Now Playing: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

There's a lot to love about this hack and slash role playing game, especially for comic book geeks and action game fans... and there are a few annoying issues. But here's the short version: If you liked the first game, you'll probably love this one. The sequel is essentially the same experience but with a more cohesive story, some streamlining of the interface, and much higher quality graphics and presentation throughout.


The darker, more somber storyline focuses on a civil war between Marvel heroes and forces you to choose sides between the pro-government faction led by Iron Man and a rebel faction led by Captain America. Your choice will change how the story plays out and will limit the heroes you'll be able to use - two excellent reasons to play through the game twice.

The good news is that, whichever path you choose, you'll have access to a terrific roster of stars like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. You'll also get the chance to play as lesser-known heroes like Songbird or Iron Fist, and even villains like The Green Goblin. Each has a unique set of moves and powers (and one-liners) which reflect their personalities extremely well. Whether you like to play, as a hands-on - or claws-on - brawler or as a room-clearing support character, you're likely to enjoy exploring the different heroes and movesets. It helps that almost anyone can play the game. Simply hammering away on the buttons will get you through most of it, and make you look really cool.


Gameplay is from the same distant, top-down view as the original, but the graphics are a massive improvement here and hold up extremely well during closeups. Some of the outdoor environments are downright gorgeous, as are the new "fusion" attacks, which allow you to combine the power of two superheroes for moves like a level-clearing fire-fueled tornado courtesy of The Human Torch and Storm - and yes, that's just as awesome as it sounds. The levels themselves are more destructible than the original, meaning that environments naturally get ripped apart and even used as weapons during fights, which is very satisfying and make your characters feel that much more powerful.

Sadly, all of this colorful chaos makes it very difficult to keep track of where you are onscreen, especially when more than one person is playing. On top of that, the camera can sometimes lock in an awkward position for no apparent reason and make it impossible to see anything.

The story is more involving than the original game but much shorter as well. You could probably finish it in a weekend. There's more replay value, though, both in the two-path story mode and in the legions of unlockables and side diversions like trivia games and simulator challenge missions.

Still, if you've got a friend or three - online or off - and are up for some super-powered action, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will keep you blasting away bad guys until your thumbs are sore.