A compelling story with a vast amount of characters don't save this game from it's rough graphics and annoying music.
When the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance powwed and biffed its way onto consoles a few years back it offered a four player smash 'em up fest that was hard to dislike. If you're expecting something different this time round you'll be disappointed because it's more of the same with bells on. With 24 characters to unlock, and a team of four you can switch between on the fly, MUA 2 would seem to be the perfect game for someone looking for constant action and variety. You'll run around smashing up everything in sight, enemies, your environment, objects, everything in a rather irresponsible way for superheroes. There's a bunch of new powers to learn and these can be combined with other heroes in a fusion power that combines, for example, the Human Torch and Iceman's beams into a killer stream, taking out anyone unfortunate enough to venture near. There is also a bunch of costume changes and character development, done through the assignment of and tinkering with skill points. It all seems varied but after a while MUA 2 manages to become a bit repeative. You'll find favourite characters and combos that you'll tend to stick with, and even the character customisation can be automated so you need never really bother about making the game your own. A great idea of branching conversations with other characters could have allowed for a bit of individuality but is wasted because it never feels like your chosen responses really matter. The graphics in this game is where it let's its self go. Some visuals andd cut scenes have snappy edges, and some bad glitches and bugs. The gameplay is basically the same as the first, and is the same as your average hack and slash game. There are unique combo's which I love, too. But, overall, this isn't the sort of game worthy for your collection. But a good rent, so get down to your local Blockbusters and snap this little gem up!
______________________
+ Solid gameplay and controls
+ Great range of characters
+ Amazing unique combo list
- Annoying music
- Graphics are a bit dated
- Very repeative near the end
- Some boring parts