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.
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Review Scoring Details for Marvel Ultimate Alliance |
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.
