I loved Marvel Ultimate Alliance so much that I played through it on no less that four separate platforms, just to experience the differences between characters and controls. Ultimately the 360 was my favorite (Achievements + Moon Knight!), and now Activision has announced there is more 360 goodness on the way, in the form of new downloadable heroes and villains, available next month via Live Marketplace.

New heroes include former PSP exclusive Hawkeye, along with Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and number-one fan request, the Incredible Hulk. Joining the heroes are four villains - Doctor Doom, Sabretooth, Venom, and Magneto. With the exception of Doom, all of these bad guys at one point played for the other side. Sabretooth in X-Factor, Magneto as the headmaster of the New Mutants, and even Venom showed his more heroic side in his own limited series. Doom just kicks ass. Each character will have different costumes, powers, dialog, and achievements.

Great power never comes without a price, however. The Hero Pack and Villain Pack will cost 500 points each, or 800 points for both. I'm a little on the fence as to the worth of the packs, but that hardly matters. I've bought the game itself four times, what's another $10 to a raving Marvel fanboy? Michael Fahey

ACTIVISION TO RELEASE NEW MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE HEROES AND VILLAINS ON XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE

Santa Monica, CA - March 23, 2007 - Expanding on the experience of controlling the world's largest army of Super Heroes on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today plans to release Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Heroes and Villains. The expansion packs feature eight new playable characters: The Incredible Hulk, Magneto, Hawkeye, Sabretooth, Doctor Doom, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Venom, each complete with new signature powers, skins, dialog, conversations and achievement points. The download will be available in April via the Xbox Live Marketplace online gaming service.

"The signature gameplay of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance has made it a favorite among fans, as well as the best-selling Super Hero game on the Xbox 360 to-date," said Rob Kostich, vice president of global brand management, Activision, Inc. "By adding some of the biggest names in the Marvel Universe to the roster we're enabling Xbox 360 gamers to build a variety of all-new teams and enjoy the epic action in brand new ways."

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is the award-winning action/RPG that allows players to create their Marvel dream team from the largest roster of Super Heroes ever in an epic quest that will determine the fate of Earth and the Marvel universe. With a total of over 140 popular Marvel characters and a playable cast of more than 20 Super Heroes, including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Captain America, gamers embark on a dangerous journey across exotic terrain and well-known comic book locations like Atlantis, the Shield Heli-Carrier and the Skrull home world in an attempt to defy Dr. Doom and the world's most notorious Super Villains.

The downloadable content will be released in three packs. The Hero Pack and Villain Pack will each be 500 Microsoft points ($6.25) and the Combined Hero and Villain Pack will be 800 Microsoft points ($10). Heroes and Villains gamer pic packs will also be available for 80 Microsoft points each ($1).

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is currently available for the Xbox 360 for the suggested retail price of $59.99 and rated "T" (Teen - Mild Language, Violence) by the ESRB.