Thumbs up, soldier!

Sega's rather busy on the old Marvel Comics licence these days, having brought Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk to Wii and DS, with another title based on the upcoming Thor movie currently in development. The company has also just announced it's bringing Captain America: Super Soldier to Wii and DS next year.

Blending combat and platforming, Captain America: Super Soldier will be a third-person action adventure set during World War II. His shield will play a key role too, being thrown to defeat enemies as well as used to solve puzzles and protect him from incoming fire too, of course.

With the press release putting plenty of emphasis on the free-flowing combat system we have high hopes for a Batman: Arkham Asylum-style adventure featuring the First Avenger himself. Wait and see how accurate those hopes are.

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON – October 5, 2010 – SEGA® of America, Inc and SEGA®, Europe Ltd. today announced they will bring Marvel Entertainment’s famed Super Hero franchise Captain America™ to video game systems in an original WWII adventure, Captain America: Super Soldier. The title is scheduled for release in 2011 on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system, Wii™ and Nintendo DS™.

“Videogame players the world over can now become Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Captain America,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEGA Europe and SEGA America. “Captain America: Super Soldier puts players in the boots of the ultimate Super-Soldier, wielding Captain America’s legendary shield. Working closely with Marvel ensures we’re delivering the calibre product that gamers and comic fans deserve and it’s a partnership we’re proud of here at SEGA.”

Players will become Captain America as he faces the Red Skull and his army in an epic third- person action adventure set in the darkest days of World War II. Wielding Captain America’s legendary shield, gamers will engage in free-flowing combat and acrobatic platforming to infiltrate Hydra’s mysterious castle and battle the infamous Iron Cross, the forces of Hydra, and a host of nefarious enemies serving the Red Skull. As the First Avenger himself, players must defeat the evil scientist Arnim Zola and his wartime experiments, combining powerful melee combos and shield attacks to devastating effect.

Captain America: Super Soldier combines a highly athletic combat system with fluid platforming and a highly tuned suite of shield attacks, as Cap explores a massive castle turned military installation. His shield can be employed in numerous ways: taking out multiple enemies at once, deflecting incoming fire back at enemies, solving puzzles, and scaling walls. Players will be able to launch shield-first into the fray with the superior force of the world’s first Super-Soldier at their fingertips—and they’ll need every bit of that strength to overcome a castle that’s both an acrobatic playground for the Captain’s physical prowess and a house of mystery with enemies and danger at every turn.

The original story for Captain America: Super Soldier is being penned by noted comic, film, and TV writer Christos Gage. The primary writer for the Marvel’s Avengers: The Initiative series of comics, Gage has written numerous books for major Marvel characters, including Siege: Captain America, Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man, Civil War: House of M, and Union Jack.

Gage wrote his original story for Captain America: Super Soldier so that the setting exists within the same world as the upcoming movie of the same name, but he infused the game with immersive twists designed to enhance gameplay with all-new cinematic action sequences.