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| And then there was light… ning | So… We need to make a decision… 3 pizza ingredients, now! |
This epic story begins when the infamous Dr. Doom decides to attack the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier, this situation forces Nick Fury to ask for help, and he couldn’t have sent a more effective distress call, since only Marvel’s greatest superheroes answered his plea. You start the game having 4 superheroes under your direct control: Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine. With this party you will have to face several enemies and help out Nick Fury, but do not worry, you’ll get to play with much more superheroes as the story develops. There are 25 playable characters, each and every single one of them with his/her unique set of abilities and powers.
A great addition to this game, in comparison with Activision’s last similar game, X-Men Legends, is the fact that playable characters do not feel similar to each other. If you played X-Men legends, then you’ll know exactly the kind of feeling I’m talking about, it was like playing with the same character wearing a different outfit. However, in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, each character feels just as it should, moves the way you would expect, and performs different signature superpowers. You’ll see Spider-Man throwing his famous web fluids around while moving with an outrageous speed, while Captain America will rely on his trusty shield in order to take down the bad guys.
As for the other playable characters you can expect the most famous ones to be here (except for The Hulk that is), you will see the Fantastic Four, some of the most popular X-Men, Iron Man, and Silver Surfer; while you will also find some other characters which have found some degree of popularity recently, such as Blade, Elektra, and Daredevil. Regarding the supervillians, not only Dr. Doom made his appearance in this game, Galactus, Mandarin, and MODOK; are just some of the villains that you will have to get rid of in order to complete the game.
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| I’m big, and I have a baby face | The Thing is a very powerful individual |
In terms of gameplay you will notice a great similarity between Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and X-Men Legends, or if you are unfamiliar with that game, maybe you have played Baldur’s Gate, one of White Wolf’s Hunter series, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, etc. Think of this game as an action RPG with tons of hack-and-slash. Basically you run along your party through one of the very diverse locations from the Marvel universe, tearing up some cannon fodder while solving some puzzles, open a certain number doors and repeat the process until you stumble across a boss fight. During your quest you will encounter some tokens which serve as money; with this “money” you may purchase different items and points in order to customize your character. Also, you will receive experience for defeating the bad guys, and with experience you are given the chance for upgrading your character. The gameplay is not a masterpiece, however it is incredibly fun, especially if you team up with a friend and kick some butt in co-op mode.
Speaking of co-op, there are 2 different options for this title, one of them which could be considered the “traditional” option, where you go around with up to 3 friends tearing up the enemy lines, nice and easy; and the other option could be labeled as the “competitive” option, while playing in this mode you will be competing against your friends, the one who kills the most wins. While this option does not participate in the customization or upgrading of your character, it is certainly rewarding to brag with your buddies about your gaming superiority. Co-op is available in both, on-line and off-line modes and it definitely improves the overall enjoyment of this game.
The controls are easy to master, there is one button for light attacks, another one for heavy attacks, and yet another one destined to grapples. One trigger displays the superpowers menu, the other one allows you to gain some control over the AI, and the back button brings up the character menu. Luckily for everyone, you do not need to spend a long time trying to remember difficult control schemes, and given the option that a player can jump right into the action, you won’t spend much time either explaining the basic mechanics.
In terms of graphics this game really shows what new generation consoles are capable of doing, the rendering style gives this game an actual comic feeling, it is as if you were playing inside a comic book. The characters look great, the lightning effects are top notch, and the particle effects really tune-up the style; my only complaint are some of the environments, which at times seem to be low-detailed. Another great feature about this game is the sound, with so many invigorating tunes, you will feel the faces of your opponents upon your fists as you hit them; the sound is a very important piece of this game, which allows the player to feel enthralled with the action.
Regarding the customization of each character you will find out that there are many things that can be done in order to set up an outstanding killing machine. Not only you get experience points from defeating enemies, you also get bonuses for gearing up with certain items found along your quest, you get a further improvement when unlocking alternative outfits (which are awesome, by the way), and you can also get a bonus for teaming up with specific characters. However, if you find the whole customization process to be quite tedious, you can always ask the AI to take care of it for you in a completely automated way. Also, the longer you fight with a fixed team, the higher bonuses you will get, which is somehow contradictory for the game; why include 25 characters if you are going to be rewarded for using the same 4 all along? Despite that small issue, the game delivers hours of super heroic fun. With 5 long chapters and unlockable levels, we are talking of at least 15 hours to complete the game.
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| I would hate to be that guy in Ghost Rider’s path | An unlikely, yet effective team |
Marvel fans will find, in this title, the most complete Marvel video game ever to be produced. But Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will also provide non-fan gamers with some fantastic hours of pure fun. If you like superheroes, butt kicking, and videogames, then you can be sure that this game is just for you.
Top Game Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
The boss fights, they give Marvel: Ultimate Alliance a very different feeling compared to the usual hack and slash type of games.
