Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 DLC

This is a polite reminder that the time is almost up, after December 31st the DLC will be gone and will NOT be coming back.

For 800 Microsoft points($9.99 on PSN) you can get 5 additional playable characters: Carnage, Magneto, Psylocke, Cable, and Black Panther. You’ll also get 4 simulator missions

For just 160 Microsoft points($1.99 on PSN), you can also buy the former pre-order exclusive the unstoppable Juggernaut!

There is a teaser pack that available that allows you to play online with those who have bought the DLC but this will also be removed on Friday.

Don’t wait, this is your last chance to grab this DLC and get those last achievements and trophies.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 DLC Pack Returns

GameFocus: Long story short: Activision did not had a full-time license for the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise, meaning that when the license expired, the DLC pack featuring five new characters - Psylocke, Carnage, Black Panther, Magneto and Cable - was removed from both PSN and Xbox Live last December, leaving late adopters with no access to the promised content.

After lots of hate mail and unnecessary comments, HeroHQ confirms the return of the DLC pack:

"We made our case (your fan support helped), begged, pleaded, cajoled and didn’t give up and were able to convince the ‘powers that be’ to bring MUA2 DLC back!! This is really happening.

In terms of timing, now that it’s been approved, we need to coordinate to get this back up on Xbox Live and PSN. As soon as I know definite timing, I will let you know.

And this is important – I want to make sure this is super clear from the beginning – all good things must come to an end and we are only allowed to have the MUA2 DLC back up through the end of 2010. So there will be about a 6 month window to download the content again, and then it will be gone for good. It’s not a strategy and not our choice, this is just what is allowed so I’m giving you all the advance notice I can."

MUA2 DLC Pack Release Date Announced

HeroHQ: The news you’ve been waiting for is here: the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 downloadable content will be available November 5th on XBOX Live (worldwide) and Playstation network in America, November 12th for Playstation Network in Europe.

The main DLC package (all-new characters, more boosts, and simulator missions) will retail for 800 Microsoft Points (XBOX) and $9.99 (PS3). Additionally, we’re making Juggernaut available as DLC (same dates) for 160 MS Points (XBOX) and $1.99 (PS3).

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Moreover, Kalina, our favorite game producer, spills the beans on how the character roster for the DLC pack was chosen. Kalina said:

"Psylocke - C’mon, did anybody who knew me from MUA1 think I would do MUA2 and NOT have Psylocke in the game? :P It certainly helped my case that Psylocke ranked as the #2 desired female character just after Jean Grey (and Jean’s already in MUA2) and more voices than mine have also been asking for Psylocke for a long time! Her in-game model really does her justice - I was really excited to see all the posts that came right after we revealed Psylocke and showed how cool her looks and powers are. And yes, definitely needed to add some female power to the mix."

"Carnage - Carnage was a fun add to the game because he’s ALL NEW to the whole MUA franchise, and actually ranked #1 in our polls and surveys and other things among Marvel characters not previously in MUA or MUA2. He’s pretty recognizable on a mass appeal basis."

"Cable - Believe it or not, Cable is also all-new to the MUA franchise and topped the list among our most hardcore fans at Comic Con AND via surveys and posts in this very VIP community."

"Black Panther - This was actually a request from Marvel, and with an upcoming TV series that was announced and supposed to come out in 2009, we thought we’d tie in nicely with that."

"Magneto - Of course Magneto tops the list of desired characters and his gameplay is epic. We thought twice about this one because he was DLC in MUA1, but felt we did need some really big anchor character that has that mass recognition, and Magneto was the biggest, most epic, most mass character outside of the ones we already have in the game. "

Kalina also talked about other characters that were considered for the DLC pack. She stated that it doesn't mean they won't be included in the future. She said:

"Cyclops - Came really close as he did rank high on VIP and Comic Con feedback. Ultimately, we felt that he’s already in the Wii/PS2/PSP versions of the game so people can still play as him. To have Cyclops AND Psylcoke as DLC would be too much crossover, so Psylocke won out."

"Emma Frost - I like her too! And she is definitely one we can design around. She also came REALLY close simply because we like her, but in our polls and surveys (VIP community included), she surprisingly ranked really low so that knocked her out of the running. She did not even rank in the top 20 characters requested that were not previously in MUA1! So I’ll say this - we WILL be coming out with a survey to VIPs on MUA2, and if you feel that strongly about Emma Frost, be sure you fill out that survey and list her! Those surveys are the most actionable way to get feedback. Also good that I read this particular thread and know how much people want her now."

"Rogue - We struggle with this one. I’d love to get Rogue in the game and she always tops our lists, but she is really, really hard to design. How do you design a character that can have any power if she just sucks it from other characters? Not to say it’s impossible, but we haven’t figured it out yet..."

"Hawkeye and Sentry - Well Sentry’s on the NDS version for those who feel strongly about him, and Hawkeye was already DLC for MUA1. Since we were repeating Magneto, it was too much to repeat another. And there were just characters that ranked higher to be honest, but don’t count them out for “next time” if it happens."

MUA2: The Making of Psylocke

The Making of Psylocke: For this week’s dev diary on our newly announced downloadable character, Psylocke, we’ve gotten the deadly duo of Steven Vanseth and Steve Nelson to help us out. Take it away, guys!

What was the overriding “theme” or direction you tried to capture with Psylocke?

Steve Vanseth
Animator

Psylocke is a fan favorite, and I wanted to make sure I stayed true to her character and captured the appeal of her character. This started in the basic traversal. I really wanted to give her a strong feminine attitude. As for her powers, we felt it was key to play up her martial arts abilities as much as possible and incorporate her ability to create “psi” weapons.

Steven Nelson
Effects Artist

Violet. Almost all the characters in the Marvel Universe have a color associated with them or their power sets. This is almost always the first consideration in making a visual effect. Even when a character doesn’t have a theme color in the comics, we will give them one we think is appropriate. After that, I keep in mind what the character isn’t actually capable of. I try hard not to give a character powers that they don’t have, or that don’t make since in the comic book reality. Psylocke was a difficult case in which I had to fudge the visuals a bit to make the FX look interesting. Nothing really super about a person throwing a couple kicks in a row. But throw in an aura around their body at the moment of impact and a bright flash, and all of a sudden that kick looks a lot more powerful.

What’s something you worked on that did this particularly well?

Steve Vanseth
Animator

I’m really happy with the way her traversal animations turned out. She has a lot of character, and I think she really stands out from the crowd… just take a moment to look at her walk. On the powers side, I think her Triple Strike works really well. It combines everything we wanted to show in Psylocke: strength, appeal, and skill.

Steven Nelson
Effects Artist

I think that the “collect and smash” fusion that Psylocke performs came out pretty well. I had some challenges with the fact that she doesn’t exactly have “explosive” powers, visually. So I did a little cheating by giving her a transparent model trail to emphasize when she’s using her powers. That, in combination with creating a sword and slicing up some baddies, really sold the grandness of the fusion.

Now that Psylocke’s about done, what’s your favorite part?

Steve Vanseth
Animator

Surprisingly, I think finishing her walk was my favorite part. I think I enjoyed it so much because I was able to really play up her character and try and get a lot of her personality to come through that animation.

Steven Nelson
Effects Artist

I get really excited when people get that WOW feeling from something I have made. However, it’s tough to get the “aw, that’s not how they look at all.” I feel like I have done a good job of walking the line between bringing the effects from the static images of the comic book to the three-dimensional moving world of the video game. In the end, though, it’s you guys who decide whether or not I’ve succeeded. I will tell you this, though: Before I started work on this project, I had been slacking on my comic book reading. In an effort to get things as right as possible I am now re-addicted to my local comic book store and the pull list gets more ridiculous by the week.

MUA2: Psylocke's Alternate Costume & Dossier

"Picking Psylocke’s alternate costume was tough because there were a lot of good choices. Some questions I was often asking myself were, “Does it look fun?” and “Does it stand out in a crowd?” Ultimately most people on the project were drawn to her House of M costume. It had a kind of formal appeal to it but without the constraints of a standard dress. Plus I knew that we could really get the dragon motif to pop and shine."
Bryan Shutt – Art Director

Psylocke Dossier:

MUA2: Psylocke Trailer & Spotlight

Marvel.com Spotlight on Psylocke

Alex Kerr, Community Manager for Vicarious Visions, on Psylocke:

"For Psylocke we wanted play up her martial arts background while still keeping her unique powers in the limelight. This approach really paid off well: in-game she's got a feeling of smooth, clean lethality. Psylocke's an extremely graceful character, but also extremely dangerous, and you can see that within seconds of bringing her into the game.

"One of the things that makes Psylocke so intriguing is that she fights with weapons constructed out of psi-energy. Getting this right was very important to us, and we made sure to incorporate her iconic blades into her most basic attacks, so you'd be seeing them all the time."

Randy Ma, Intern, Marvel Games:

"The fan-favorite Marvel ninja babe is kind of a no-brainer to have as character DLC. The PS2 and Wii versions of 'MUA2' already have Psylocke, but you really don't appreciate the character until you see her in high definition. All of the staples of Psylocke's powers are here, from her psi-bolts to her butterfly kick. It is also great to see her psi-blades integrated into her melee attacks with fluidity in every strike. For fans of'Marvel vs Capcom 2,' her telekinetic-katana lunge definitely is an homage to the psi-drill, and looks just as devastating.

"Playing as Psylocke in the office also prompted me to go over the heroine's history—I had forgotten how completely insane and complicated the history of Betsy Braddock is! But it's great to have Psylocke back in the Ultimate Alliance series, as well as to have more girls on the roster of heroes to play. And it's always great to have another character with mind powers to give Jean Grey a run for her money."

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Update

GameSpot: X-Men fans will likely be very pleased at the addition of Psylocke to the roster. The psychic ninja's model looks great and is curvy in all the places fans will want it to be. Her default outfit is based on the iconic blue ninja outfit we all know and love, with some nice subtle touches and two-toed ninja shoes. Her alternate outfit is based on one of her more modern suits, which is a bummer since we were hoping for Lady Mandarin armor, but so it goes. Psylocke's powers are a nice mix of some of her classic powers and some ninja moves. Her katana lunge is a forward charge using her psychic knife. The butterfly kick is a short series of kicks. Psionic bolts are psi bolts that stun enemies. Finally, the triple strike is a series of three slashes. We've tried a few of her fusions with different characters and are pretty pleased by how she fits in to the mix of powers. What we've seen skews more toward clearing and guided fusions, which are handy.

MUA2: Psylocke Confirmed as DLC!

Kalina, one of the game producers, just posted the following message on the VIP board at HeroHQ. Be sure to check GameSpot later today for in-game videos of Psylocke!

"Hi VIPs,

Today is going to be a really quick note as I know everyone is on the edge of their seats for the reveal. Just wanted to say that there is also going to be some news today on what you are getting over and above characters for DLC… yes, there will be very cool additional gameplay. Tune in to GameSpot to find out details.

And most of you guessed by now why I’m personally excited about today! The reward goes to those who have followed me since the beginning, you all know who my favorite character is outside of Gambit… I can’t wait until you see how true to form this one looks like in-game.

The video got finished late, so this might be an end of day thing on GameSpot… but I think I just gave VIPs the inside know on this… See? I look out for you!"

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UPDATE: GameSpot released a Sneak Peek video. Jump to the 6:00 mark and catch a glimpse of Psylocke in-game! The model used for the MAXIM magazine article is really from MUA2. You can also notice that the five DLC characters are Psylocke, Carnage, Magneto, Black Panther and Cable!

X-Men Vs. Agent of Atlas & Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #1: At the old X-Men's base, the Agent of Atlas plan to steal Cerebra, in order to find Venus, who's been kidnapped. Cloak teleports in with Cyclops, Emma, Wolverine, Storm and Colossus, but the Uranian - a telepath - messes with the X-Men's minds, and the Agents manage to get away with Cerebra. The X-Men track Cerebra's position, so once Atlas is back at their subterranean base beneath San Francisco, an even bigger group of X-Men teleports in. Psylocke included. I guess she will have a bigger role in issue #2 as she's the only one who can take down the Uranian!

Deadpool #16: There's nothing with Psylocke in it, except for what's been previewed.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: Rumor has it that Psylocke is included in the first DLC pack for MUA2 to be announced in the coming days. Cable, Carnage, Magneto and Dr. Doom are supposedly part of the DLC pack too. Stay tuned! Also men's magazine MAXIM has picked Psylocke as one of the hotties of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. It's interesting to note that the article features a never-seen before 3D character model. (Thanks Psychild and Centurion :D)

More Updates: MUA2 & Psylocke Mini

+ Psylocke Mini

Chris Yost twittered about Psylocke's mini. The writer said: "Psylocke covers by Finch rule. Interiors by Harvey rule. life is good." I guess it's safe to assume David Finch will be drawning all four covers.

+ Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

With the release of MUA2, a lot of videos are popping up. Check nivlakian's channel on Youtube to see Psylocke in action!

Updates: MUA2 & Psylocke Mini

+ Psylocke Mini

Marvel.com: The X-Men will never be the same once Cable and Hope complete the journey home beginning this November! After traveling through time and space, the two lost mutant heroes are ready to return home-but just what does this mean for mutantkind? Running as interconnected short stories (appearing as bonus content) through Psylocke #1, Dark X-Men #1, X-Men Legacy #230 and X-Force #22, CABLE: THE LONG WAY HOME begins the most shocking change to the X-Men you can imagine! Will Hope save or damn mutantkind? What is Cable's agenda? The answers begin in CABLE: THE LONG WAY HOME!

+ Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

Psylocke's movesets revealed. According to somebody who got the game early, Psylocke's got:

• Cerebral Bolt: Shoots out a burst of telekinetic energy in the form of a butterfly.
• Kinetic Drill: Psylocke hurls forward while surrounding herself in a torrent of psionic energy, finishing with a powerful drop kick.
• Telekinetic Explosion: Releases a furious explosion of telekinetic energy to all enemies in a short range, knocking them back.
• Mental Shroud: Hides from the minds of others, allowing her better chance to strike a critical location. Occasionally causes instant KO.
• Butterfly Swarm: Psylocke generates swarms of telekinetic energy that seek out enemy targets and burst upon impact, stunning them briefly.
• Psi-Blade: Summons a blade of telekinetic energy to slice through foes, drawing in energy with every KO. Evolves at higher ranks.

Ultimate Alliance 2 Wii Gameplay Video

The first video of the Wii version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 has been released. Psylocke is one of the characters featured! You can pretty much check some of her moves, as well as the Wii graphics here. Have fun!

More "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2"

The official Marvel Ultimate: Alliance 2 website has finally confirmed Psylocke, Cyclops and Blade as exclusive characters on Wii, PS2 and PSP.

Kalina, one of the games producer, broke the news and talked about Psylocke: "My OTHER favorite character of all-time is in! Go Psylocke! This is not the last you will see of her..." She also posted two exclusive screenshots of Betsy in-game:

As for the possibility of Psylocke and other system-exclusive characters being available for PS3/360 DLC packs later, she said that: "DLC content is not necessarily limited to the exclusives that were just revealed. DLC content does not necessarily exclude the exclusives that were revealed. Who knows, maybe it’s some combination of characters you’ve seen and all-new playable characters..."

More information on the Wii version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 was revealed too. The levels are different between 360/PS3 and Wii/PS2. The games share locations, follow the same general story, and of course incorporate awesome fusions, but the level design and gameplay are different. The Wii and PS2 versions are identical in terms of game content (levels, characters, story), but there are differences in the controls.

Psylocke in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2!

Over at the HQ Forums, Silchrome who works at "Toys'R'Us" took pictures of the back cover of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (Wii Version). We've been hearing these rumors for months, but now we can finally confirm that Psylocke, Cyclops and Blade are in MUA2 as exclusive characters for the Wii version, and possibly for the PS2 version too. It reads "Expand your roster with Cyclops, Psylocke and Blade" and Psylocke is seen wearing her iconic ninja suit. Hopefully, Betsy will be included in a DLC pack for PS3/360 later.

A Few Updates

In the lack of Psylocke's news, here's some minor updates concerning her and the X-Men:

• Uncanny X-Men Resurection: Matt Fraction's comments about an "old favorite" resurrection were misunderstood. He says the resurrection comes during the Sisterhood arc (Uncanny X-Men #508-511). Remember that he said the upcoming arc with Greg Land will have a "resurrection," "an old favorite" - a resurrection of some sort. So far the the only character confirmed to return in Sisterhood is Psylocke and everybody knows she's not dead. Remember Spiral was involved in Bett's body swap and Spiral is part of the Sisterhood... It makes you think. We'll have to wait and see on this one.
  
  
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: There's a possibility that Psylocke may be featured on the upcoming Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 game. Kalina, one of the games producer, has said that she got her favorite Marvel character to be in the game. She says we'll find out who this character is at or before San Diego Comic Con. Well, in the past Kalina has stated that Psylocke was her favorite character along Gambit and Spiderman. We'll have to wait on this one too.
  
  
• Terry Dodson on Psylocke: Uncanny X-Men artist Terry Dodson says he won't be designing a new costume for Betsy and that we'll have to wait and see if she'll return as an Asian or as a British. And of course, that she'll kick major ass!