Sega hammers out Thor details

When The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel Entertainment last August, the Mickey Mouse corp. indicated that it would consider taking over game development for the comics company's slate of superheroes. However, many of Marvel's creations remain tied up at other game studios, such as Sega's 2007 deal to license the rights for Hulk, Captain America, and Thor.

Today, Sega announced the first details on one of those projects, confirming that Thor: The Video Game will arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, and DS in 2011. In November, Marvel said as part of its quarterly financial report that Sega's Thor and Captain America titles will arrive alongside their movie counterparts next year. Thor is currently expected to hit the silver screen on May 6.

Sega will be crafting custom experiences for Thor's various platforms. On the Xbox 360 and PS3, the Norseman's first stand-alone adventure will be told from a third-person perspective, where he battles to save Asgard from marauding mythological beasts, as well as iconic comic foes such as Ulik, Ymir, and Surtur. The game will pull heavily from the Norse mythos, and Thor will journey from the fire world of Muspellheim to the frozen tundra of Niflheim.

Thor will, of course, be bringing his hammer, Mjolnir. Battles will apparently play out "on an immense scale," and Thor will be able to control the weather to defeat the throngs. Players will also be able to upgrade Thor's abilities as they progress through the game.

The Wii and PSP versions of Thor will largely share the high-definition consoles' storyline. However, Sega has swapped out the graphics for a more stylized look. These two versions will also have different cinematic sequences, plot developments, dialogue, and locations. Lastly, the DS version will be a 2D side-scrolling adventure, complete with its own storyline and gameplay.