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TONS of info on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (gameplay mechanics, leveling-up, characters, story, and MUCH more)

Thanos isn't through yet...
by rawmeatcowboy
07 May 2019
GN Version 5.0

The latest issue of Game Informer has a major feature on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. We've gone through the feature to pull out various gameplay details and more, which you can find below.

The full feature has so much more, including comments from the dev team and character profiles. You really should take the time to check it out. If you don't have a Game Informer subscription, you can get one right here. On top of that, you can just buy the standalone digital issue for $5.

- Team Ninja is handling development
- Marvel Games is providing writing talent, character selections, and watching over authenticity
- Nintendo visited Marvel before the Switch was publicly revealed in order to show them the hardware and plans moving forward
- this presentation convinced Marvel Games to work with Nintendo on the game
- Marvel and Nintendo both wanted to see the Ultimate Alliance series come back
- the series felt like a great fit for Switch due to the multiplayer focus and versatility of Switch
- Marvel Games were huge fans of Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo in general, and always wanted to work with them
- Team Ninja is filled with self-professed Marvel fans
- Marc Sumerak is heading up the writing, and has written numerous Avengers stories in the past
- the story 'rides the line between comics and movies'
- there are also easter eggs and nods to the comics
- the story starts on the Milano with the Guardians of the Galaxy
- Rocket's sensors pick up a reading from a derelict Kree warship
- the Guardians board the ship and come across Nebula, Ronan the Accuser, and Proxima Midnight
- the Infinity Stones are on the ship, and the fight between the two teams sends the stones flying across the universe
- characters are introduced with word graphics featuring names and witty descriptions
- tutorials are brief and folded into fights
- the next chapter takes place on Earth during a prison break at the superpowered Raft
- select characters at the blue S.H.I.E.L.D. points, and choose any combination
- get a Women of Marvel team-up bonus for select an all-female combination of characters
- Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales teaming up gets them a Web Warriors bonus
- multiple attribute bonuses can run at once
- other attribute bonuses include Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Wiscracking Warriors, Femme Fetales, Defenders, Midnight Sons, and more
- each character has a general style of attack and specialty, all of which can be leveled up
- Scarlet Witch can buff her teammates with a radius healing effect
- Daredevil can use radar sense to identify weaknesses
- Rocket and Groot are a single playable character who work together
- Groot will whip enemies with his vines, and then light them up with a Quantum Igniter
- roster features over two dozen characters
- XP Cubes will boost experience quickly when picked up
- you can also use a lower-leveled character with other high-powered choices to boost their XP quicker
- four characters are on-screen at all times
- customize your characters with different abilities and stats
- there's a classic camera option for wide-field view, and 'heroic' camera for an up-close look
- Synergy Attacks are unique ability combos between two heroes
- for example, Iron Man can shoot Captain America's shield to split the laser
- Storm and Thor can create a cyclone together
- these Synergy Attacks feature button prompts that players have to hit together to activate
- Extreme Attacks are activated by both triggers when your EX gauge is full
- this flashes a character portrait on screen, and lets other players join in
- these attacks clear the screen and show a devastating attack
- all four characters using an Extreme Attack at once makes for an Ultimate Extreme, complete with a damage counter
- enemies have all sorts of attacks, and some have a stagger bar that will empty until they're stunned
- there's a boss battle against Electro and Venom that takes place on the Raft prison
- Venom must be lured to sparking hotspots that trigger a sonic alarm, and open him up to attack
- the team is still working on ways to make it easier for the player to keep track of their character in all the action
- the Alliance Enhancement system includes upgrades that apply to your whole team
- these are unlocked through credits and enhancement points, and you must unlock points to gain access to adjacent nodes
- these various points will include ability usage, defensive, or offensive buffs
- you can also focus on individual characters to power them up, and standard leveling opens all 4 primary abilities for a character
- each ability can be improved with ability points that you earn during play
- ISO-8 is an equipable element that lets you tweak a hero's capabilities in a fight
- these can decrease damage taken when health is low, increase HP orbs dropped, , increase stun chances, decrease damage taken by piercing attacks, add shock attributes to an attack, and more
- individual pieces of ISO-8 can be broken into fragments, and then used to upgrade other ISO-8 pieces
- Infinity Trials offer new twists and variations on battles, and will net you rewards for completion
- Infinity Trials are seen as rifts throughout the main story, but you can unlock a menu option for these trials midway through the game
- Infinity Trials are split into groups, and each has a serious of challenges to tackle
- new Infinity Trials open up as you complete previous entries
- there will be rewards in Infinity Trials that can't be gained anywhere else
- Infinity Trials have wave battles, countdown trials that put you against a timer, and ability trials that weaken regular attacks while charging up abilities and synergies
- beating the game once will open up a new difficulty level with better rewards
- carry over alliance enhancements and character levels for your second playthrough
- you can also select the chapters you'd specifically like to replay
- the story is a new take on the Infinity Stones storyline exclusive to the game
- the game will also contain a number of Marvel villains outside of the Black Order
- locations include Shadowland, New York, Avengers Tower, X-Mansion, and many more
- confirmed characters thus far include: Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Crystal, Daredevil, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Drax, Falcon, Gamora, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, Nightcrawler, Rocket & Groot, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Storm, Thor, Venom, Wasp, and Wolverine

[Link]