Ultimate Marvels

Marvel™: Ultimate Alliance is a new twist on the classic dungeon-crawl experience. Take an all-star roster of Marvel's most beloved superheroes, a unique team-building mechanic, iconic superpowers, and an PRG element for developing your hero's abilities, and you've got a recipe for epic beat-em-up success.

Is this team-up canonical?

The Premise
Story-wise, Marvel Ultimate Alliance pulls no punches. If you're going to offer a playable roster that includes Spider-Man, Thor, Ghost Rider, Blade, The Thing, Wolverine, and Captain America, you'd better have a doozie of a story to explain why they team up, and there certainly is.

Dr. Doom has resurfaced for the umpteenth time, but this time he has the assistance of an army of villains as impressive as the superheroes you control. With Loki, Scorpion, Mephisto, Mandarin, Baron Mordo, and even the planet-eating Galactus, the good doctor has formed the Masters of Evil and each stage of their maniacal scheme could spell disaster for our heroes and the world they protect.

Marvel-ous Gameplay
From start to finish, you utilize a force of four heroes that you choose from a list of Marvel's heaviest hitters. Working together, your squad of heroes will fight through a series of classic Marvel Universe locations.

Whether it's on the massive SHEILD Helicarrier in the first level, freeing Namor from Atlantis, or battling Loki at besieged Asgard, Marvel Ultimate Alliance takes full advantage of its license to bring these classic comic adventures and environments to life.

My bad.

No matter which hero you use, you can build basic attack combinations using light and heavy attacks with the A and B buttons. You can also use mid-air attacks, grab your enemies to attack or throw them, or use powered up finishing moves by holding the B button.

Of course, each hero fights with their own particular style, so Spider-Man's nimble and acrobatic combat won't feel anything like the methodical beat-downs that Luke Cage hands out.

Super Powered
Their superpowers, however, is what really makes these heroes stand out. Each hero boasts their own unique and powerful attacks that will be instantly recognizable to any comic fan. Look for these awesome attacks, and expect many more:

• Thor wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, to devastating effect, and calls down lightning from the heavens.
• Iron Man sends out powerful energy blasts and can deliver a devastating electrically-charged uppercut.
• Control Captain America's shield, causing it to fly from enemy to enemy before it returns to him.
• Dr. Strange creates infernos of magical fire, and can levitate enemies from afar, leaving them vulnerable.
• Wolverine builds up his famous berserker rage as he slices and dices his enemies with his Adamantium claws.

Each hero also possesses a 'team' power that affects the other heroes in your fighting force. These powers offer unique tactical possibilities that may also depend on which combination of fighters you are using. For example:

• Spider-Man's Spidey Sense essentially slows down time, allowing every hero a better opportunity to react to attacks.
• Captain America's Heroism reduces the amount of damage your team takes.
• Thor's Asgard Blessing adds skill points to your heroic group.
• Wolverine's Taunt will force enemies to attack him, drawing them away from his teammates.

How many times do we have to tell you? Earth doesn't taste good!

Build a Superteam
After wreaking havoc with the Masters of Evil's plans for a few levels, you get to create your own customized superhero team. This will be your team, and whenever you fight with them, you earn reputation and skill points that benefit them specifically, including health boosts, faster experience buildup, better defenses, and even the ability to add new members to your team.

Buddy Up
There are games that let you play with a friend, and there are games that are built to be played with a friend. Marvel Ultimate Alliance is one of the latter, and luckily, the co-op is not just an offline experience, it's playable over Xbox Live® as well!

Not only is it more fun to beat up Dr. Doom's minions with a friend, but the strategy employed is completely different. You might occasionally benefit from the partnered attacks when playing with the computer, but with a friend, you can specifically time attacks like Spider-Man's web bullets to pin enemies for Thor to hit with lightning.

Fan Service
Marvel Ultimate Alliance understands its audience and the love they have for these characters. With that in mind, Activision has built in many extra goodies to look forward to, including trivia machines to test your Marvel comic knowledge, bonus missions for each hero, unlockable costumes offering different character upgrades, and even concept art and comic covers.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance provides a rare combination: The next step in gameplay evolution, an established genre, and a beloved franchise. So suit up, grab a pal, and face off against the Masters of Evil!

Article by Ryan Treit