Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Update: Magneto and New Sim Missions

A few weeks ago, we took a look at some of the playable characters and missions in the upcoming downloadable content pack for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Today, we're taking a final look at the upcoming pack, which is due to hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 tomorrow. The roster we've seen so far has included Psylocke, Carnage, Cable, Black Panther, and new simulator missions. Today's look showcases the biggest baddie of the DLC bunch--no, not the Blob--as we get a look at Magneto the master of magnetism.

The X-Men nemesis comes packing an alternate costume--awarded to you when you clear a specific simulator mission--and four powerful attacks that rely on his mutant power. Scrap Blades makes weapons of shards of metal that tear around Magneto, damaging anything in their way. Repulsion Wave fires a blast of magnetic force that damages anything in its wake. Rending Force is a powerful radial blast that doles out damage to anything within a set radius. Finally, Master’s Hand--a nod to his comic roots--has Magneto creating a massive hand out of metal to damage his foes. Comic fans should also be pleased to see and hear about some of the abilities that can be powered up with points. Metallurgy causes extra damage to robots and the charismatic leader, which offers a team boost.

As with all the other DLC characters, you can use the supervillain to help you clear the campaign modes or give you some added muscle for the new sim missions, which offer an interesting change of pace from the missions we've seen previously. We tried two new missions: Escort Duty and Overload. Escort Duty has you protecting a robot as it walks through a hazard-filled complex. Overload is a boss fight against Magneto himself. If you manage to clear Overload, you’ll not only get the satisfaction of saying you beat one of the most powerful mutants on the planet, but you also get a slick red alternate costume.

We have to say that we’re pretty happy with what’s coming in the DLC, although we have to get in some requisite whining: Would it kill people to toss in Spider-Woman, Black Widow, and Patriot as playable characters? However, the new playable characters, sim missions, and trophies/achievements that are offered are a very nice chunk of content that should give fans more than enough reasons to come back to the game. Hopefully, Activision and Vicarious will see fit to give fans more DLC next year. Until then, anyone interested should stand poised by their PS3s and Xbox 360s tomorrow.