With all the Black Friday stuff going on, I thought it would be a good change of pace to get back to the reviews as I been slacking on them as of late. Keep in mind that my review is for the 360/PS3 version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
, I haven't played the Wii version (and Amazon wont give me the correct image). Should this game be on your wish list this holiday season? Well, not at the top, but at a more appealing price (if you can't wait it's $38.43 right now during the Black Friday weekend), I would say it's a decent time to pick it up.As a stocking stuffer anyway
Pros:
Fusion Frenzy: Once again, you got a collection of Marvel's biggest and best super hero's (Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Thor, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc), but this time you get to mix their powers to make powerful attacks. I never thought shooting Wolverine with lightning bolts or repulsor rays would be so much fun.
Live the war: Back in 2006-2007, the Civil War storyline forever changed the Marvel Universe. Regardless if fans agreed or disagreed with the reasons, ideas, or results from it, MUA2 gives you a chance to play through a pretty accurate representation of what went down in that storyline for about half the game. Choose your side and defend your ideals.
Power Specific: Depending on whose side you choose (Captain America's or Iron Man's), you get a different set of abilities you can use. This gives players incentive to replay the game from the other point of view.
Cons:
It's better with friends: While you can absolutely play this game on your own, the real value of the gamplay comes from playing with friends on Xbox live. There's more satisfaction from pulling off a fusion attack with a buddy than an AI partner, not to mention the average Xbox Live player is slightly smarter than AI teammates (keyword "slightly").
Really? That's your best idea?: A little past the halfway point of the campaign, the developers threw in a new story idea that was pretty mediocre. While I understand that they have to change things up a bit, the plot twist is kinda unsatisfying. Also, key parts to the Civil War story are cut. I understand you can't fit everything into the story, but not making the Stamford incident a playable level felt kind of like a cop out, not to mention a few other key events and deaths.
Sometimes less is more: All characters should not be playable for both sides throughout the game, period. I understand they're trying to give you the option to play the war YOUR way and that 3 characters ARE exclusive per side, but if you really want players to get replayability from playing this game, you have to give them more incentive. I.E., Ms Marvel should only be playable on Iron Man's side, Wolverine should only be on Captain America's side, Spider-man should defect eventually to Captain America's side, etc. Different abilities for different sides aren't enough incentive for replayability, different characters are.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is not a $60 title by any means, but it's a decently fun game to play with friends. You might be better off just renting this title, but if you're going to pick it up try to get it when it's about half off retail
Recommended buy price: $30
Game Score Ratings - HORRIBLE - Pass - Meh - Good - EPIC
Meh
Hi,
ReplyDeleteNice review! I enjoy the division of Pros and Cons and easy-to-digest brief chunks of information. You get just about everything a buyer would need to know about the game. Although, perhaps a little more focus on the premise of the game, i.e The setting of the Marvel universe, that could help people unfamiliar with the comic books, wouldn't go amiss.
Hope this helps!
Eugene
[I'd really appreciate it if you could leave some comments/criticism on my blog too! But, you don't have to! :) ]