The gameplay from game to game has changed very little. In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, you take control of a team of four different Marvel superheroes and fight against leagues and leagues of enemies. Your characters gain experience from defeating enemies and subsequently gain levels and become more powerful. The combat is very basic; the visuals are somewhat outdated (the cut-scenes especially); the story is a cut-and-paste nightmare, and the gameplay is pretty derivative. However, for some ridiculous reason, I can’t seem to put this game down.
The button-mashing, “beat-'em-up” style is a lost art. In the golden age of the SNES, these games were too plentiful; but in this current, FPS (first person shooter) generation, we have been unable to find our roots. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 does its best to bring us back to 1991, and it’s a romp. It will satisfy the hunger pangs of any starved Marvel super-fan. In general, superhero games tend to be quite weak, and it’s nice to see a game that represents its characters so well while providing the player with an enjoyable experience.
Each character has a light and heavy attack, as well as four super-powered attacks. Characters have a red bar, which represents health, and a blue bar which represents endurance/magic power (use super powers and you drain endurance). By defeating the leagues of enemies, your characters will gain experience to level-up, which the player can use to increase the strength of each of their four superpowers, as well as bolster the character’s statistics/abilities. This method is the cookie-cutter approach to any action RPG. There are really no strides or attempts to change the combat. The game introduces new Fusion attacks to the system, which add a different level of depth to this relatively shallow experience. Fusion attacks are super-powered attacks that use two different characters. The player has a meter that increases for each successful attack and once that meter gets to a certain point, the player may choose to unleash a fusion attack. These attacks vary and are situational. Fore example, clearing attacks are used to clear a room full of enemies; whereas targeted fusions are used to target one enemy to do massive damage. This adds a new intricacy to the combat, because the player needs to strategize in order to use the correct fusion at the proper time. The bottom line on gameplay is that it’s an old dog that has learned one new trick. It works, it’s fun and gets the job done, but it’s very tired.
The production value of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is on the low end. The storyline combines events from two more recent Marvel story arcs including the Secret War and the Civil War. The storyline feels very forced. Civil War is treated like the cream of the Oreo, wedged between the two chocolaty Secret War wafers. Roughly a third through the game the player must make a decision of whether they will be for the Super Human Registration Act or against it. By doing so the player unlocks different characters, and gains different abilities. This story choice was smart, because the power gamer needs to play through this game twice to get everything (can you say built-in replay?).
The character selection is quite good, but some choices are worthy of a Mike Staub, “Huh?” For some reason, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 feels the need to include characters that have no business being part of the Civil War (i.e. Iceman, Gambit, most of the Fantastic Four, and Hulk). The game also excludes characters like the Punisher, Dr. Strange, and Ronin which were integral to the Civil War. I foresee more downloadable characters hitting PSN and Xbox Live in the near future for a price of $1.99 or so.
The graphics are reminiscent of the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance and the game can only be played in up to 720p, so it will never look spectacular. The game is also a little buggy, like any action RPG. If there are too many enemies on the screen, the game will slow down. Sometimes characters on your team will choose not to attack, or do anything for that matter. The A.I. is weak, and needs a tune-up. I will say that the voice work is generally very good, although Thor’s voice sucks. Generally, the characters were properly represented by their voice acting and that’s key for a huge Marvel fan like myself.
If you are a fan of the Marvel universe and greatly enjoy the characters, this game will not let you down. If you are a fan of action style “beat-'em-ups” then this game will be a fun and rewarding experience for you as well. I enjoy this game, but it’s just a flash in the pan. It won’t greatly impact the gaming world, and it’s an ultimate fan service. We live in the age of the sequel, when sales are more important than originality. Spidey’s Red and Blues work, but are in need of a good wash. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is currently available on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and Wii.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10.0
Review by Mike (henshin a go-go baby!) Staub
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