Video games based off popular Marvel and DC Super Heroes have always been kind of a Russian roulette of aweful. You never quite know if the game you are about to check out is a decent title, or if you are about to be lured into a van and molested by another Superman 64. Fortunately, with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 the chamber appears to be empty.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 follows, or at least tries to follow, both the “Secret War” and “Civil War” story lines. I say “tries” because about halfway into “Civil War”, Vicarious Visions decided that the original story was insufficient and needed to be changed.

To the dedicated comic book fan this may be an outrage, but the story they provide will be enough for a good portion of the population. The character writing is ultimately what ends up saving the story. It is clear that at this point in time, Vicarious Visions knows the characters they have written into the game. Deadpool is hilarious, Captain America loves his country, and Wolverine compensates for being Canadian. (Just kidding, Canada. You guys are great.)

This is especially useful since it sounds like the developers went to great lengths to make the voice acting sound as generic as possible. At some points, the only way you can tell who is even speaking is by listening for their distinct quips.

The game itself plays much like its predecessor, albeit with a few minor tweaks. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 rids itself of the horrendous item system, and instead replaces it with medals that you attach to your entire team. These medals are acquired by reaching milestones, finding them in levels, and accomplishing certain tasks in the game. They  do everything from changing stats to increasing the number of fusion stars you can have queued up at the same time. While more of a novelty in the regular difficulties, equipping the correct medals on “legendary” can decide whether your characters live or die.

The special attacks are another aspect of the game that received an overhaul. Each pair of Super Heroes/Super Villains has a unique (or at least somewhat unique) attack giving you the possibility of over 200 fusion attacks. There are several different types of fusions to use against your enemies, each with a high score system that rewards the player with a health pack if used correctly. This makes learning to use the right type of attack at the right moment paramount. Use the wrong one a couple of times and you may find yourself restarting at a previous checkpoint.

My main complaint is the same one I had for the original. The face buttons simply seem backwards. There are many times, even after playing through the game twice, where I will hit the wrong button on the controller while both playing the game and attempting to navigate the menu. Why in the hell do you have to press “Y” to jump and “X” to access your character in the menu screen on the Xbox 360?

The presentation is where the game starts to fall apart. Aside from the button issues I mentioned previously, the game suffers from a number of rather annoying bugs. Players can get stuck in the environment, forcing everyone to spend the next few minutes trying to break the camera constraints in order to reset the player’s position.

The NPC’s that join you will sometimes break and refuse to activate whatever switches or buttons need to be activated so you can progress through the level. That happened to me on a number of occasions and the only way to fix it was to reload the level and hope it worked next time.

Even though the graphics are much improved over its predecessor, the graphical style chosen for the game is not the best suited for a brawler. Many of the levels are too dark, and following your character around the screen can become quite the task. There were a number of times where I completely lost track of where I was, so I would just mash on the attack button until my eyes could finish playing Where’s Spider-Waldo.

The poor camera placement certainly did not help either. The cameras are, for the most part static, and will occasionally attempt to pan across the scene to keep up with the players. This leads to rather awkward views, and can even end up in a position that keeps the players from seeing the action on the screen. To be fair, this has always been an issue with 3D brawlers, especially when the multiplayer element enters the picture.

Despite all of the game’s flaws, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a fun brawler and a great addition the series. It fixes a few of the issues that plagued the first game and most of the issues in this title could easily be fixed by a patch. If you were a fan of the previous title, I suggest you pick this up. If anything, give this game a rental. There’s enough there to keep you busy for a while, especially if you decide to play through both the pro-registration and anti-registration paths.

]]> http://www.wingdamage.com/review-marvel-ultimate-alliance-2-xbox-360-ps3-wii/feed/ 2 http://www.wingdamage.com/video-games-democracy-edition/ http://www.wingdamage.com/video-games-democracy-edition/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:32:52 +0000 Nathan Thunder http://www.wingdamage.com/?p=3701

Not too long ago an interesting question was proposed. Who would take the individual offices of the state if video game characters ran the United States government?

The rules were simple. The nominees could not be characters that originated in other media, or people that existed in real life. Sorry Spongebob and Madden, perhaps you can form your own super team and take over Cuba. I hear that place is beautiful in the summertime.

Also, the nominees must fit their position of power. No nominating Cloud for president just because he is everyone’s favorite emo kid. So without further ado, I bring you your new heads of office.

President: Leon Kennedy

Leon has the determination, the drive, and a sweet haircut. Not to mention he also carries the Kennedy name so it is almost as if he were destined for the position. Although, now I have the feeling I just gave away the plot for Resident Evil 6. The only question is, he has survived hordes of zombies but can he survive the Kennedy curse?

Vice President: Luigi

What better position for the number one number two than that of vice president? He will be there to back the president up in any situation, and if the need be, save the president from a nefarious gang of ghosts.

Chief of Staff: Andrew Ryan

The Chief of Staff is often described as the second most powerful man in America, and Andrew Ryan’s political experience and expertise more than fulfills the requirements. His ability to manipulate those around him will definitely come in handy. We just have to make sure he does not try for an underwater dystopia.

Secretary of State: Samus Aran

How does Ms. Aran handle diplomacy? With a freeze beam and 200 rapid firing rockets. Not to mention, she is great for photo ops.

Secretary of Treasury: Wario

Wario is perhaps one of the greediest characters in video games. He is always coming up with new schemes to take the public’s money and hoard it like Tyra Banks on an ego trip. We have to pay back China somehow.

Secretary of Defense: Kratos

He is the god of war. How is this not the obvious choice? Hell, you do not even need an army. Just send Kratos into the battlefield and let nature take its course. We will have that “Mission accomplished” sign up in no time.

Attorney General: Phoenix Wright

Attorneys in video games are a rarity, and by rarity I mean there is only one series that features them. Therefore, I had to choose Phoenix Wright as the man for the job. Sure, there are other lawyers in the Phoenix Wright series but there is only one whose yelling can win the case. Besides, I hear Miles Edgeworth beats children.

Secretary of the Interior: Turok

Who better to handle Native American affairs than one that fights dinosaurs and the Civil War generals that ride them? Also, should the bear population ever become a problem he has the cerebral bore.

Secretary of Agriculture: The protagonist from Harvest Moon

A master of both farm and food, this guy will get the job done. We will just have to come up with a suitable name for him. I have a feeling people will get tired of referring to him as “the protagonist from Harvest Moon”. My suggestion, Ellsworth Purrington. Do not ask me why.

Secretary of Commerce: Wall Street Kid

I have no idea. This was Dave‘s’ idea. Ask him. I assume the “Kid” knows his way around money.

[So what if you youngsters have no memory of his game. The "Kid" was wheeling and dealing his way down Wall Street buying million dollar houses and yachts for his trophy wife, while Mario was busy collecting coins. –ed.]

Aren’t I only a few years younger than you, sir?

[Yeah but a few years in video game time is a long time. Four years can take you through almost an entire console generation. Also, it was long enough for you to have missed out on "Wall Street Kid", apparently.-ed.]

Yeah, I am pretty sure a five-year-old child would not have been able to understand finances. If I did I would be running Microsoft right about now. At the very least, one of our fine failing banks. Any who, moving on.

Secretary of Labor: Abe

Abe refused to allow he and his people to be turned into the next version of soylent green at the fine place of employment/enslavement known as Walmart Rupture Farms. I have little doubt that he could accomplish the very same feat nationwide. At the very least he would amuse us by farting on some CEO’s.

Secretary of Transportation: Sonic

Sonic, fast but unreliable. Yet, still an improvement.

Secretary of Energy: Pikachu

I will be honest. Pikachu would not have the knowledge to manage the nation’s energy reserves. Hell, all he can say is “Pikachu”. I say we just attach him and a bunch of his friends to a machine and force them to power the country. It will be easy. All we have to do is convince them that if they do not do as we say we will kill Ash. Of course, the role of Ash will be played by Kanye West.  That way if Pikachu still refuses we will have at least rid the planet of a giant douche.

Secretary of Education: Carmen Sandiego

If this is any indication of the effectiveness of our public education system then we could clearly use a figure who knows her way around the world.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Solid Snake

Snake has saved the country from giant mechs and nuclear holocaust numerous times. I am confident he can continue that trend in a political office.

Surgeon General: Faust

To hell with Dr. Mario. His answer to everything is to shove more pills down the throat. Faust is a much better physician. Never mind the fact that he will brutally murder your children. He still has that much needed medical know-how.

Press Secretary: Professor Layton

“Sure, I can answer your question, but first solve this puzzle.”

There you have it. These fine folks are the ones that will lead us into the next generation. Well, if they were real that is (I am working on that.) I realize I am missing a few of the cabinet positions, but who really cares about the secretary of veterans’ affairs other than Eric Shinseki?

Feel free to leave your nominations in the comment section below. However, if any of you say Master Chief, prepare yourself for the glaring of a lifetime. Many thanks to Dave for his input in this article.

A luxury cruise liner has been taken over by “modern day” pirates, and it is up to three heroes and their monkey to save the day in the Dreamcast beat-em-up, “Dynamite Cop”.

I have decided that I do not like that one line description, as it gives the impression that this game makes sense. Oddly enough, the nonsensical nature is what makes the game so much fun.

The weapons, for example, range from salt shakers (you shake salt and pepper in your enemies eyes) to anti-ship missiles that explode in mini-mushroom clouds. I don’t want to ruin any of the other surprises, so I shall leave my description at that.

Like all brawlers, you make your way through multiple levels all the while punching and kicking everything in sight. The game attempts to add in a little variety by occasionally cutting to button sequences (think a mini-Quick Time Event). Fail a sequence and you get the pleasure of beating up a few more enemies.

Not even these button sequences can save this games length. “Dynamite Cop” can be finished in just under 20 minutes on average. When you first start the game you are given the option of choosing three different “levels” (a classic arcade staple). Even with three separate paths, you are only getting around 60 minutes of gameplay.

"Beware the Kraken"

“Dynamite Cop”, in the end, is one of those “so bad it’s good” games. It is no “Earth Defense Force 2017″, but it is one you will pick up every so often for a good laugh with some friends.

At the time of this writing, you can grab a copy from Amazon for around nine dollars and it is well worth the laughs.