And so it seems that before the main event between the Comic Industry's Big Two kicks off, we will have some small dose of superhero gameplay to make do with. And a kid-size small dose it sure is.


Marvel Super Hero Squad, is an upcoming multi-console (Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable) kid-friendly brawler developed by Blue Tongue and published by THQ. Currently scheduled to be launched in the last quarter of 2009, the game comes piggybacked with additional promotions other than its blatant sources. The namesake, Marvel Super Hero Squad, is a popular Action Figure line marketed by Hasbro since 2006, featuring cartoonized style of established Marvel Superheroes and Villains that was originally targeted at kids under three but went on to become a big hit with the kids and adults. Expectedly, the success of the surprise hit franchise inadvertantly guaranteed further expansion of its lifespan outside the toyline. While the obligatory comic series are already in print, the animated series will be launching in Cartoon Network later this year, a well-timed decision for the franchise.

The premise for this alternate Marvel franchise is that, all the superheroes lives in Superhero City (where your friendly neighbourhood Daily Bugle and the not so friendly Rainbow Bridge to Asgard conveniently co-exist from the cityscape), while the villains resided in (hell, did I mentioned this is for kids?), VillainVille. As always, Doctor Doom gets into his "Pinky & The Brain" routine just so that every other heroes and villains can get into theirs. So much for the premise.

From the reports, the gameplay mainly comes in two mode. Adventures Mode, are for the most part, the Story Mode where players can select two characters from the relatively under-developed roster (reportedly, the game featured a roster of 20 playable Marvel characters, comprising the fan-favourites, Iron Man, Silver Surfer (hell, I had mever imagined that there will come one day where I can called ol' Shellhead and Norrin Radd a fan-favourite!) and Wolverine, and the more obscure characters like Spider-Man 2099 and the Captain America cheap knockoff that is not the Bucky Cap, U.S.Agent) and go through the usual fight-cutscene-fight-cutscene-fight routine. Both single (you will get to switch your character on the fly, much like the Lego series) and cooperative gameplay if you really hated the idea of an A.I. partner, are available. Battle Mode, on the other hand, plays like a party game more suited for casual gameplay. As of now, Blue Tongue is putting additional efforts in ensuring the Nintendo Wii experience work out fine, though further news pertaining the other consoles should be out later on.

Considered this a light-hearted appetizer before the all-out slugfest between Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance 2 (due out this September) and its nemesis's DC Universe Online (scheduled to be hitting shelves only early next year).

Warriors Orochi 2 (Musou Orochi: Maou Sairin in Japan) is the PlayStation Portable follow-up to the poorly received handheld version of Warriors Orochi. The game marries Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors and expands on its predecessor with a few new tricks up its sleeves. We got our hands on the game at this year's E3 and had a chance to tool around with the new character roster and single-player modes.

As a brief recap for the uninitiated, the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series of games are third-person hack-and-slash action adventure games with a focus on battling and destroying huge armies in expansive open-world spaces. Warriors Orochi maintains this sense of scale and gives you direct control over three characters, only one of whom you'll actively control at any given time. Swapping out characters can be done on the fly by simply tapping on the D pad with the direction corresponding to the avatar you wish to send into battle. You'll steer your selected character around with the PSP's analog nub and use the square and triangle buttons to perform light and heavy attacks. Pressing and holding buttons charges an attack (though you can be struck while powering up), while the right bumper is used to unleash special moves. These special attacks perform flashy moves where they can--depending on which character you're using at the time--take on the form of rushing slash moves, spinning swords, or multiple rifle shots. Many of these include area-of-effect damage to several nearby targets when used and are useful when you find yourself swarmed by a group of attackers.

Action still revolves around killing waves of grunt-level fodder guards before taking on minibosses and more powerful adversaries with larger health bars, better armor, and their own special attacks. Our demo introduced us to the playable character San Zang, who had us searching for Sun Wukong. We were told that Sun Wukong had been imprisoned for "mischief." On the way to finding Sun Wukong, we passed the 100 soldiers kill counter, unlocking a new strategy that our team could use as we progressed onward.

Warriors Orochi 2 features several new modes, including Dream, Versus, and Survival. Dream mode allows you to select three characters from the 92-name roster (including new character Benkei for the western release) and play scenarios based on your choice of team members. Versus uses the same three-character team in a two-player head-to-head mode where you'll play across four different scenarios. Survival mode is a two-player mode that works identically to the Versus mode but includes infinite enemy spawning.

The game looks reasonable on the PSP's widescreen LCD and showed off fluid character animations and a solid frame rate, though environmental textures appeared quite muddy. Game audio (though repetitive) sounded quite good and did a good job of capturing the feel of the oriental setting--when you're not listening to the sound of swords hitting bodies. The game builds on the PlayStation 2 version of the game, and Warriors Orochi fans who are after a portable fix of their favorite hack-and-slash game will no doubt follow this with interest ahead of the game's as yet unconfirmed 2009 launch.