‘Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL’ Aims to Supersize Original Game on Consoles [Video]

This past summer Papaya Studios and Crave Games released Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion, a fighter pitting CN's stable of stars -- everyone from Ben 10 to Samurai Jack to Captain Planet -- a Super Smash Bros. style brawler to call their own on the Nintendo 3DS. On November 15, the title's graphics, gameplay, storyline and playable character roster will get beefed up in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL, a supersized version of the original title for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.New characters on CNPTEXL include Aku (Samurai Jack), young Ben 10 (Ben 10), Him (The Powerpuff Girls), Hoss Delgado (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy), Johnny Bravo (Johnny Bravo), Kevin Levin (Ben 10: Ultimate Alien), The Scotsman (Samurai Jack) and The Toiletnator (Codename: Kids Next Door).

There's a few characters I would've liked to see in this game's lineup, including Man of Action's other CN star Generator Rex and as many Adventure Time characters as possible. CNPTEXL downloadable content might be a way to bring characters like this into the fold down the line, but given Papaya's track record of working principally on licensed games, it doesn't seem tremendously likely. With 26 total characters from across multiple shows to choose from, however, there's already a lot for many gamers to get into.

Some other new features will include are dual-character synergy attacks that combine the abilities of two characters, new "Punch Time Explosion XL" attacks (essentially finishing moves for each fighter), five new battle areans, an in-game store where players can redeem points earned while playing for unlockable content and several new single and multiplayer gameplay modes.

If you played the original CNPTE, the new story mode will offer a few key changes and the difficulty has apparently been adjusted to make the AI characters more intelligent. One thing the game won't support is online multiplayer combat, however, so if you're buying to battle with human opponents, you'll need to make sure buds live nearby.

You can see Cartoon Network: Punch Time XL in action via images and a developer video below: