Comic book fans might have a hard time believing it, but it’s been almost two years since the Civil War storyline divided the Marvel superhero universe in half. Forced to choose sides when the US government passes the Superhuman Registration Act in a bid to regulate and control all those with superpowers, the story saw former friends and allies battling one another on the pro and anti-registration sides.

It’s this storyline which forms the backbone of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, mixing it in with healthy dollops of other storylines such as Secret War and parts of the Road to Civil War build up. Eventually the game decides to depart on its own tangent (something which was necessary given the extremely wishy-washy ending to the comic book), and it’s to the developers credit that they’ve done such a good job of crafting a tight storyline. This means it covers a lot of ground throughout the course of the game, while people who aren’t versed with the plot of the comics won’t get left behind.

Like the 2006 game before it, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is an action RPG featuring a mixture of combat, exploration and stats. Players are given the choice of various staple Marvel characters such as Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America, along with lesser known characters like Penance, Songbird and Luke Cage. While only four heroes can be controlled at once, they can be swapped out for others on a whim, so there’s plenty at the players disposal to negotiate the different arenas and pummel the opposition.

Initially, thanks to the use of physics which allows you to toss enemies into the air or smash them into scenery, the combat is satisfying enough to mask the repetitive button-bashing nature. There are three separate attacks of light, heavy and throws, whilst holding down the corresponding powers button unleashes a super powered attack specific to that character. Couple this with the range of heroes and villains to play (24 before any promised DLC is used eke out that number) and there’s a healthy mixture of specialists in ranged and melee attacks to structure your team however you’d like to play. However some of the characters powers do feel a bit too similar to one another, as if not enough though has gone into making each one truly unique.

Stashed around the levels, and gained by defeating enemies, orbs and boost medals can be used to alter stats and provide upgrades such as damage resistance, increased health or adding effects such as elemental damage. Thankfully for those who just want to dive into the action, Ultimate Alliance 2 allows a function to automatically allocate these, removing any need to worry about doing it all manually (although even novices shouldn’t be afraid to experiment since it can make a major difference).

There’s no denying that this attempt to simplify the game from the previous Ultimate Alliance title, has resulted in certain parts of the game feeling dumbed down. While newcomers won’t notice anything, those who played the previous title certainly will. The game makes a big deal of the Fusion attacks where, once the appropriate meter is filled by smacking enemies around, the player can combine the powers of two heroes to do extra damage. However, just like the playable characters, these quickly start to feel like variations on a theme and once you’ve seen one hero rip up the floor while another laces the chunk of earth with explosives, you’ve pretty much seen them all regardless of who is “fusing” with who.

At a key point in the story, the game forces the player to choose between aligning themselves with the Government Agency S.H.I.E.L.D (as part of the Pro-Registration) or going underground (Anti-Registration). This means that after the game’s halfway point the scenarios will vary slightly – choosing Pro-Registration will see a player defending a S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy, while Anti-Registration will have them attacking it. These changes mix in slightly different level layouts and enemies and while it isn’t the most complex, it certainly helps keep the game varied for more than one playthrough.

However it’s around half way through a second playing that the replay factor for Ultimate Alliance 2 starts to rapidly break apart. When using carried over characters who have levelled up, the game becomes ridiculously easy even on its hardest setting. Certain characters like Thor and Deadpool seem to develop a ‘win button’, where their attacks will rip through enemies and bosses with very little effort, removing any challenge from the game.

Ultimate Alliance 2 is also hampered by some annoying bugs. If it isn’t the occasional random freezing, then it’s the issue of characters getting stuck behind scenery or jammed in mid-air, meaning you have to start a section all over again. It makes the game feel like it’s been slightly rushed and coupled with issues about some characters and attacks feeling too similar, it’s almost like the game ran out of ideas half way through development.

Regardless of the problems the game is certainly enjoyable while it lasts and there’s no doubt that fans of the comic book heroes will again relish the opportunity to play as their favourites.

5/10

Xbox 360 version reviewed

For more Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 reviews check out Test Freaks