ike many of the gifted students that have departed Xavier’s school of mutants, developer Raven Software is spreading its wings and striking out into the larger world of the Marvel universe. The X-Men Legends games were greatly satisfying, but now seem like small, insignificant blips when stacked up against the war that erupts in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Led by Doctor Doom, the world’s deadliest villains have joined forces and are intent on global domination. The fate of the world rests upon the combined strength of the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the rest of Marvel’s champions. Not even a comic book could capture the magnitude of this epic superhero throw down.
It’s not just the scope of the battle that has expanded. The shape of the game itself has taken on a much different shape. The X-Men games followed the hack n’ slash convention fairly closely. While these rules worked well, it always seemed strange that Cyclops would have to sneak off to drink a blue potion to recharge his optical blast. In this game, you no longer need to stock potions. When an enemy is slain, there’s a chance that the fallen will gift you with a cluster of healing orbs that automatically zoom to your character. This change not only removes the clunky system of healing, it makes you feel more like a hero. Your focus is always on the battlefield, not a meter.
As much of a rush as it is to tear apart a legion of robots in seconds flat, the mindless and repetitive grind that accompanies dungeon crawlers isn’t necessarily the best fit for those adorned in tights, either. Amid the brawl, Raven has dispersed a number of minigames that act as tests of strength, speed, and skill. You may be tasked with jamming on a button to lift a heavy object, or tapping the correct sequence of buttons to defuse a bomb. The level designs and environments are also far more dynamic. In one stage, you’ll find yourself running along a side-scrolling path. In another, you’ll find yourself trolling the great seas in search of dear ol’ Namor. Having a greater variety in both the levels and interaction you have within keeps you on your toes and removes the dungeon crawling trance that many usually fall into while playing these games.
The X-Men games have also offered a wide selection of characters, but most of those characters wouldn’t even make the B-team in this game. These are the heavy hitters from the Marvel universe that you see popping up when a world-ending threat arises in the comics. Like every other facet of the game, the gameplay tied to the characters has also received powerful upgrades. A character like Captain America is equipped with the same type of combos and super moves that you saw in the X-Men titles, but he also has a shield at his side. When thrown, the shield will ricochet in the room causing additional damage. When the shield is airborne, if you hold A, you can control where it goes. When you select your party, if you have all of the Fantastic Four on the field at once, or four Avengers, the game will recognize this and give you stat bumps.
The RPG elements in the game are not quite as deep as before, but rather, new attributes and skills can be assigned when you change a character’s costume. The old system definitely made me feel like I had more ownership over my character, but at the same time, I really like the fact that there’s a reason to change between Spider-Man’s regular gear and his symbiote.
The critical path is incredibly long and is joined by bonus comic missions for most of the characters. The teammate AI is very impressive, often getting to baddies before you even see them, but once again, Raven has designed a game that is better through cooperative play.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is easily the best comic game out there and a far better product than Raven’s previous works. With the changes that have been made, Raven really is making this genre their own. Excelsior!
Tapping Into the Universe
Here’s a complete list of the playable characters that appear in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. While it’s sad to see that the Hulk isn’t present (Vivendi Games has his license tied up), this list runs the gamut of powers featured in Marvel’s comics. As you can imagine, you’ll need to play through the game multiple times just to see every power and costume that each character has. When playing as Captain America, we recommend using USAgent.
Black Panther (Unlockable)
Black Widow (PSP)
Blade
Captain America
Captain Marvel (PSP)
Colossus (360, PS3, Wii)
Daredevil (Unlockable)
Deadpool
Dr. Strange
Elektra
Ghost Rider
Hawkeye (PSP)
Human Torch
Iceman
Invisible Woman
Iron Man
Luke Cage
Moon Knight (360, PS3, Wii)
Mr. Fantastic
Ms. Marvel
Nick Fury (Unlockable)
Ronin (PSP)
Silver Surfer (Unlockable)
Spider-Man
Spider-Woman
Storm
Thing
Thor
Wolverine
Aligning the Stars
From the X-Men to the Fantastic Four, Marvel has a number of recognizable teams appearing each month in its comic lines. It also has a bunch of teams that you may have never heard of, but can use in this game. Here’s a partial listing.
-X-Men-
Storm
Iceman
Wolverine
Colossus
-Avengers-
Spider-Woman
Captain America
Iron Man
Ms. Marvel/Warbird
Thor
-Fantastic Four-
Mr. Fantastic
Invisible Woman
Thing
Human Torch
-New Fantastic Four-
Luke Cage
Spider-Man
Wolverine
Ghost Rider
(This is the worst team ever –ed)
-Classic Avengers-
Captain America
Iron Man
Black Panther
Thor
-New Avengers-
Iron Man
Captain America
Luke Cage
Spider-Woman
Spider-Man
Wolverine
-Defenders-
Ice Man
Luke Cage
Silver Surfer
Dr. Strange
-Marvel Knights-
Black Panther
Daredevil
Luke Cage
Dr. Strange
Spider-Man
Moon Knight
-Supernatural-
Ghost Rider
Dr. Strange
Thor
Blade
-Bruisers-
Luke Cage
Ms. Marvel
Captain America
Thing
Colossus