I’m a real sucker for fighting games, particularly a fighting game that features a plethora of familiar Marvel comics characters that go beyond Spider-Man (as cool as he is, there are enough games out there already featuring our favorite web-slinger).  Unfortunately the few one-on-one fighting games with Marvel characters aren’t that good to begin with but EA wishes to change that with Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. 

Rise of the Imperfects is a fighting game with a story mode and a mode just designed to mix and match various characters to fight in various locales found in the single player mode.  There are eighteen characters to pick from and the good majority of them are Marvel characters you’ll be glad to see together in a single game.  There’s Wolverine, Story and Magneto from the X-Men comics.  There’s The Thing and the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four comics as well as Spidey and Venom from the Amazing Spider-Man comics.  The neatest addition to the lineup is that of Iron Man, Daredevil and his main squeeze Elektra.  Of course, you don’t start off with all of them so you’ll have to unlock them in the game’s Story Mode.

The game’s story begins is as follows: it’s a quiet evening in New York City as The Thing is just taking a stroll and minding his own business when the invasion starts.  Mysterious crafts suddenly appear, shooting up the city in waves.  Many of New York’s finest heroes attempt to fight back but with disastrous results.  The only heroes left seems to be The Thing and Wolverine but as you continue on your quest to discover who is behind the attacks you will be joined by other familiar heroes.  Who is the scientist named Van Roekel and why is he connected to the attacks?  Who are these men and women that are calling themselves the Imperfects?

These are questions that have answers but by the time you reach the end you won’t care since the storytelling isn’t the game’s biggest strongpoint.  In fact, the game’s single player Story Mode is the game’s weakest link despite the fact that it is here that you unlock characters for the game’s Versus Mode.  The only time the story does get a bit interesting is when the game introduces the Imperfects.  One by one you’ll meet them and their reasons for joining with Roekel.  The Imperfects aren’t the coolest bunch of villains but then again they go together nicely with the Marvel heroes.  For instance, The Wink has qualities that an old Wolverine nemesis possesses but then again she’s also much like Nightcrawler, a fellow X-Men like Wolvie.  Brigade is the big muscle of the group so he makes the perfect foe to go up against The Thing.

In Story Mode you’ll go up against a number of low-level thugs that are good at ganging up on you but are dumber than rocks.  Fighting them actually becomes something of an annoyance and this is one of the reasons some gamers will want to abandon the mode entirely.  Whether you’re fighting them as Daredevil or Elektra or even Spider-Man, they’re easily swatted around until you reach the next chapter for each character.

The fighting isn’t the game’s best feature either and that’s too bad since you have each character’s abilities and powers to use around an environment filled with objects you can manipulate.  The Thing can pick up a car and send it crashing into his enemies while Spider-Man can pick up a lamppost and swat a bad guy with it.  The fun is putting each character’s abilities and powers to work.  Wolverine has his razor sharp claws while Storm has the ability to call lightning.  Iron Man’s armor also allows this to fire a blast while the evil mutant Magneto can send metal flying into his opponents.  They’re good powers but they mean nothing when the simplistic controls and bad camera angles make for a lot of swinging and punching at nothing.

One of the game’s other major disappointments is the opponent AI.  Some enemies, like Johnny Ohm, tend to rely on the same basic attack patterns.  If Johnny just so happens to be losing the fight, he sends several bolts of electricity your way.  Luckily this can be remedied by playing the game with a friend using a single PS2 or through its Broadband-only online mode.

As far as the graphics are concerned, Rise of the Imperfects is a beautiful-looking game with gorgeous character models and great effects.  Compared to the Xbox version, the two go head-to-head in most aspects.  The lighting in the game isn’t as good as the Xbox we’re still looking at a really attractive game.  Even the cut scenes are beautiful.  The environments are wonderfully rendered and there are plenty of things to use against your enemy. 

The sound is also handled wonderfully with great voice acting, a good soundtrack and decent sound effects.  For starters, the Marvel heroes sound the way you might expect them to sound.  Wolverine talks in a low growl while Spider-Man still cracks wise.  The only bad thing is that you’ll hear the same phrases coming from them repeatedly throughout the game.  There’s great narration, particularly during the unlockable comic book features.  The score is nicely dramatic and the sound effects work well.

Flawed from start to finish, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects was a good idea that just doesn’t cut it as a solid fighting game. Its poor controls, questionable AI and boring single player game spoil the few good moments in the game.  If you’re a fan of all things Marvel than a rental is in order but if you’re a fighting fan its best to stay away from this one.  

Gameplay: 5.0
The controls and poor AI is where this game falls apart and characters like Wolverine are rendered useless while Iron Man, Storm and Magneto are a tad more fun to play.  The single player game doesn’t add anything inventive nor amusing either.

Graphics: 8.0
The PS2 version really looks just as good as the Xbox version, although the PS2 does see some weaker lighting ... but not by much.  The characters look amazing both during cut scenes and in action and the environments are beautifully detailed.

Sound: 8.0
There’s some great voice acting to be found here and the score is not only good but it’s wonderfully dramatic in a cinematic way.  The little phrases each hero or bad guy spouts is used often throughout the game so expect The Thing to constantly announce that it’s “Clobbering time!”

Difficulty: Medium
You’ll be plowing through the number of weak thugs easily in the single player game but the boss battles are challenging to a degree.  Some Imperfects will really have you watching your health meter but then again the bulk of them can be defeated by mindlessly mashing buttons until they’re vanquished.

Concept: 5.5
There is a nice assortment of Marvel comics characters to unlock and play and, for the most part, the game does a great job of bringing out their powers.  The downside is that the story mode doesn’t contain a real story.  The best feature is the comic books you can unlock.  Not only are they wonderfully drawn but there’s great narration.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Using a Broadband connection, you can brawl online and it’s so much better than playing against the game’s poor AI.   While most gamers will skip the Imperfect characters, it’s something of a joy to pit the likes of Iron Man against Venom or create a fantasy match between Daredevil and Spider-Man.

Overall: 6.0
Unfortunately, Rise of the Imperfects is just that, imperfect and thus makes for a fighting game that isn’t as fun as it could have been.  That’s too bad, really, seeing as there’s a good collection of Marvel characters but with so many flaws in the gameplay, a poor single player game and so-so villains, there’s not much to like about this game.