Raise your hand if you’re actually surprised about this one.  What, only a few of you? Good, you’re getting smart.

Continuing in the trend of Super Street Fighter IV following Street Fighter IV and dozens of other variants of prior fighting games being released prior, Capcom has announced that superhero based mega fighter Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 will be getting an upgrade on both PS3 and 360 this November - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3!

To be sold as a stand alone disc for $40 (sorry, DLC lovers), this game includes the full roster from MvC3 proper (including both DLC characters) but adds eight new levels, a spectator mode to online play, enhanced balancing, and perhaps most importantly a dozen new characters.

Here, I’ll let the two announcement trailers do the talking (thanks, Joystiq!)

For those of you wanting to keep track of all of the new characters, here’s how they breakdown by grouping…

Marvel gets the following new characters:

  • Ghost Rider
  • Dr Strange
  • Nova
  • Rocket Raccoon
  • Hawkeye
  • Iron Fist
On the Capcom side, you'll be seeing these video game legends hit the fray:
  • Strider
  • Firebrand
  • Vergil
  • Frank West
  • Phoenix Wright
  • Nemesis
All and all, it's an interesting mix of characters I can't wait to play as (Iron Fist and Phoenix Wright), characters that I'm amazed by (Rocket Raccoon?!) and characters that while I'm sure fans are stoked, I'm indifferent toward (Dr. Strange).  I will say that I'm happy that my old MvC2 team of Spider-Man, Strider and Cable is just a little closer to coming back into action.

Below is a full gallery of the official art of the newbies, be sure to check that out.  If you’re lucky enough to be in San Diego this weekend, a playable version of the game should be on the show floor.

What say you readers - is a dozen new characters worth the $40? Personally, I think so, and that’s even after spending the extra $$$ on the Collector’s Edition of the last game (what can I say, I love steelbooks).

[gallery link=“file” order=“DESC” orderby=“title”]