Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
- July 26, 2016
- Zoë Mode
- 9h median play time
Ultimate Alliance 2 is an enjoyable superhero action RPG that takes a few steps forward for the franchise but also takes a couple puzzling steps backward.
Get on Steam"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2" is a Science Fiction Hack and Slash game, continuing the series from the first game. It is based on the Civil War comic book story line, and features a larger roster of heroes and villains. The game offers multiple ways to play, including 2-player, multi-player, co-op, and single-player options, with more team-based combat tactics.
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Playstation 2
Playstation 3
PSP
Wii
Xbox
Xbox 360
Reviews
- The game features a fun roster of characters, including new additions like Carnage and Juggernaut, which many players enjoy.
- The gameplay is engaging and nostalgic for fans of the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, providing a satisfying superhero experience.
- The fusion attacks and team mechanics add a unique layer of strategy to combat, making it enjoyable to experiment with different character combinations.
- The controller support is poorly implemented, with many players experiencing incorrect button mappings and unresponsive controls, making gameplay frustrating.
- Audio issues, including crackling and distorted sound, detract from the overall experience and immersion in the game.
- The game feels less diverse in character abilities compared to its predecessor, with many characters having similar skills, reducing the RPG elements that fans loved.
- story49 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally well-received, praised for its engaging narrative based on the Civil War storyline from the comics, featuring strong writing and character interactions. However, some players express disappointment over the reduced length and variety of missions compared to previous titles, as well as the streamlined storytelling that limits character availability based on player choices. Despite these criticisms, the game offers replayability through its branching story paths and character dynamics, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the Marvel universe.
“Fascinating story, great writing including plenty of laugh-out-loud quips from Deadpool and the other more humorous characters.”
“The story is actually really good because it is based on both the Civil War and the Secret War storylines, but has a unique twist and explores how dark both pro- and anti-registration sides got in their efforts to win the Civil War.”
“A game that, regardless of its age, is worth playing, with a respectful enough story and a nice roster of characters to choose from.”
“The story and missions are lacking in variety; the civil war setting changes only 2 or 3 stages (in which you fight the same shield dudes with a different skin) before going back to a central narrative about nanites. The bosses are just other heroes with larger health pools, and as you repeat these encounters a few times, they're more of a speed bump than a challenge.”
“Hmm... I dunno, it's kind of buggy. At times it crashed for me, and the story dialogue during gameplay ran itself over. I'm not sure if it's worth the $40 price tag; wait for it to go on sale or find it cheaper elsewhere.”
“At some point in the game, you have to pick a side in the civil war, and some heroes naturally belong to your enemy, so they can potentially be locked temporarily. This can be frustrating to some players.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game are generally considered a significant improvement over its predecessor, with many reviewers noting that they are acceptable for its age, particularly given its original release in 2009. While some players appreciate the realistic visuals, others feel that this comes at the expense of vibrant and creative level design. Performance is mostly praised, though there are mixed opinions on the quality of animations and some technical issues, particularly in online play.
“Nice graphics, especially for the age.”
“Being released originally in 2009, this game is still a gem of portrayal of the Marvel universe. There is a big improvement in graphics over the first one.”
“Graphics are great and definitely improved.”
“The graphics in the game and during cutscenes are somehow worse than the first installment.”
“That said, the graphics are straight from 2009 and look like they belong on the Xbox 360.”
“I recommend this game very lightly as though it's very enjoyable, the price is very difficult to justify for a seven-year-old game with no modern graphical enhancements.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title features a mix of innovative mechanics, such as team member combos and a streamlined RPG system, but suffers from linearity and repetitiveness. While the fluidity and unique abilities of characters are praised, many players find the experience marred by bugs, crashes, and a lack of depth compared to its predecessor. Overall, the game is enjoyable but may not justify its price, especially given the technical issues and limited character abilities.
“The gameplay's feel in general is much more fluid, characters have more unique abilities with less overlapping compared to the first game, but they also have only 4 abilities instead of 4 choosable out of 7. The gameplay design also shifted from fewer but stronger enemies to many that die easier, and I can tell you that slicing through 10-30 enemies with a metallic tornado controlled by Magneto while Human Torch makes the entire whirl burst with flames is incomparable to the first game's single ultimate abilities.”
“Improved gameplay with more streamlined but just as engaging RPG mechanics and faster, smoother gameplay.”
“Of particular note is the new fusion mechanic that substitutes in for the old ultimates.”
“Ultimately, this game does not live up to the original's creativity and gameplay quality.”
“The game is painfully linear, with some characters having better skills and abilities than others, making the gameplay feel unbalanced.”
“It was a fun game to play through and interact with so many Marvel characters, but it crashed way too often and the gameplay is very repetitive.”
- stability18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 78 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players noting persistent bugs and glitches, particularly with certain character powers and controller support. While some users report that most issues have been patched and that autosaves mitigate the impact of glitches, others still experience significant problems that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is playable but not without its flaws, and potential buyers may want to wait for further updates or sales.
“The game isn't 100% bug-free, but there's nothing game-breaking or that causes you to lose a lot of progress.”
“Game runs great at 4K high settings at 60 fps on an RX 480.”
“First off, the game runs great; there are no problems with controller settings or whatever these people are talking about.”
“Fun game but pretty buggy. Jean Grey and Invisible Woman's second power will crash the game, so if you plan to use them, I strongly recommend not leveling those powers at all. The free DLC with all the sim missions is extremely nice, despite the glitchiness of the game; most of it can be resolved by just reloading.”
“The glitches in this game make it terrible.”
“I'm not sure if you all remember, but this game was a buggy mess when it first launched.”
- optimization16 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization receives mixed reviews; while many players report smooth performance and no significant issues on various hardware setups, some experience stuttering and frame rate drops. The graphics are seen as a compromise between realism and vibrancy, and while controls are generally well-optimized, a few users have noted problems with control responsiveness. Despite these concerns, most players find the game enjoyable and playable without major performance hindrances.
“On my toaster (Pentium G4560, GTX 1050 mini, 8 GB DDR4), there are no performance issues.”
“I haven’t noticed any audio bugs, the performance has been terrific, the keyboard and mouse controls work surprisingly well, and the controls for the mouse and keyboard are completely remappable.”
“Everything runs smoothly and glitch-free, no audio issues whatsoever.”
“It's not optimized for today's machines.”
“That said, I got this just out of the sale and could not play it for my life due to horrible controls optimization.”
“Do not buy; the sound is not good and the game is poorly optimized for PC.”
- music5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for technical issues, including a persistent duplicate track that plays regardless of sound settings, rendering the music option ineffective. Additionally, players report major sound distortion and crackling noises during gameplay, detracting from the overall audio experience.
“On top of which a unique problem with the sound was presented in what little I tried to play that hasn't been documented anywhere that I've seen: the game loads a duplicate music track from whatever menu or area you're currently on that remains active at all times regardless of the sound settings, and as such renders the music option useless.”
“I do have major distortion of the sound when I play, so I just turn it down and listen to music.”
“The music and sound effects have this constant weird crackling noise that is sometimes constant, and sometimes comes and goes.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy of the game is perceived as exploitative, with users labeling it a "cash grab" due to unresolved issues and a lack of support for various controllers. Overall, players express frustration over the prioritization of profit over quality and user experience.
“Almost two years and Activision hasn't been able to fix all the issues with this cash grab. It doesn't recognize the Steam controller as a regular (Xbox) controller no matter what I try.”
“Thanks for absolutely nothing, you worthless cash grab.”
“Can anyone say cash grab?”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability, allowing players to experience multiple playthroughs to explore all maps and engage with an interesting story. The inclusion of side choices enhances the replay value, making it appealing even for casual co-op players.
“The story, while not as massive in scope as the original, is just as interesting and engaging, with the eventual choice of sides giving it that much more replayability.”
“There's enough replayability here for more than the two playthroughs it takes to see every map, so even those in-and-out co-op players will have plenty of chances to piece together the whole story.”
“The story, while not as massive in scope as the original MUA's, is just as interesting and engaging, with the eventual choice of sides giving it that much more replayability.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its engaging story and sharp writing, featuring numerous laugh-out-loud quips from Deadpool and other comedic characters, which enhances the overall experience.
“Fascinating story, great writing including plenty of laugh-out-loud quips from Deadpool and the other humorous characters.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and boring, leading some to refund their purchases due to the repetitive nature of the gameplay.
“That said, I remembered how grindy it was for me on my PS3 and boring, so I refunded it.”
“The grinding in this game feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the grinding to be a major turn-off; it felt like a chore rather than fun gameplay.”
