Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Once again the Marvel Universe comes alive in a video game. With a wide variety of super-heroes for you to choose from, it's likely at least some of your favorites have made the cut. More importantly, is this a great Marvel game, good enough even for newcomers to the universe, or is it just mediocre and another one people will pass on easily?

The story to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is set around the Mutant Civil War and expands on it very well. If you're a fan of the series you'll know what to expect. Without spoiling too much, a little bit into the game you're asked to make a choice, which depicts who you fight for and/or with on certain missions. The main characters in the story stay in place so that it can make sense, while the small-timers can mix and match; letting you play with your favorite heroes no matter whose side you are on. The story is told through some animated cutscenes, in-game conversations and radio chatter during gameplay. It's told fairly well, but it's not the greatest out there. Some of the twists you can see coming but if you already know the general Civil War Storyline, it is very cool to see these scenes played out.

The gameplay remains similar to the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance;  ie a beat 'em up with some super-powers thrown in. You control a party of four heroes, with the ability to switch between all of them at will. You can also play with 3 other human players, taking control of a seperate hero each. Your moves and powers themselves depend entirely on the controlling hero.

Added to normal combat are the new Fusion Attacks, which you gain the ability to use after you fight enough enemies successfully. A circle in the bottom corner will light up, and you can merge two hero attacks together to make a devestating strike. There are three different types of fusion attacks. Clearning, guided attacks and targeted attacks. There are 24 heroes in all, and each has a fusion attack with each other hero. That means there are 23 Fusion Attacks for EACH character. That's not even including the downloadable content, with Juggernaut, Cable and Carnage being the first to download, and more promised in the future.

After each mission you are sent to a mission hub, where you can collect items such as concept art, audio logs, and dossiers, talk to other characters, review collectables and other stats, and even lay a trivia mini game. This asks you questions about the Marvel Universe, with 175 questions in total, this is a nice little addition that can give you a break from the action, while remaining fun.

The graphics are definatly the most obvious improvement from the first game being very detailed and vibrant. The characters all look good in their original and unlockable costumes and the levels are very creative and interesting. There's a lot to see, and a lot to do in this game. Also the amount of enemies on screen can be vast before any framerate issues appear. In the later parts of the game, where the levels and enemies become more complex, it can be a slight problem. Though this is not a regular occurance and not a serious issue.

This is the Marvel game fans have been waiting for. It has a very good roster of heroes, plays very well, and the Fusion Attacks are very creative and fun. The trivia questions and collectables can expand anyones knowlege of the Marvel franchise no matter how much you know, and even after finishing it one time over, you'll want to play it again and again. It's always fun to be a super-hero, and this game let's you be four.