With a storyline based directly on the groundbreaking Marvel comic book event, “Civil War,” an updated graphics engine, and new gameplay mechanics, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 outdoes its predecessor in spectacular fashion. Rarely does a video game or comic book pose difficult questions of ethics or morals, but in this highly-anticipated sequel, gamers are thrust into the examination of the consequences of a superbattle gone wrong. The political ramifications spread to ethical questions that the heroes, villians, and gamers must act on.
Activision did not depart from the basic concept of allowing gamers to control a team of heroes and villians as they dungeon crawl through levels to face enemies and bosses. A gamer may control any one of their heroes at any given time, and switch from character to character with a simple press of the directional pad. In addition to the latent powers each character possesses (like Storm’s ability to fly, or Wolverine’s healing factor), as each hero or villian gains experience points through defeating enemies, additional powers are unlocked. Gamers can activate the fusion powers of two characters, which results in massive destruction with a glorious visual payoff. And to top it off, gamers can earn and find various team bosts, which increase defenses, health, attack points, and the like.
Each level basically consists of a forced path (filled with destructible environmental objects) that leads the customized team of characters to groups of enemies. The levels include the usual fare of indoor hallways and rooms, but there are also much-welcomed, sprawling outdoor levels. Often, the groups of robots or soldiers will come in large numbers, and although it is enjoyable battle large numbers of enemies, despite the enemies the fact that the weaker enemies the game throws at gamers seem to lack much differentiation from each other. The boss battles require varying methods to defeat it, but usually consist of defeating lesser enemies in order to weaken the main boss. Still, being able to battle the classic (and newer) villians and characters from the Marvel universe is a treat in and of itself.
With a far more polished graphics engine than used in the first Ultimate Alliance, UA2 is stunning to look at, especially when the camera is zoomed in close to the characters. The textures are outstanding, and the special effects presented by different superpowers are just as impressive. These graphical effects shine particularly with some of the massive fusion special moves (imagine for instance, Storm’s gigantic funnel cloud made of Johnny Storm’s flames, sweeping up enemies in the entire screen).
Lengthy cutscenes are composed of pre-rendered graphics, which facilitate the storyline. Fans of Marvel films and cartoons will appreciate not only the graphics involved, but also the often superb voice acting.
Improving on nearly every aspect of the original game, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 tells a compelling story and provides an exciting co-op experience. The plot, while perhaps difficult to muster with, is not overly complex for children to understand (my nine year-old nephew was able to grasp and explore the basic premise of this game). With quizzes, a battle simulator, and downloadable content featuring even more playable characters coming soon, there is very little reason not to pick up this game.