Battle Mode is a competitive all out, smash up brawl. It can be played as a 1 on 1 match between two characters, a 2 on 2 team battle or even a four player free for all. During Battle Mode, treasure chests will appear on screen and when broken open will drop with various power-ups like health, strength or speed. Players may also find themselves glowing at one point, indicating the chance to use a special attack, unique to each character, that can be used to finish off their opponent.

Controlling similar to games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Marvel Super Hero Squad employs simple mechanics with hidden layers of depth. There is a button for Melee, Projectiles and Jump. Depending on the direction being pressed at the time, character’s attacks will change. Some characters like the Hulk, who don’t have projectile attacks associated with their character, will instead be given a secondary distance based melee attack. Other characters, like Magneto, will be given special abilities like hovering around the map. Like most Wii games, Marvel Super Hero Squad will put the Wii’s waggle to use as a final “press” of a three hit combo during combat.

Marvel Super Hero Squad looks to begin ramping up speed as it gets closer to its release date. Voice talents like Tom “Spongebob” Kinney, who voices both Iron Man and Captain, have signed on to the project. And like all good Marvel properties, Stan Lee will be featured in both in the game and the cartoon as the mayor of Super Hero City. Marvel Super Hero Squad looks to piece together a simple formula with many hidden layers of depth to unlock to bring together both the youth and mature Marvel world together. Keep an eye on The Flickcast as we cover more news on this game as it comes to the Wii, Nintendo DS, Playstation 2 and Sony PSP in October.