Review of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

I typically am a FPS guy, but I LOVE MARVEL. One of my favorite games of this generation is MUA. I've played through it about 6 times and unlocked and collected every possible item. MUA had tremendous variety as it followed a story created specifically for the game that allowed to introduce a hodge podge of characters in different locals.I had super high expectations for MUA2. I can't say that I'm dissapointed, but I don't think it's as good as it's predecessor.

I'll start with the presentation. The characters look great. The specialty "fusion" moves also look awesome and allow for some moments that will remind you of battles straight out of the comics. The environments on the other hand are really bland. The nature of the game, a level grinder, means you have to see a lot of the same enemies. MUA had you traversing all over the Marvel universe, so each level had a fresh look. You can't really plan on battles in space when most of the story takes place in an urban environment. The cut scenes are okay. Some are terrible, some are pretty cool, nothing on par with Square Enix to drop your jaw.

The gameplay is similar to MUA with the exception of the commands and fusion moves. You can no longer direct your heroes into battle, which means they do a lot of following you around. I can't remember a teamate disabling a shield or taking the initiative to attack enemies that were surrounding me. At times they were practically useless. I played through twice, once on casual (easy) with my yongest son and once on difficult. On the higher difficulty level, there were times I wanted to chuck my controller because the teamates stood around and watched me die. Another new touch that I like is being able to swap squadmembers on the fly. As long as they are not dead, you can switch out, so if you really want Storm and Iceman's fusion for a paticular level, put them in. If heavy hitters are working, grab Luke Cage and Thing. Several characters are locked throughout depending on wich side you choose, so playing through twice is a must. That really adds to the replay value because you do get some differnt boss battle and looks at the levels.

I didn't play online, but I did play with 3 players at home. Although it was easier having human teamates, there are times where it is nearly impossible to tell where your character is. Perhaps the game deserves credit for truly epic battles, but some of the boss battles are very dissorienting. The camera also doesn't pan far enough back and will warp you, a la Nightcrawler, to your squad. Unfortunately it will leave you open to attack or move you away from a supervillian you may have been attacking. Very frustrating.

I was also dissapointed in the unlockables. The number of characters is smaller. The are fewer costumes to unlock and they are purely cosmetic this time around. I've read the articles on IGN regarding the mountains of NPC's in the game (Non Playable Characters). In MUA, if you ran into someone, chances were pretty good that you were going not just going to play them, but unlock and upgrading two or more costumes with differnt abilities. Not so this time around. Obviously there are plans for downloadable content. The great thing about MUA2 is that it is REALLY fun. If Activision decides to release episodic DLC, MUA2 could have a long life span. Who wouldn't want to play Secret Invasion or World War Hulk? The game engine is there to make it happen. If it ends up being ten or fifteen dollars for a costume pack or three bucks for a new character, MUA2 will find its way to the shelf.

Ultimately, MUA2 is missing the variety, upgrading and customization of MUA. It feels like it took a step back away from RPG territory and more into brawler territory. It is a lot of fun to play, if not more stripped down. The DLC will end up being the key to how good MUA2 ends up being.





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