10.08.2009

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Just a few thoughts on the new Marvel Comics based game.

Another Marvel comics game that could have been better.  Don't get me wrong, it is an amazing multiplayer experience, but the single player game is average.  So overall I really enjoyed playing with a group, and would recommend this game for anyone with a chance to play with other people.  

The player(s) start with only 4 characters to choose from; Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Spider-man.  The story is goes something like this- the main 4 characters start questioning their jobs as heroes.  A split happens as some feel they are being used as mercenaries in a militaristic fashion by being sent in to destroy some stuff, hurt some people, and bring forced action to other countries.  Government agencies want to enforce a superhero registration program for all persons with abilities of ANY kind.  If you resist you become a criminal and are hunted down incarcerated as such. 
During the course of the game other characters are slowly added or subtracted as the story progresses and a divide grows between the heroes.   Plenty of other Marvel cameos come in as "support", but are either limited to boss fights or just story additions.

As single player goes it is a moderate level of fun and you can take your time and pay closer attention to the story.  But, meh, it's just "ok".  I do want story in a game, but it should also be more focused in the single player.  Leave the story loose for games with multiplayer mode.  With a group game I don't want to sit and watch a 10 minute story continuation.  There needs to be action, with only enough filler video to cover the load time of the level.  When I am by myself I fully appreciate the depth of the story, but a limit should be necessary.  Multiplayer is where this game really shines and the lengthy cutscenes are a large annoyance.  All my friends that have played this game all have the same complaints. 

In my opinion Marvel should've spent far more money on making more characters available, both in the begining of the game, and having the option to use all the people encountered  throughout the story.  I was pissed that both Bishop, Cable, Havok, She-hulk, and the pair Cloak and Dagger are in the game but not unlockable. 

I don't care that each character has a multi-person super move, called "Fushions".  Sure they are cool, and occasionally very useful, but I would rather a larger selection of characters to choose from, not just the 36 or so available for the end of the game.  When the story impedes the ability to play specific characters, forcing me to change characters, I get angry. Marvel did this in the first game as well. STOP DOING IT!  Marvel easily has HUNDREDS of characters to choose from.  They have tons of heroes and villains already in the game, why aren't they unlockable for use after encountering or battling them??? Ludicrous!

I mean come on, Bulls-eye shows up, why didn't they make him a palette swap of Daredevil?  Or Carnage for Spider-man/Venom?  What about Moon Knight for Iron Fist?  Black Panther for Captain America?  Firestar for Human Torch?  Chamber for Penance? I could go on and on.
I want to see some of the Young Avengers or the Runaways.  I want to see Kang the Conquerer and Dr. Doom be available as a playable character.  I want to see Black Bolt and the Inhumans.  Where is Fin Fang Foom for a giant boss battle?  He could be paired in a level with the Mandarin.  How about a Galactus battle that encompasses an entire city? 

Or there's the future possibility of making a game in which you would get the base game(consisting of MASSIVE amounts of levels, TONS of sh!t to destroy, and UNBELIEVABLE amounts of people to beat the crap out of) and then would be given a certain amount of characters to download free for play.  Then at a later time have the option to buy even more characters.
I want an EPIC game, not so heavy on story, but there should be just enough to keep players on a path, and like a hundred levels of hack-n-slash with some light puzzle solving, with a minimum of a hundred selectable characters at the begining.  The levels could be enormous, like a more free roaming type feel, an immense city of roaming around fighting people combined with a reasonable amount of collateral damage.

The game could easily be brought down to simply being a bunch of people(more than 4) with crazy powers going on a monster rampage through whatever passes as bad guys' current residence and destroying everything in sight.  Sometimes a simple game is a better game.  So, by focusing more on the Hack and Slash, or more appropriately Power and Punch, could be what it takes to make an enjoyable multiplayer experience into a highly addictive group activity.

All right Marvel-  More Characters, More Levels, and More Awesome.  (Awesome being things/people to destroy.)  They have plenty of story material from years past (but keep it light for 2+ players) and could easily have an Infinity Gauntlet game.


One last note- they also NEED to have multiple save slots.  It sucks having no extra save spots.  A single save for Single player and a single for Multiplayer.  What the hell game makers!?

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