Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Lately there has been a resurrection of comic book genre and it can be seen in television shows, movies, and even videogames. For the past few years there has been a lot of action RPG games that really focused on one central comic book, usually the X-Men. This year there is a new game entitled Marvel Ultimate Alliance that has legendary comic book icons fighting side-by-side trying to take down any evil that might lurch around.

The story goes something like this: Dr. Doom and the Masters of Evil are on the verge of getting unimaginable power that could destroy everything within the universe. To help protect all life within the universe Colonel Nick Fury gathers a team of the worlds greatest Super Heroes to help stop them. You will have the power of some of the biggest and most powerful Marvel characters at your disposal to command as you see fit. Do you have the power, strength, speed, and cunning to stop the malicious Masters of Evil? Hopefully you do, because the fate of the world rests on your shoulders to stop them.

Here is a quick rundown of what you will do while you are playing it. Players will be sent on a variety of missions. You will command a group of four different superheroes fighting your way though multitudes of enemies. As you go along you will gain more experience which will unlock more powers for your characters to use and help them beat down tougher opponents. Each character will have at least eight different special powers to be unlocked as well as three alternate costumes.

One thing that I really liked about this game is the team building up aspect. As you go through the game and level up your characters you can also level up your team. As your team defeats enemies, rescues civilians, and saves the world from destruction, your team’s reputation will increase as well as give you some very nice bonuses. You can use pre-made teams such as Avengers, Fantastic Four, or make up your own team of unique superheroes.

Since this game has four players in each team that means that three of them will be controlled by the computer AI. Learning from each iteration of the X-Men Legends game the developers have made the AI in this game pretty intelligent. Just like in X-Men Legends you will be able to switch characters on the fly with the d-pad, and it is fun to use the different characters to make the game longer lasting and less mundane.

The boss battles in Marvel Ultimate Alliance are bigger, better, and more fun to fight against. Unlike previous games, you cannot rely on just beating them into a pulp with your fists and special powers. Instead you must find ways to activate the hidden mini games (a la God of War) to find various weaknesses in order to deliver some major hit to them. This interesting way of handling the boss battles is really different from other games and helps spice up the genre.

The graphics for this Marvel Ultimate Alliance are pretty good. All of the characters have a very comic book look to them which makes it nice when you are controlling them around the varied environments. The developers also added some very nice CG cut-screens which look great in action but then when it goes back to real time it makes the game look not as good. I also noticed a few spotty framerate issues, but they didn’t hamper the game to make it unplayable

The voiceovers for this game are not the best but they are palatable. The problem with it is not the voice actors but the few one-liners that you will constantly hear over and over again. If there was some additional quotes it would have made it better. What really makes the sound stand out is the music and sound effects. The music in this game will help motivate you to move from level to level to make sure you take out the bad guys.

If you have a broadband connection you will be able to play online with up to four people. In the online mode you will be able to play a co-op from the beginning of the game to the end or play in the arcade mode. Arcade is similar to co-op play but players now compete for points and the one that gets the highest points is deemed the best at the end of the level, and you will get all the bragging rights ensued. These modes play really well online and I rarely ever noticed any lag while playing online, and that is a really good thing.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is rated teen and contains mild language and violence. It requires up to 315 KB on your memory card and can play up to 1-4 players (via multitap). To play online (with up to four people) you must have the Network card and broadband internet connection.

Gameplay: 8.6
If you have ever played Baldur's Gate then you will know what to expect from this game. Basically players will go from area to area, defeating enemies with their powers, and as the game progresses new powers will be available for the characters to use. The boss battles were really interesting and made the game very interesting.

Graphics: 8.0
The various locations and character models look very nice, but the game is beginning to show the PlayStation 2 age somewhat.

Sound: 8.1
The voiceovers are very sub par for this game but the music and sound effects are really good.

Difficulty: Medium
Just like any other Action RPG game, the farther in the game you progress the harder the enemies you fight will become.

Concept: 8.3
I really liked how players will be able to play with a variety of characters and get to use their superpowers as well. This game really helps bring the comic book characters to life. The boss battles are really fun as well.

Multiplayer: 8.2
The multiplayer for this game is really good. I never ran into any serious lag issues while playing online.

Overall: 8.3
Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a really good game for the PlayStation 2. If you ever wanted to have the opportunity to control over twenty Super Hero legends in one game then this is your chance.