The Marvel comic books are famous all over the world and have created some of the most popular super heroes which have now inspired Hollywood Blockbusters, it's no surprise then that the Marvel Heroes and villains have made their way into video games. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance contains over 20 playable characters and gamers can assemble a team of four to play through the game with. The game has a long, well thought out story and is a mix of RPG and Action, which should definitely appeal to fans of similar titles gameplay wise such as Balders Gate or Diablo. The evil genius Dr. Doom has formed a group of fellow evil villains called 'The Masters of Evil'. At first their goals are not known but it is up to the Marvel Superheroes to find out and ultimately save the world. To stop the evil doers and co. a special task force of Marvel characters is formed to take on Dr. Doom. The storyline means the player will be taken to locations all over the Marvel Universe in search for answers and victory, places such as underwater fortresses, creepy carnival fairgrounds and several other places which will be recognizable from the Marvel stories.

Gameplay

The gameplay seen in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is fairly unique and the only other similar game on the Xbox 360 would have to be X-men: Legends, however many people criticized the X-men game but there are a lot of improvements in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance that should hopefully convince the nay-sayers. The game doesn't fall in to one single category as it is a mixture between RPG components and action gameplay and the balance seems just right. The Action part is straight forward and should take no longer than half an hour for anyone to familiarize themselves with the game. At the start of the game, an action packed cut-scene is shown which only has the gamer thinking one thing – 'Let me have some of that! The S.H.E.I.L.D. Heli-carrier is under attack and the superheroes have been called upon to help save it from being over run. For the first half of this level, players will gradually be introduced to the attack options they have, special attacks and special powers, as well as the squad management system which is easy to pick up. The A and B buttons are used for normal and stronger attacks and can be used for combo's but holding the right trigger and pressing one of the four colored buttons will execute a special attack, as the player progresses through the game they will unlock and learn new attacks and powers as well as upgrading existing ones. The combat system works well, it’s fluid and it’s easy to pick up and gives the player a good choice of moves but is nothing too complicated. The game is probably playable with little or no player input in terms of character upgrades for those simply wishing to get stuck in.

In between missions, the game takes a break at a location known as HQ, but this location varies depending on where the fight is. Here players can upgrade their characters. Throughout the game there are experience coins to collect which can sometimes be found on defeated enemies or by smashing barrels. They can be exchanged for upgrades to skills, making characters more powerful for example. There are only 4 super-humans on a team at once, however there are still 20 odd other characters available for selection, these characters will level up as well, however they will be 1 level behind the players current choice but this still means that if you ever wanted to exchange a hero, then they wont be too disadvantaged when they join your team. The RPG elements are nothing too complicated but when you consider the amount of characters available there’s a lot of choice and there will be some form of fighting style to suit everyone, whether you prefer brute strength hand to hand for example Wolverine, long ranged attacks or even magical attacks from the likes of Storm. Bonuses such as extra attack power can be gained by selecting the right combinations of characters and so experimentation is worth while.

There are numerous boss battles throughout the game which break up the action nicely from fighting the same sort of enemy over and over again. Most but not all boss battles will simply be the same as normal combat, as in all of the characters normal moves will be available although as you would expect the bosses themselves are slightly more skilled than their minions. Not all boss battles are played out in this way though as various bosses will need to be tackled in a different way, exploiting their weak points through on screen button co-ordination, for example tapping a certain button to trick an enemy into knocking a column down on itself inflicting massive damage. Sometimes the way forward isn't that obvious but it shouldn't take long for players to work out the correct strategy and triumph. Each boss will leave behind an item which gives characters special attributes or advantages if equipped, alternatively it can be sold. It’s also worth mentioning that certain villains will react to members of your team, for example one of Spiderman's formidable foes is Mysterio and if you engage him with Spiderman on your team, you will be treated to typical Spidey tongue-in-cheek humor. These parts are impressive and highlight the developer’s knowledge for the Marvel series as well as giving Marvel fans a nice treat, Spiderman definitely raised a few smiles with me.

As well as rewards for defeating bosses, throughout the game there are various items that can be picked up, such as action figures. Collecting the full amount will unlock goodies as well as achievements. Also dotted throughout the game are items called 'Simulator Discs', these will give access to missions either at the moment they are picked up or through the SHEILD simulator at HQ. Involving a specific super hero or villain, they give players a chance to visit famous missions that the character has done in the past, presumably taken from the comic books. Going back to the HQ, players can also access the Marvel trivia quiz where they are tested on their Marvel Universe knowledge and if questions are answered correctly will get experience points. In some parts of the levels there is usually a puzzle to advance to the next area, however as with the boss battles they aren't too time consuming and probably wont take long to work out, it could be matching up arrows and symbols or simply pushing something into place, they do mix up the gameplay nicely but don't detract too much from the main focus of the game, which is of course the fighting.

The gameplay overall is fluid and although some parts involve the same tactics repeated, such as clear one room, smash some barrels for points, clear next room and repeat, there is enough to vary the gameplay so it doesn’t become tedious or boring. There is also a co-op mode which is available both offline split screen or on line through Xbox Live. There is a choice between doing normal co-operative play, which is just the main story with up to 4 other human players or the Arcade mode where up to 4 players do the story, however they compete with each other to get the most points. In the normal co-op if there are only two human players for example, then the two other characters will be AI controlled however it’s still possible to select them and take control of them, but in the arcade mode no AI characters will be added.

Graphics

Apart from the odd blurry background image the visuals overall are up to Xbox 360 standards there’s not much to criticize here, and what there is to complain about is rare and not extremely obvious. Some of the level textures have an almost 'shiny' or polished effect, players who have experienced Perfect Dark: Zero might understand that better, it’s not a bad thing however and compliments the comic book settings of the game nicely. Close up the textures and character models don't look too hot, but since most of the game is played from a considerable distance from the characters, the lack of detail is rarely noticed and from the playing view it seems fine. The developers have done a great job in varying the environments, especially when you consider the type of game this is it was probably a hard task to make sure it wasn't overly linear and too straightforward, even though most of the time there is only one path to an objective. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance also presents some nice lighting and shadow effects, as well as the special effects such as lightening and fire when produced from a special move. I didn't notice any screen tearing or any serious slowdowns either which is a plus. The camera angle is never really a serious problem because it can be changed by the player but sometimes it has the tenancy to 'get stuck' at certain points.

Sound

The sound effects in the game are what you would expect from this type of game, there is after all only so many sounds you can get from smashing a jar or throwing a punch. The sound effects do match the gameplay as it’s clear to differentiate between various moves just by the sound, for example it’s obvious when Captain America throws his shield compared to when he lands a punch. The soundtrack suits the game well, with rock music during fights and then slower, softer music when exploring areas or at base. The voice acting in the game is brilliant, although sometimes its a bit like an RPG where the character you are talking to is speaking, but your own reply is not heard, as it is just words on the screen but either way, whenever speech is involved it’s very high quality voice acting. It’s not the type of voice acting you might find in other games, because most of the characters are superheroes and super villains and the way they speak, so emphasizing certain words, strange accents it’s all there and it’s all exactly what you would expect a superhero to sound like. The dialog is also of high standards, the typical scenario where the bad guy spills the beans on his evil plot, but the superheroes reply with cheesy one liners or maybe a sentence or two about how he's here to save the day and protect the innocent. However sometimes this can become a little tedious and annoying, especially on a second run of the game where players will probably be tapping the 'A' button to skip sentences. Looking at the credits for the voice actors, the list is long so no doubt a lot of time went in to implementing different pieces of dialog.

Longevity

The single player in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will keep players occupied for an impressive amount of time. It's a lengthy single player campaign, but if players are to get the most out of the game, then the simulator discs, trivia questions and other activities accessible at base will also add to the amount of time needed for completion or for achievements. As well as picking up the simulator discs, the missions contained in them will also require some extra time. If you feel the need to get the 1000 gamer points from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance then you better have a lot of time set aside because several of the achievements will require a third or fourth play through. The amount of characters available for choice in the game means a second play through is justified, giving you the chance to complete the game with different characters adding a lot of variety. As well as mixing it up with different Marvel heroes, another play through of the game will probably be needed to find hidden items and hidden characters who can be unlocked. The co-op mode will probably keep most gamers going for a while as well as the game can be picked up from a players save point so no need to start the game from scratch every time.

Overall

Although some gamers might not be fully aware of the diversity of the Marvel Universe or the biggest Marvel fans, that should be no reason to avoid this great game. It’s well put together, there’s plenty of action, nice visuals but most importantly it’s fun to play. Marvel fans themselves will surely be pleased with the amount of content in the game. The game offers a solid single player experience that’s in depth thanks to its story and the character customization; but the co-op also adds a lot of value to the game. I admit I am not a dedicated follower of Marvel Comics or any of their related media, I have seen the odd cartoon but Spiderman and the X-men are almost household names these days so even though the game is packed with Marvel related goodies and content, this simply means it will please fans of the franchise as well as offering an interesting but fun gameplay experience for fans and non-fans alike. Hopefully this game wont be brushed aside, which is possible for a lot of games nowadays but it’s easy to see why when you look at the high standard games are starting to produce. I would recommend this game for a rental if there is still some uncertainty but in general there is enough content here to warrant a purchase as Marvel Ultimate Alliance offers a marvelous entertaining gaming experience.