Few games offer as much nostalgia about my childhood as comic book games. After having played the incredible Batman: Arkham Asylum, I sat down to give Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 a chance and have come off with…well, these impressions:
If you are a fan of any of the extensive Marvel comic book series, you know the story arc of Civil War. Mark Millar supplied an incredible allegory to the American PATRIOT Act via a comic book rendition. The popular Marvel crossover had a promotional tagline that read “Whose side are you on?” and it is my pleasure to announce—with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2—you are able to pick either one. Each side, registration or anti-registration offers about 6 to 8 hours of gameplay, which is pretty short considering the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance ran for…what seemed like forever! So 12 hours in story mode and any extras worth noting? Frankly, no. Let me break it down.
The story is fantastic, but that’s honestly the game’s strongest point. Even then, since it is based on the comic book crossover, you know who to give the credit to. The idea of being able to choose a side enhances the length of the game but not much else. 
It is true that the characters you are able to choose are limited, but that’s not true for the entire game so I can assure you it’s no big deal. The gameplay is still the same enjoyable repetitive action from the first, excluding the originality and charm. If anyone else remembers Ultimate Alliance as well as me, then you recall the entire act that took place in the carnival. In my opinion, that act was absolutely superior to everything in this entire game. Yes, the graphics are superb and there is a new Fusion element (which is nothing more than two of your characters attempting a lame move), but where are the fun mini-games that the supervillain Arcade offered? And since they are absent, would it be feasible to assume that something else would replace those elements? Why is it not included here? I don’t know, that’s something I’ll have to take up with Activision to find out.
The other game mode is on LIVE or PSN, which is not another game mode in reality. You go through the campaign with up to 4 people online and, as awesome as that may sound, it gets old. 
Perhaps some future updates or downloadable content may fix this, but I’m probably going to take the pessimistic approach and say the idea is futile. Now, if you’re wondering about the extras MUA2 provides then I’ll alleviate your worries by telling you that they’re there and plentiful. I was never a fan of the “Simulator” to begin with, but it’s nice to have it around again. In addition, you have your power-ups and only one alternate costume for your hero. That SUCKS! Even in MUA we had 4 alternate ones, but I suppose it is what it is.
In conclusion, the average gamer should give this a rental but a hardcore Marvel fan should buy it because that’s what we do, right? I’ll let you decide that one but I’ll encourage a rent for anyone even remotely interested. Grab a friend, some caffeinated beverages, and enjoy the co-op until you get bored!
Gameplay: 3/5, this would’ve been a 4 but I just can’t get over the fact that it’s essentially the exact same thing, which can get boring pretty quickly.
Graphics: 4/5, 
great graphics and nice colors, wherever they’re available. All the locations are creatively imagined and well done.
Sound: 3.5/5, my main qualm with the sound was the lack thereof. Cutscenes are basically your lifeless character exchanging in a discussion with a character that has voiceover, which ruins the feeling of being in the game. On a side note, however, you get to decide your responses to certain questions by being either aggressive, diplomatic, or defensive.
Presentation: 3/5 Horrible camera, ‘nuff said. Other parts of presentation were polished.
Overall: 3/5, Arkham Asylum set too high of a bar for any comic book game, but MUA2 makes a nice attempt and reminds us of its excellent predecessor. In the end, they promised more than they delivered.
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