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So Spider-Man, Hulk and Iron Man walk into a bar..
posted by JCDenton (FREEDOM, NH) Sep 22, 2009
Member since Mar 2006
6 out of 8 gamers (75%) found this review helpful
Many superhero games have plenty of potential that gets lost by the time it becomes a complete game. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is one of them.
The game starts off on a good premise, basing itself off the hugely popular Marvel Civil War. It even offers a branching storyline between Anti- and Pro-Registration forces. Additionally, you get 26 well-known (and some relatively unknown) superhumans from the Marvel universe to fight the war.
Then the game kicks in and you realize that they tried to reinvent the wheel and created... a more cumbersome wheel. Overall, the game plays basically the same as Ultimate Alliance or the X-Men-Legends games... or basically any hack-n-slash RPG. The bells and whistles Treyarch add are mostly unnecessary and generally aggravating.
For instance, take the fusion system... please. When you build up your fusion meter (yay, another meter!) you can have two of your heroes combine powers for a super move. Of course, pulling that off requires you to hold the Z button while shaking the Nunchuk and then pointing at the other hero you want to fuse with. And once you pull off said fusion move, you'll probably feel underwhelmed with the results.
Other things just fall short. Hero upgrade and bonus screens are tucked away where it's difficult to find, let alone use, them. The AI of both your enemies and heroes are inconsistent, occasionally pulling off good moves and other times sitting perfectly still waiting to die. And targeting is non-existent with no lock-on or toggling features to speak of.
The game has a decent length, plenty of unlockables and near endless leveling up. Then again, almost every title in the genre features such things.
Ultimate Alliance 2 tries a few new things, but feels very familiar. It just doesn't have anything special that jumps out and grabs you. And it's flaws drag it down in an otherwise saturated genre. It's a nice diversion, but not a memorable one.
The game starts off on a good premise, basing itself off the hugely popular Marvel Civil War. It even offers a branching storyline between Anti- and Pro-Registration forces. Additionally, you get 26 well-known (and some relatively unknown) superhumans from the Marvel universe to fight the war.
Then the game kicks in and you realize that they tried to reinvent the wheel and created... a more cumbersome wheel. Overall, the game plays basically the same as Ultimate Alliance or the X-Men-Legends games... or basically any hack-n-slash RPG. The bells and whistles Treyarch add are mostly unnecessary and generally aggravating.
For instance, take the fusion system... please. When you build up your fusion meter (yay, another meter!) you can have two of your heroes combine powers for a super move. Of course, pulling that off requires you to hold the Z button while shaking the Nunchuk and then pointing at the other hero you want to fuse with. And once you pull off said fusion move, you'll probably feel underwhelmed with the results.
Other things just fall short. Hero upgrade and bonus screens are tucked away where it's difficult to find, let alone use, them. The AI of both your enemies and heroes are inconsistent, occasionally pulling off good moves and other times sitting perfectly still waiting to die. And targeting is non-existent with no lock-on or toggling features to speak of.
The game has a decent length, plenty of unlockables and near endless leveling up. Then again, almost every title in the genre features such things.
Ultimate Alliance 2 tries a few new things, but feels very familiar. It just doesn't have anything special that jumps out and grabs you. And it's flaws drag it down in an otherwise saturated genre. It's a nice diversion, but not a memorable one.
Nothing here to Marvel at
posted by JMichaud (BETHESDA, MD) Sep 25, 2009
Member since Jan 2008
4 out of 6 gamers (67%) found this review helpful
Set in the epic story “Civil War”, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has you teaming up with three other Marvel characters (controlled by AI and/or other humans) in your quest to go from point A to point B and beat up a lot of enemies along the way.
But you get a special ability along the way: Fusion. With the right amount of Fusion Energy, you can team up your character with another character on your team to make a fun and powerful attack.
Attacks like Billiard Ball, where one character is inside a huge sphere and rolls it about, demolishing any enemies in the way. There’s Beam Split where one character fires a beam weapon and the other splits it into several smaller beams, taking out several targets.
Some of the Fusion attacks repeat, but I didn’t expect the game makers to come up with hundreds and hundreds of different attacks.
Along the way, your characters will level up and you can either increase their stats yourself or have the AI do it for you. It brings a nice RPG touch to what is basically a button mashing game.
But that’s the biggest problem with this game: It’s just a button masher with good graphics and a few nice features. The story doesn’t interact with the game play very well; I could just toss out the cut scenes without having any effect on the experience.
It’s best that you play the game with three friends; the AI heroes can do stupid things like walk into an minefield or a Kamikaze robot or they wander about like they‘re lost.
As for the content: the game’s main mode lasts between four to five hours - very short for a $50 game. (I know, there are bonus missions, but they don’t add anything new to the mix).
Still, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 gives out simple button mashing fun, and the Fusion attacks are a nice gimmick. But this is not enough for me to shell out $50. RENT IT.
But you get a special ability along the way: Fusion. With the right amount of Fusion Energy, you can team up your character with another character on your team to make a fun and powerful attack.
Attacks like Billiard Ball, where one character is inside a huge sphere and rolls it about, demolishing any enemies in the way. There’s Beam Split where one character fires a beam weapon and the other splits it into several smaller beams, taking out several targets.
Some of the Fusion attacks repeat, but I didn’t expect the game makers to come up with hundreds and hundreds of different attacks.
Along the way, your characters will level up and you can either increase their stats yourself or have the AI do it for you. It brings a nice RPG touch to what is basically a button mashing game.
But that’s the biggest problem with this game: It’s just a button masher with good graphics and a few nice features. The story doesn’t interact with the game play very well; I could just toss out the cut scenes without having any effect on the experience.
It’s best that you play the game with three friends; the AI heroes can do stupid things like walk into an minefield or a Kamikaze robot or they wander about like they‘re lost.
As for the content: the game’s main mode lasts between four to five hours - very short for a $50 game. (I know, there are bonus missions, but they don’t add anything new to the mix).
Still, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 gives out simple button mashing fun, and the Fusion attacks are a nice gimmick. But this is not enough for me to shell out $50. RENT IT.
Ultimately Nothing Much 2 Marvel
posted by ThaSquare (ROSEVILLE, CA) Sep 19, 2009
Member since May 2007
1 out of 3 gamers (33%) found this review helpful
Though still offering all the superhero fisty cuffs one's to expect from a comic book themed game, the Wii version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 took one on the chin in development. Its multi-console companions on the 360 and PS3 mop the floor with this game's graphics. Even UA 2's nearly three year old predecessor has more polish and content than anything this offers.
It's also riddled with glitches. If you don't get caught on one of the rogue corners that roam the game (they come out of nowhere, I tell ya), you'll likely find one of the genus AI's to snag it posthaste. AI players, too, are ridiculously stupid; be prepared to see them walk right past each-other and do nothing. Also be wary of getting knocked into the air not just because it probably hurts a lot, but because you might not fall back down. You'll occasionally find yourself "landing" on top of another character after getting hit into the air. The problem is you can't jump or walk down on your own accord. You'll have to wait to do anything (including throwing punches) until the person or computer below moves.
The hook Marvel put into this game is the new fusion powers. Each character can combine their powers with another to unleashed a devastating attack upon the bad guys. That's all well and good, except how often you'll find the same moves. Each can fuse with another ally, yes, but most the time you'll one find a few generic attacks.
Worst of all, however, is how toned down the skill sets are. Most don't have more than six actual attacks to train when in the first title each had a dozen or so. Most are recycled too; you'll see Spidey's web bullet move on several characters and Hulk's ground pound on most everyone.
This game is a "Stark" contrast of its former self. Moronic AI, overwhelming glitches, and severely withheld gameplay mechanics leave me wishing they would've put a little more time into this project. If you're looking for a good Marvel themed beat'em up, stick to the original.
It's also riddled with glitches. If you don't get caught on one of the rogue corners that roam the game (they come out of nowhere, I tell ya), you'll likely find one of the genus AI's to snag it posthaste. AI players, too, are ridiculously stupid; be prepared to see them walk right past each-other and do nothing. Also be wary of getting knocked into the air not just because it probably hurts a lot, but because you might not fall back down. You'll occasionally find yourself "landing" on top of another character after getting hit into the air. The problem is you can't jump or walk down on your own accord. You'll have to wait to do anything (including throwing punches) until the person or computer below moves.
The hook Marvel put into this game is the new fusion powers. Each character can combine their powers with another to unleashed a devastating attack upon the bad guys. That's all well and good, except how often you'll find the same moves. Each can fuse with another ally, yes, but most the time you'll one find a few generic attacks.
Worst of all, however, is how toned down the skill sets are. Most don't have more than six actual attacks to train when in the first title each had a dozen or so. Most are recycled too; you'll see Spidey's web bullet move on several characters and Hulk's ground pound on most everyone.
This game is a "Stark" contrast of its former self. Moronic AI, overwhelming glitches, and severely withheld gameplay mechanics leave me wishing they would've put a little more time into this project. If you're looking for a good Marvel themed beat'em up, stick to the original.
Activision, Don't Hire N-Space Ever Again.
posted by lemonball (CHARLESTON, SC) Oct 21, 2009
Member since Dec 2007
I'm both a huge Marvel Comics fan and a big fan of the first MUA. So I'm outraged by the bad job N-Space did on the game.
Pros
-enjoyable and addictive
-good character variety
-powers for new characters are good
-story is pretty good
-graphics are generally good
Cons
-no alternate costumes
-no quick menu
-no team bonuses
-no character redesigns
-characters from last game hardly get new powers
Rent it, buy it cheap, or buy a different version.
Pros
-enjoyable and addictive
-good character variety
-powers for new characters are good
-story is pretty good
-graphics are generally good
Cons
-no alternate costumes
-no quick menu
-no team bonuses
-no character redesigns
-characters from last game hardly get new powers
Rent it, buy it cheap, or buy a different version.
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