Right, so all the really late Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 reviews seem to be trickling in now... *awkward silence*

Sooo not our fault. Anyway, whether you've played the game or not, check out Neoseeker's review of the game, see what you think -- if for no reason other than the fact that we are Neoseeker. Anyway, what's the final verdict? Pretty solid.

Seriously, Deadpool's in it! It'd do better if the characters didn't look emotionally challenged.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 retains a certain familiarity, mostly because the basic formula is the same. Those familiar with the above mentioned games should fall comfortably into the latest installment. After an introduction stage, MUA2 enters full swing with the Marvel Civil War storyline, borrowed from the comics. Certain events lead the government to pass the Superhuman Registration Act (SRA), and the superhero community is effectively split in two, between those who do or don't support the act. The player watches these events unfold and is then given a choice to side with either the Pro- or Anti-Registration groups. Between every mission, you're sent back to a base where you may interact with other heroes, replay previous missions, and do just about everything the previous MUA offered; this remains relatively the same.

Most characters in MUA2 remain playable regardless of affiliation, but certain passive abilities and alternate costumes can only be unlocked by playing either Pro- or Anti-Reg. Alternate costumes have been marked down to two, as opposed to three in MUA, and are unlocked by hitting 50 kills on a particular character when aligned with a certain group -- either group works for neutral characters. Sadly, the secondary outfits are mostly disappointing (with few exceptions) and sometimes downright ugly.

Collectibles scattered throughout unlock character biographies, gameplay and story details, concept art, and other goodies you can check out in the main menu. Two characters are actually unlocked through finding collectibles, so there's some incentive to poke around during missions.

When conversing one-on-one with other characters, the player is offered some variety with the three dialogue branches: Aggressive, Diplomatic, Defensive. It works kind of like the Light and Dark side points in a Star Wars game, where answers are separated into three categories like a multiple choice exam. Building points for any of these "attitudes" will eventually yield a special Boost to be equipped later, unique to whichever response category you favored. These special conversations can be fairly engaging, and you may pick up Marvel trivia tidbits here and there. Unfortunately, your main hero just stares blankly into space, never conversing out loud (except in a few cutscenes). Aside from actually moving their lips and the occasional hand gesture, however, the other party tends to just stand in place, locked in a single pose. Wow, guess everyone's taking this Civil War business pretty well!

RabidChinaGirl via neoseeker.com »