Marvel: Ultimate Alliance: And Deadpool Too!
BootScraper
90% score
We all know what happens when you put badass super heroes in a videogame: it usually sucks. From Superman, to Batman and even Spawn, most super heroes dont make the virtual transfer so well. Lately, however, there has been a formula arising in the Marvel universe to crush this crappiness in comic book games. It started with X-Men: Legends and has now become perfected with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. The formula is quite simple. Take one part Baldurs Gate, two parts comic book, and throw as many heroes and villains into the mix as you can. The result is perhaps the best mix since peanut butter and chocolate or first-person shooters and demons. The game has you pick one-to-four people in your party and go hunt down the villains in many different and unique locals, such as underwater, Valhalla, and even Hell itself. There are a total of 20 super heroes to choose from to put in your party. You got Blade, Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor, and even one of my favorites; Deadpool. Each character has his or her own special power attacks (all of which can be upgraded through experience) that can be used by holding a trigger and pressing a face button. And you can also put together your own default team that will gain extra experience and reputation points by completing quests. This is all the more fun when playing co-op with three of your friends. The controls have really been streamlined to the point where you dont even notice them. Doing combo attacks and using you special powers become second nature well before the end of the first mission. Like I said, this is a formula that has been perfected. Raven software (who did the extremely graphic Soldier of Fortune games) made both X-Men: Legends games and this one. So they know what makes a great comic book game. The audio in the game, although nothing special, does have some high points. The explosions and body hits in the game are nice and thunderous and the voice acting is done very well. The lines of script in the game are also very entertaining. If you want a laugh, keep Deadpool on your team and listen to what he says when he levels up. The one thing I was surprised to be amazed at in this game was the graphics. Since this is a top-down style game, you really cant see the awesome visuals as well as most, but if you zoom in the camera you will notice the amazing detail that went into every texture in the game. They way every material reflects light in its own way and how the specials effects fill the screen, it is just simply amazing. The in-game cinematics are as good, if not better, than most other generations computer generated movies. Its just too bad it isnt more noticeable. Maybe they should have added a third-person camera angle option. If you were to ask me what my favorite game is, I would not lie. I would say it is the Punisher game that came out a couple of years ago. However, that is only my favorite because he is my favorite super hero, and its gory as hell. For general audiences and comic book diehards alike, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is your safest bet for best comic book game of all time.
