Marvel Super Hero Squad details

THQ today formally announced Marvel Super Hero Squad, the first video game based on the animated series, The Super Hero Squad Show, scheduled to debut this fall on Cartoon Network. Marvel Super Hero Squad will mark the first title in THQ’s licensing agreement with Marvel Entertainment, and is currently in development for Wii, DS, PS2 and PSP. The game will offer both multiplayer and single player action and adventure using some re-imagined versions of Marvel’s most popular heroes and Villains.
Set in the Marvel Universe, the Super Hero Squad is on a mission against Dr. Doom’s Lethal Legion of villains to recover the hidden Infinity Fractals; fragments of the all-powerful Infinity Sword. Each Infinity Fractal holds power and can give each character special abilities that could alter the game’s rules and playing field. The game offers 20 Marvel characters to mix and match including Captain America, Dr. Doom, Falcon, Hulk, Iron Man, Juggernaut, Ms. Marvel, Silver Surfer, Thing, Thor and Wolverine, to name a few. Players can jump into a battle arena against up to three opponents in Battle Mode, or choose to play through six campaigns based on the animated series in Adventure Mode.

For more information on the Marvel Super Hero Squad video game, visit www.marvelshsgame.com.

Meet Loose Cannon Studios

Loose Cannon Studios has opened its doors in Seattle, Washington this week. The company founded by Dev Madan and Matthew Scott, formerly of Sucker Punch Productions, and Ricci Rukavina, who held creative and production positions at Universal Interactive Studios, Vivendi Games and The Walt Disney Company. The founders at Loose Cannon Studios have a collective 40 years of experience in the game industry.

Dev Madan worked as a freelance illustrator and comic book artist for Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Dev also helped launch Humongous Entertainment and worked at Sucker Punch Productions, where he helped lead the development on Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

Technical Director and Co-Founder of Loose Cannon Studios, Matthew Scott has spent over 10 years in the game industry. He has held a number of interesting jobs over the years including Crave Entertainment and Monolith and worked on a number of critically-acclaimed titles, such as No One Lives Forever and the Sly Cooper series, more recently lending his expertise to the upcoming PlayStation 3 title, Infamous.

President and Co-Founder Ricci Rukavina started his entertainment career at Amblin Entertainment - Steven Spielberg’s film production company behind E.T.: the Extra Terrestrial - where he immersed himself in the world of digital filmmaking. Ricci worked on a string of blockbuster film properties spanning Jurassic Park, Alive and Twister. The experience led him through the doors of Universal Interactive Studios and Vivendi Games, where he served as Creative Director, working on the Spyro the Dragon series and led development of several titles including The Thing and Scarface. His experience and success took Ricci to The Walt Disney Company, where he served as Vice President of Creative/Product Development for several years.

Loose Cannon Studios is currently developing an original IP for next-generation consoles that will be announced in the coming weeks. The company is also developing another wholly original IP built upon Loose Cannon Studio’s singular vision to create a new breed of inventive entertainment products. We wish them luck. Learn what there is to know at www.loosecannonstudios.com.

The Darkness 2 Revealed?

When it comes to the comic book industry Paul Jenkins is a household name. His impressive resume includes writing credits on such Marvel hits as The Sentry, Peter Parker: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Civil War series and Wolverine (my personal favorite) and a four year writing stint on the DC Comics hit Hellblazer. But we know him best as the writer behind the hit video game The Darkness. That game, or rather the future of that franchise, is the focus of this story.

This week Paul Jenkins will be speaking at the CUSP 2008 conference in Chicago, an annual event that puts the spotlight on creativity, thinking and the arts. But what is important to note is not necessarily Jenkins’ speech at the event (which will be interesting in its own right), but rather his profile on the CUSP 2008 conference official site.

According to that profile Jenkins is “currently working on a sequel to The Darkness.” While there are no details there on the game, it as good a confirmation as any that The Darkness 2 (or whatever name it will go by) is being written and may well be in production.

2K Games  neither confirmed or denied the story: “We haven’t announced anything regarding The Darkness so while we appreciate your enthusiastic speculation, we simply don’t have anything to say at this point.”

We will have more on this story as it develops.  Crispy Game Trust member David Chapman contributed to this story.