Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

"Nothing to marvel over, but an alright game anyway"

I'll be blunt saying this: I've never been much of a Marvel fan. Why did I get this game then, you ask? Well, I was looking for an RPG (or something similar) for my new PS3 and this looked like one of my best bets. Did not being a Marvel fan prevent me from loving this game or giving it a higher score? Maybe. But at least this could potentially lead to a less-biased review.

STORY

You're probably not expecting a story too far above the standards that the comic books probably set for stories, right? I hope so, because Marvel: Ultimate Alliance really isn't the game to play if you want an epic and enticing story.

Dr. Doom has banded together a large group of Marvel super-villains and formed an organization of them called the "Masters of Evil". Using these baddies, Dr. Doom hopes to succeed in his plan to gain power capable of conquering the known universe. Naturally, you play as the good guys as you try to stop Dr. Doom and figure out what it is he's up to.

GAMEPLAY

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance gives you a large group of heroes at your disposal. From the group of heroes you're given at the beginning, you're allowed to choose up to four of them to help you fight. From those four, you directly control one, leaving the AI to take care of the other three.

All of the characters have their own certain "class" as well, meaning there's a certain type of combat each character is specialized for. For instance, you'll probably want to take someone like Wolverine into close combat while you might keep someone like Spider-man away from the enemy and use him for long-ranged attacks.

After you have your party assembled, you traverse through the level and hack your way through wave after wave of Dr. Doom's minions. Most of these enemies can be dispatched simply by mashing the X-Button over and over, so beating the same ones in the same way can get repetitive. When an enemy is approaching you and is wielding a weapon, you can take this weapon and use it against the enemy by running up to them, tapping a button and shaking the controller up and down when the screen prompts you to.

Throughout the levels, you'll have to fight numerous bosses. (You guessed it-the bosses are Marvel villains) In fact, moss battles have two enemies fighting you, and they're definitely harder than your typical guard or robot or warrior. Still, most of the boss battles tend to be fairly simple and can be beaten by hitting the X-button the same way you'd take down a regular enemy. Luckily, there are a few boss battles where button mashing won't be enough and you'll have to figure out how to make use of the environment to win. Some of these battles, like the one with Galactus, are fun, while others, like Ymir, are annoying due to bad camera work and having the PS3 controller be unresponsive when you try to turn it in a certain way.

There are other things to do besides beat up enemies and take down bosses; scattered throughout the levels are things like sketchbooks where you can see concept art of some of the Marvel characters. There are also stat boosts or things to improve your characters. In addition to these, you can unlock other characters who can be used as playable characters. One more thing that is scattered in almost every level is some sort of optional objective that may revolve around finding a lost item or rescuing a character. While accomplishing or neglecting these sidequests have no effect on the actual ending of the game, you're told at the end what will eventually happen to the Marvel universe as a result of your decision. (Not doing the objective will always lead to something bad)

The gameplay overall is pretty simple, and, as a result, the game is pretty simple. You can certainly do a few things to make the game harder for yourself (such as only having one character in the party or not levelling your hero up) but there's really nothing too hard about the game. The levels are straight-forward and most bosses (including the final one) can be taken down simply by going in with no strategy and beating them to a pulp.

GRAPHICS

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance isn't exactly a graphic wonder for most of the time. Maybe it's because the game is multi-port and the true power of the PS3 has yet to be tapped, but the bulk of the game looks like it belongs more on the PS2 or Gamecube. The character models are nothing to brag about and the environments aren't too dazzling, either. Luckily, there are a few FMVs scattered about, and those look very well done. Aside from the awkward lip syncing, I couldn't find anything to complain about, so the job was done well here.

SOUND

For sound, I'll start off with the music. For most of the game, the music is drowned out by fighting, and I can't really remember a single track in this game to save the life of me. Most of the tracks sound like they'd belong in a comic book, though, so that's a bit of a good thing right there.

The more..."memorable" aspect of the game is the voice acting. There's nothing particularly wrong with the voices of the characters themselves, but the way the lines are delivered can be enough to make someone cringe. Lines are often spoken in a way that they're overly dramatic, and the dialogue itself usually doesn't help. The good thing: it's a comic book game. I'll just assume that the makers were trying to give it a comic book feel by having lines spoken like this.

LENGTH

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a short game for console standards. I finished in under twenty hours, so you shouldn't have much of a problem with doing the same. There are around seventeen or eighteen levels, and each one takes around the same amount of time, which seems a bit weird. (Not that that's bad or anything, but I just think it makes more sense to make the first levels shorter and the final ones longer)

REPLAYABILTY

As far as replay value goes, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance actually does a fairly decent job. Since the game is short, you won't have to drudge through the game for an excruciatingly long time to get in a second play-through. There are many unlockable characters, and if you don't get them all the first time, you could play through it again and get them. In fact, that goes for almost everything in the game that can be missed, such as concept art or some of those optional quests that will either make or break the Marvel universe.

PROS

+ Good for any Marvel fan
+ Lots of potential party members
+ FMVs look great
+ Weird voice acting actually adds to the effect
+ Plenty of optional material for a second run-through

CONS

- Short
- Can be quickly won by button mashing
- In-game graphics are WAY below PS3 standards
- Not good for a challenge

CLOSING NOTES

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is probably more of a game for a casual player (or a Marvel fan, of course) instead of someone hardcore who wants a memorable experience. The length is short and the game itself is easy-seldom a good combination for someone looking for a great game. Marvel junkies will jump at the opportunity to play as their favorite characters and take down Dr. Doom, but everyone else might just want to consider this game for rental.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/25/07

Game Release: Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (US, 11/17/06)