Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Xbox 360, 2006)

Graphics [9/10]
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To put it bluntly, the graphics are stunning. The characters, environments, the enemies, all well detailed. You'll find yourself gazing at the background from time to time be it you're in an industrial complex or a hellish dimension. Admittedly, there are points where if feels as if you've been in the same area before due to similarity in room design from stage to stage, but that's assuming you're not busy trying to survive from an onslaught of minions. One major flaw, however, are drops in the frame-rate, causing hiccups in action. However, you'll find them forgivable.

Controls [8/10]
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Fairly intuitive here. Two buttons act as combat buttons (weak & strong), while you have your jump, block, and grab buttons. The triggers bring up mini-menus that allow you to use special abilities or issue commands to your A.I. partners. Everything is in order here.

Sound [7/10]
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A bit disappointing in this department. Right off the bat, the voice acting is probably the biggest complaint here. Some of the characters just don't seem right (ex. Colossus and Thor really stand out, not in a good way) while others are fine and fitting. The background music is okay, nothing really wow-inspiring or amazing however they suffice.

Gameplay [8/10]
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The gameplay is really hit or miss with its audience. If you enjoy pure, hack n' slash action then MUA delivers it in spades. If you find that you get bored relatively easily with hack n' slash games, then this'll be a rental for you. Either way you look at it, the gameplay is solid and delivers the action you've been seeking with the RPG options (stat upgrade, equipment selection, etc). In the first stage, you'll already find yourself fighting off five villains from the Marvel Universe. From there, they just get bigger and nastier (c'mon, would you expect any less?). As soon as you start the game, you'll have roughly 20 some characters at your disposal with four unlockable characters; add to that each character has at least four different, unlockable costume options that alter their stats. An impressive list, though some fans may be disappointed with who made the roster (ex. So I get Luke Cage but no Hulk? Huh...). MUA also features nice multiplayer options, with you being able to grab a friend and do up to four-player co-op in the middle of any stage (stuck in a rut? Grab your friend and see if he can help you). Don't have friends you can call on? Get yourself on Live and team-up, or go for some head-to-head competition. However, online is rather lag-prone (as with other games, but if you thought single-stutter was bad, online gets nasty). But for the most part, there's solid multiplayer action to be found here. Only reason why gameplay hasn't gained a high score is being you'll find yourself getting the "seen this, done that" syndrome immediately, especially if you've played the X-Men Legend games. Take it for what you will.

The first thing to understand: the advertised 140+ superhero roster is overhyped. You only get to control around 30 heroes, half of which are second line heroes.

Gameplay is almost identical to X-Men Legends II: same button mashing frenzy with special moves and 4 player co-op adventures.

What's changed: 28 or so new heroes to choose from, although about half of them are second rate, you will find that you will use a handful the most. Graphics are a lot easier on the eyes than previous xbox titles, but it doesn't look like a next gen title. You can now create your own fantasy hero team with a customizable roster, team logo, and name which you can then take online to play with friends on Live or system link.

Bottom line is if you enjoyed X-Men Legends, look to this as the sequel and not a completely new Marvel title. Of the hyped 140 heroes in the game, there are only about 30 playables and some of the best are still left out (Hulk, numerous X-Men, THE JUGGERNAUT).

If you are a fan of superheroes and you want a button-mashing game that is fun and satisfying for you and 3 buddies that will last around 20 hours, this is it.

Playing Marvel: Aliance is easy to master. The controls are simple, story line easy to follow, and the map/ lvls are pretty straight foward. I enjoyed this game as well did my 6 year old son and 5yr old daughter. My daughter played this game alot in relation to all the heroine choices. She made her team all girls and has played it everyday since it's arrival with a minimal amount of aid from me. My children and I really like the co-op play option (up to four players). However, the XBL portion of the game is not the greatest. The draw back to this game, for us, was the required purchase of the exteneded heroes/ villains add-on. In order to be the Incredible Hulk, my sons favorite, you have to spend at least 500 microsoft points. It really isn't that bad considering everyone else thats available. He's also infatuated with spiderman and he's playable from the start so my son will survive. =^P If you enjoy the Marvel superheroes this game will be a very enjoyable play.

Pros
+ Awesome HD graphics!!!
+ Tons of characters & powers to learn.
+ RPG from the Marvel universe.
+ Co-op play.

Cons
- A lot of Marvel characters either are not playable or M.I.A.
- Fighting can tend to be repetitive.
- Effects glitch towards higher levels. (Requires a system restart to fix. Happened several times.)

Comments
This is only the beginning of games involving the entire Marvel Universe. Real time strategy will keep even an RPG hater interested enough to play through. There are only about 5 real CGI cutscenes and they look amazing. One of the biggest disappointment may be no Hulk or Punisher as well as a lot of other characters who won't be included. But most people will have their hands full trying to decide who to pick for their team anyway so it may be for the better.

Verdict
Must play for any fan of Marvel comics if not a must have title.

Let's get the bad out of the way first. The story is fairly standard for a superhero video game, you won't lose yourself in it as it's not especially deep, but it does provide motivation. The dialog is borderline terrible at points, and attacks are limited to light, heavy, and combo attacks that combine the two.

Where this game shines is the cast. You can choose from your favorite Marvel superheros from the well known (Spider-Man, Wolverine, etc) to the more obscure (Moon Knight, Miss Marvel). Once upon a time you could download additional characters, but since this game is fairly old at this point, that is no longer the case. Each character feels unique and customizable so you should have no trouble picking out a team. To increase the challenge, you can have as many as four, or as few as one character at a time.

This game is best enjoyed with friends, as switching rapidly between characters on your own will snap the camera back and forth and can be a little disorienting. If you're a fan of Marvel and you've got siblings or friends who are willing to put in the 10-15 hours to beat this game, then it's a solid buy.