Marvel blindsided us in the best way possible with the announcement of Ultimate Alliance 3! Wow, it feels weird to say out loud (or type into a computer, you know what I mean!). This is what us fans have wanted for, as they keep pointing out, 10 years! One caveat though, you can only get it on the Nintendo Switch!

Now when they announced Marvel's Spider-Man two years ago and said it was a PS4 exclusive, I kicked back, relaxed, and said "Ha! I've already got one!" Granted, that didn't stop me from buying the Spider-Man PS4 Pro Bundle (unboxing video here!) but I digress. Now, with this announcement, I find myself in a bit of trouble, that being I do not own a Nintendo Switch!

So... I've got some options. Squeeze it in as a last minute addition to my Christmas list, earn some money and get one (they're only what, $300?), or wait for the inevitable 'Ultimate Marvel Switch' edition and pre-order that. Because I would hate to buy a basic Switch only for a Marvel-themed one to be released later. And my Christmas list is a PDF, so I can't really change that...

Anyway, let's move on how this game looks! Um, spectacular is the word! The cell-shaded art style is perfect and the character designs are nice and traditional. Now, I'm not entirely sure how they're going to claim this is Ultimate Alliance 3 when Nick Fury is more, well, Sam Jackson than David Hasselhoff, but maybe it's Nick Fury Jr. Maybe he crossed over from another dimension. Maybe this game is a reboot, but in that case it should just be called Ultimate Alliance: Black Order. The 3 implies it's a continuation.

The character lineup is solid so far. My boy Spidey is there, but that's to be expected. We've got the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and hey, look, the X-Men! In a Marvel video game! Glad to see them quashing this petty 'Fox has the rights' deal. I mean, Disney had to buy them for it to happen, but sometimes you gotta break a few eggs, yada, yada. I also spy Inhumans, Crystal and Lockjaw to be exact. There's Falcon and Scarlet Witch too! Of course this isn't the final roster (at least I hope it's not!), but I'm liking what I see so far!

As far as villains, we've got, of course, the Black Order (including Supergiant). There's also Kingpin, Green Goblin, Ultron, Sentinels, Ronan, Nebula, and... I want to say Ultimo? Of course, let's not forget who the Black Order serves, the big guy himself, Thanos. Apparently, the heroes will be racing to collect the Infinity Stones before he does. Though, if the end of this trailer is any indication, I'd say they were about as successful as they were in Infinity War...

Now, in terms of gameplay, what I read on Marvel.com actually makes it a bit more clear why they went with the Switch. They wanted to capture that 'team up with a buddy' feel that the first two games had. And while couch co-op is still a thing on PS4 and Xbox, there's no doubt both of those systems have shifted heavily toward multiplayer. The Switch has more of that traditional 2-player feel to it. Also, an added bonus I hadn't considered, you can take it with you! I can play Ultimate Alliance 3 wherever I go! That's certainly a plus. There's also an 'over the shoulder' heroic view, that'll close the camera in on the character (we can see it with Wolverine fighting the Sentinels) that I really appreciate. Because top-down games are nice and all, but I'll admit, I was always trying to get the screen closer to my characters in those first two games.

In the end, I can't wait for this! Marvel's kicking their video game department into high gear, and Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, is the best possible idea we could ask for. Now, if only we could figure out more about that Avengers Project from Square Enix...