Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
For Xbox 360. Also Wii, PC, PS2, Xbox.
Verdict: Multiplayer meta-mash-up.
Rating: 3/5
With a decidedly old-school comic book feel to it, Ultimate Alliance is more 1960 than 2006. At least story wise as any fan of the comics would undoubtedly point out that certain characters didn’t exist in the 60’s bar some kind of alternate reality, time travelling cross dimensional funk. If you’re looking for a contemporary tale packed with metaphor and maturity, look elsewhere, as Ultimate Alliance is about bashing bad guys. Again and again and again. With a name like ‘Masters of Evil’ they’re asking for it anyway.
Controlling a customisable squad of four super heroes, Ultimate Alliance follows the tried and tested formula of RPG beat-em-up super games like Xmen: Legends and expands it with a much greater character roster of Meta Humans like Spiderman, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Deadpool, Iron Man, The Human Torch and a whole lot more.
The massive roster of characters is one of the only things that provides variety within the game though, with combat relegated to basic combos based around weak and strong attacks and a bevy of individual super attacks. Trying out every character keeps things fresh as each is unlocked but as every identikit level drags on and each hammy plot unravels, its effect wears thin and the next hero ultimately plays very similar to the last.
If anyone wanted proof that videogames turn people into mindless zombies then they need look no further - the repetitive button bashing and endlessly recycled environments transform the player into a base machine, hammering away with the monotone rhythm of a factory robot. Salvation as always comes in the form of friends.
With four super fans huddled round the TV or linked over the internet, Ultimate Alliance is transformed into a social event, full of co-op camaraderie and shared victories and defeats. Ultimate Alliance is a multiplayer game at heart and although it’s always fun with friends it shouldn’t have to rely on human interaction to make up for its weaknesses.
One for the most ardent of fans (with three super-friends).