The Marvel universe, and all the characters involved, has become a mass-market subject for both moviemakers and game designers over the past five years. When the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance was released onto the public it made waves with both action/RPG fans and Marvel enthusiasts. Developer Vicarious Visions and publisher Activision are looking to strike gold again with the release of the first sequel – Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, which crashes into stores today. The franchise has undergone a lot of changes over the years from X-Men Legends to the next-gen Ultimate Alliance but the one thing that has stayed the same is the incredible attention to detail regarding all things Marvel. After a three-year development cycle we were really hoping to see a polished, upgraded version of the first game. With Ultimate Alliance 2 we got all that and more; the final product being one of the best games of this type that is available on the market right now, something all Marvel fans should play without thinking.
This time around the story changes focus from that of the first game – Dr. Doom, and shifts to what comic book fans have been salivating for – the Marvel “Civil War.” After a number of political screw-ups the government is out for superhero blood, passing a bill that forces those with special powers to register with the government. At that point in Ultimate Alliance 2 gamers must choose a side, and based on that decision certain characters/powers will be available throughout the rest of the game. All said and done there are a number of twists and turns in the story with enough villain cameos to please any Marvel expert. Ultimate Alliance 2 has a very diverse number of enemy types and level locations, the developers making sure to not be criticized for being repetitive on such a very important aspect. This time around the developers added in a cool story element that allows the player to actually take part in conversations, choosing one of three different answers to questions asked by NPCs (offensive, diplomatic, or defensive) – a new feature that helps bring the player into the story, much more than with the last game.
All that being said fans that are looking for a factual replica of the Civil War storyline will come away disappointed, obviously liberties had to be taken to create an entertainment experience and not just a comic book. Even so we had a great time with the progression of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and came away more entranced than ever with what the universe has to offer. Gamers who thought the roster in the first Ultimate Alliance was missing a few key characters will be overjoyed this time around, by the time the game is finished players will have more than enough superheroes and villains to play as. Everyone from Gambit, Venom, Thor, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Green Goblin, the Fantastic Four team, Storm, Daredevil and many more come available throughout the story mode. Some are unlocked just by beating levels while others are attainable by collecting small hidden objects in the world; whichever team of four characters that is chosen the developers made sure that they are all different both in look and gameplay style.
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