Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Review

M:UA was one of the greatest games EVER for any fanboy or girl. It built on the great game engine that was used for X-MEN LEGENDS 1 and 2 that allowed you to switch between heroes and fight your way through various pulse-pounding levels and give your heroes enhanced abilities, alternate costumes, and super [...]-kicking super moves. Obviously this was a little limited with just the X-Men to use, but it was still cool, because playing as a superhero, no matter how lame the game can still be fun. M:UA brought that to a new extreme because it gave you several great superheroes and not just confining you to the X-Teams. Cap, Thor, Spidey, The Thing, Iron Man, Moon Knight, Luke Cage… you name it, they were there. And that was just a great (if at times, corny) game.

You fought everyone from the undersea dwellers of Atlantis to the majestrix of the Sh’iar empire to Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds! At certain save points in the game, you could change your team to fit the circumstances of the battle ahead as well as upgrading characters’ abilities and changing costumes from classic to futuristic to obscure and “What If?” costumes. It was marvelous (pun intended)! The best part, however, was not the fighting and the upgrading and the costume changing, but the very end, where Uatu the Watcher would give you an overview of what certain decisions in the game affected the future of the universe for the better, or in some cases, the worse.

Read More Reviews: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Now, we have MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2, which, as opposed to the original game, follows at least two very specific storylines: Brian Michael Bendis’ SECRET WAR storyline, which opens up the game, as you and your allies go on what is essentially a Black-Ops mission to fight the new Prime Minister of Latveria who is, according to SHIELD director Nick Fury’s intel, selling high-tech arms to terrorists and super-villains. In defiance of the President’s order, he enlists Cap, Iron Man, Spidey and Wolverine to go and deal with this impending threat.

The other storyline is from the status-quo changing CIVIL WAR event, where not only the after-effects of the SECRET WAR are felt, but a very bad judgment call by The New Warriors (in promotion of their new reality show) take on some Z-List bad guys, but one of them has A-List destructive powers and almost the entire town of Stamford, Connecticut is obliterated, causing over 600 deaths, many of them the town’s children. The US Government is quick to respond, saying that ALL superhumans and costumed crimefighters have to register their identites and powers with the Federal Government so that they can be trained and enlisted as duly-appointed paid representatives of the law-enforcement community. This would come to be known as the SuperHuman Registration Act (or SHRA). The big brains of the Marvel U (Tony Stark as the ultimate futurist, and Reed Richards as the number-cruncher and out-of-the-box thinker) support the SHRA initiative, stating that it’s the natural evolution of the costumed hero and that it will save them from the “inevitable” wars between the Superhero community and the Government.

However, Captain America, an already-deputized agent of the US Government, believes that superhumans who fight crime for no reward or pay are the ultimate patriots. And also having seen the corruption that had spread in the government before, he sees how each superhero could potentially be a weapon to be used by the government in whatever way they see fit, regardless of the individual hero’s beliefs or morals. To Cap, this is a simple issue of civil rights and superhumans who already risk their lives every day to fight for what’s right should not have to sacrifice their anonymity or their personal freedoms. So he is the first to rebel against the SHRA, and the superhero community is split right down the middle. Those most willing to follow orders and believe that with training and a steady paycheck, the SHRA is good, side with Iron Man. Those that believe that this is just another way to reign in those with special abilities or those who are different and use them to serve the ends of whatever direction the political wind blows go underground and side with Cap.

Now, the downsides of the game are that there are not many more heroes (or villains, in some cases) to play as. Also, the powers upgrade is not quite as user-friendly as it could be. Also, the game engine and its functionality is very similar to the previous chapter of this series. Not much has really changed. Obviously, the graphics are brilliant, but there’s not much different, gameplay-wise.

But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

This is still one hell of an entertaining play. The interaction with the other heroes, the choices that you make to register or rebel, the guest appearances, and the general coolness factor of being able to play out two of the key storylines of the last several years of the Marvel Universe is just awesome. The main add-on to this sequel is the “Fusion” capability. Basically, you can combine your powers with another hero and create unusual and spectacular combat scenarios. It not only recommends, but when all is said and done, it plain DEMANDS a second play so that you can fight from both sides. Because there doesn’t seem to be a right or wrong side when you put the argument under the microscope, but any way you slice it for me, I’m siding with Cap.