The Gist:
With Captain America and Iron Man going toe to toe in Captain America 3: Civil War, let’s take a step back and re-visit Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 which gracefully covers said storyline while also using some elements from Marvel’s Secret War too.
After a battle between the good and bad guys, hundreds of innocents, children included, end up dead. The government introduces the Superhuman Registration Act. Tony Stark is all for it while Captain America is opposed leading the two to become enemies, with multiple heroes joining either side.
The Review:
Using the same gameplay mechanics of MUA 1, part two does not differ greatly except for storyline which is its main saving grace. That’s not to say the game is bad by any means. You control one of four on screen heroes who you can switch between at any time.
A nice added feature is that the game follows two separate storylines. After the first few stages which take place at Dr. Doom’s castle in Latveria, following the Secret War storyline, the player can choose either the Pro or the Anti Registration side. Choose wisely because depending on which side you choose, many characters will be locked, forcing you to play again. Usually that would be considered a cheap trick but here, it works. That and this game is so much fun, along with so many treats to unlock, I spent much more time on this than the first.
Gameplay wise, as said, it’s more or less the same. A button masher at its core with some added elements, most prominent being the fusion attacks; players can make their heroes combine powers to devastating degree, something Whedon briefly used in Avengers with Cap directing Iron Man’s beams with his shield. Most of them look awesome and deal a great amount of damage. Others will have two heroes doing the tango and knocking bad guys left and right.
The A.I is quite competent for a 2009 game. Your other three heroes attack the hordes of enemies head on but playing with others either online or local is much more fun and satisfying. Especially when say one of the characters you’re trying to perform a fusion attack with decides to spasm out in the corner of the screen, thankfully bugs and glitches like that were minimal.
As in the previous game the RPG elements are there too. Experience points can be used for medals which give your team different perks and boosts. If that’s not your thing you can set the game to auto which upgrades for you. Various costumes can also be unlocked which is handy and quite cool to look at.
The graphics are descent enough. Cut scenes work well, in game character designs are well done but not much of an update from the game’s predecessor. Still, that isn’t a bad thing, with a game this big and with so many characters, I’m sure some liberties had to be taken when it comes to graphics.
The Verdict:
Using one of Marvel’s greatest storylines, MUA2 is one of the best button mashers around. Intriguing storyline, your favourite heroes and villains at the touch of a button with some awesome gameplay and RPG mechanics to add, this is a great little treat.
Story 4/5 – Excellent cut scenes and use of the Civil War storyline.
Gameplay 3.5/5 – Thumbs will be sore by the end but that won’t stop you playing again.
Graphics 3/5 – Not much an improvement but detailed enough
Sound 4/5 – Explosions, lasers, clobbers, and voice acting add to the mayhem on screen.
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