Avengers Assemble!!

(Note: this review is for the PS3 version of the title)

So, I wanted to take a moment and talk about a game very close to my heart. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was released 2 weeks ago for pretty much any system worth mentioning(sorry, no love for the virtual boy fans out there) and I couldn't be happier about it. I admit, I was a little worried when I first heard it was in production. After engrossing myself for FAR too many hours in both X-Men Legends releases AND the first Ultimate Alliance, I was skeptical if playing the same game with a new coat of varnish would even be worth it. Thankfully the folks at Vicarious Visions were able to show me the error in my thinking. This is a wonderfully fun and beautifully designed game. Even though its predecessor was released on PS3 and the XBOX360 as well, I still did not see very many visual improvements between it and Legends. The developers of this newest title obviously were not satisfied either as every character in the game has been beautifully redesigned and reinterpreted. The level design as well has received a new look as fire actually starts to look like fire and not some strange light on your screen. The control scheme is the same as before, but in a good way. It's still as easy as ever to pull off some of your favorite hero's best moves with just the press of a button or two. A great new addition is the option for "fusion powers". Now the heroes can actually work together and combine powers to unleash devastating(and in some cases visually stunning) attacks on the enemy. The first time I watched Spider-Man sling Captain America across the screen to nail a boss in the face I knew it was going to be a fun ride. Even the story which loosely follows the Secret War and Civil War Marvel crossovers was fun and innovative. Upon finishing the game I almost wished the comics had followed the same path. Despite all the wonderful bits to the game, it's certainly not perfect. I often found quite a few sound issues as dialogue chopped and jumped later in the game as enemy hordes swarmed me. A good number of the voices began to grate on me as well as time went on. Even a geek like me can only take so many of Deadpool's stupid jokes before wishing one of his bullets would break the fourth wall instead of his words. There are also a couple of annoying bugs here and there as far as jumping and collision is concerned. More than a few times I found a character hovering in the air for no reason and upon an attempt to jump merely began hovering higher. In any case, these minor details far from condemn the title. It's still enough fun for any comic geek to enjoy and most any beat-em up gamer as well. Besides, just how many decent co-op titles do you find nowadays anyway? So get out there and give it a try, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Bottom Line: Between this game and Arkham Asylum, it's once again safe for superhero games to wander the streets again.
Grade: 8.5 of 10

Greetings!

So, I've been thinking about this for awhile now. I constantly have friends and associates asking me about this game or that, and I'm always willing to give my honest opinion. As such, it's becoming plain to me that in order to stop giving the same review 10 times over, I just make the review available to everybody. And now that Gamestop has me gainfully employed, it's that much easier to play the newest and most talked about games and get back to people about my point of view. So I hope you enjoy it, those of you who actually read it, and good gaming.