Marvel Ultimate Alliance (360)

[Gabriel]

Well, last night I finally got around to finishing Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Apparrently the Murderworld mission was so bad it put me off playing the game for 5 months. Upon getting back to it, the next mission was the Mephisto mission, and it wasn't much better. But I persisted, and the remaining missions were entertaining.

 

So, now that I've finished, I've found my characters are all left in a room with a SHIELD pad which acts as a level select. OK. That's cool. But now I have a question. If I start a new game on Hard, will I keep my hero levels and equipment? Or does starting a new game reset everything?

 

Does anyone know how long until the Hero and Villain packs come out?

[Tempest]

Not to go off topic, but what is this game like? I wanted to try it, but I wasn't sure what kind of genre it was. Is it a hack and slash type game or more of a strategic game?

 

Is there even a PS3 version or is it just Wii and 360?

 

Tempest

[Gabriel]

This game is for everything: 360, PS3, XBox, PS2, PSP, GBA (ack!), and even the Wii. Of course, I've only played the 360 version, but the next gen ports of the game are supposed to have additional characters.

 

From what I've read and what my friend tells me, the game is an evolution of the X-Men Legends game. The next-gen versions, at least, ditch the cel shaded look of the older X-Men games and go for a "realistic" look. The game looks really good, and I was quite impressed by it.

 

If you haven't played X-Men Legends, the game is a descendant of the scrolling 2D brawlers of old. You wander around vast 3D levels from a (usually) overhead and to the side perspective and beat up baddies. There are object puzzles along the way, but they're all pretty apparrent as to how to solve. Main bosses often switch normal combat resolution for special programmed actions which must be done. Usually, you have to run around the stage and do something in particular to trigger a sort of Dragon Lairish type of scene where you tap buttons in sequence. Finishing the displayed sequence results in damage to the boss.

 

Along the way there are typical breakable objects with goodies inside. There are RPG elements as you characters level up. You can also accumulate money, improve and change powers, and change costumes (often 4 options each character).

 

The game can be played with up to 4 players, and can supposedly be played online (360 version anyway). I've most typically played it as a 2 player game, and it's an awesome brawler in that aspect.

 

There are a few rough parts in the game, but these are almost entirely from not knowing what the heck you're supposed to do. For instance, there was one main boss who was a giant 40 foot tall mech. He was invulnerable, so it wasn't immediately apparrent how to beat him. Eventually, I accidentally discovered that you had to get the evil mech standing in the center of the room and then drop into a nearby trapdoor. This would then shoot you out of a cannon where, if you timed it right, would land you on the mech's head to initiate the button tapping sequence which would damage the boss. Since I was playing Iron Man and could fly up to the mech's head in the first place, this seemed pretty stupid. Sometimes you just have to put your game logic cap on. After you get used to thinking like this, the remaining bosses become nearly trivial to beat.

 

There are lots of heroes, each with multiple costumes which play with some differences. There are quite a few levels to go through, and there are tons of "Simulator" missions. So, even after you've beaten the game, there's still tons of stuff to do.

 

One irksome thing I noticed is the camera has a bad tendency to do strange jumping around. This becomes really irritating on the later levels. You'll be walking along when suddenly the camera snaps around so you're facing the opposite direction.

 

I highly recommend it. Even though two missions of the game really pissed me off, the rest of it was pure gold.

[Tempest]

For instance, there was one main boss who was a giant 40 foot tall mech.

 

A Sentinel?

 

Tempest

[Gabriel]

For instance, there was one main boss who was a giant 40 foot tall mech.

 

A Sentinel?

 

Tempest

 

Nope. There are no Sentinels in the game that I can recall. The plot of the game is that Doctor Doom has a nefarious plot and has created a vast version of the Masters of Evil to carry out his schemes. The villain mix is mostly based around the Avengers/Fantastic Four/Thor catalogue of baddies with a couple of Spider-Man foes tossed into the mix.

[Scumdogg]

It took me a while to figure out how to beat that giant Arcade robot too. I'm not even sure why he *had* a giant robot....

 

The game is full of awesome battles against enemies far larger than you. Fin Fang Foom, Ultimo, Ymir, and some others i won't name because it might be spoilery.

Edited April 24, 2007 by Scumdogg

[MCHufnagel]

My son picked this up for the PS2 after beating both X-Men Legend games on the Gamecube. He got about half way through, then he bought Oblivion. So I guess he won't finish this game! These games play like the Champions of Norath games. An action/beat-em up RPG. The Xbox 360 version does have more playable heroes. In the X-men games you keep everything that was un-locked and keep your levels when you replay it at a harder level. So I would imagine you do in this game also.

[moycon]

I played through the game 3 times, you keep your stats from game to game as long as you choose the option.

They will soon be releasing additional content and achievements on Live soon.

Basically you get more characters for sure (The Incredible Hulk, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Hawkeye, Magneto, Sabretooth, Dr. Doom, and Venom)

Not sure what other content is included, if any, but I'll be the first in line, I loved this game.

 

BTW the giant "40 foot tall mech" is the Devourer of Worlds ....Galactus

 

If you enjoy Marvel comics, and you enjoy the newer Gauntlet games, you must get this game ASAP.

[Gabriel]

BTW the giant "40 foot tall mech" is the Devourer of Worlds ....Galactus

 

Nope. The one I was talking about was the one earlier in the game on the Murderworld level.

 

I was actually disappointed in the Galactus battle. It was one of the easier fights.

[moycon]

BTW the giant "40 foot tall mech" is the Devourer of Worlds ....Galactus

 

Nope. The one I was talking about was the one earlier in the game on the Murderworld level.

 

I was actually disappointed in the Galactus battle. It was one of the easier fights.

 

Oh yeah, That was probably just some robot he threw together.

Should have known, Galactus was way bigger than 40 feet.

[darklord1977]

Not to go off topic, but what is this game like? I wanted to try it, but I wasn't sure what kind of genre it was. Is it a hack and slash type game or more of a strategic game?

 

Is there even a PS3 version or is it just Wii and 360?

 

Tempest

 

i just got mine for my 360 today. love it the graphics and gameplay are incredible...

 

its for all systems...even the wii (shudders) although why anybody would want a wii...is another story

[MCHufnagel]

its for all systems...even the wii (shudders) although why anybody would want a wii...is another story

While, I'm not a big fan of the Wii myself, I'm sure there is about 6 million people who would dis-agree with you.