Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Wii, 2006)

The tacked-on motion controls and lack of online support take some of the shine off this otherwise dependable superhero adventure.

The Good: Huge, eclectic cast of Marvel heroes and villains; deep, yet largely optional character-customization system; great variety of environments.

The Bad: Wii controls feel clumsy and tiresome; graphics suffer from indistinct textures, nasty aliasing; only console version without online multiplayer.

Your starting lineup in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance consists of Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, and Wolverine, but after a few levels playing with these heroes, you're given the option to create your own custom team. At first you'll have about 18 different heroes to choose from, and they represent a good cross-section of high-profile heroes and more obscure fan favorites. Old-schoolers like the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and several X-Men are there, as are a number of heroes who are likely unknown to those who don't keep up with comics, such as Moon Knight, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, and Deadpool. As you progress you'll run into other heroes such as Blade, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, and the Silver Surfer, who will in turn join the cause. Part of the fun of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is the sheer variety of places the game takes you. While the X-Men Legends games seemed stuck mostly in dungeonlike corridors and sewers and such, here you'll visit some of the most spectacular and mythical locations in the Marvel Universe, including Mephisto's Realm, Asgard, Mandarin's palace, the Skrull homeworld, and, finally, Dr. Doom's sinister Latverian castle. Many of the environments really do look as if they came straight out of a comic book.

If you can get past the clumsy controls, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a well-made and accessible action RPG. It captures the essence of the Marvel universe, an incredible feat considering the breadth of the source material, though there are just enough omissions to easily justify a sequel. Still, its control problems are fundamental, and they definitely get in the way of what is otherwise a really solid experience.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the Nintendo Wii


I am a huge Marvel fan. I have collected comics in the past
and I have watched most cartoon TV shows and movies. I have
also played many Marvel games. I picked up Marvel Ultimate
Alliance for the Wii on a week long rental and I had fun with
it.

First of all you get an interesting way of controlling the
characters. You need the Wii remote and a nunchuk in order
to play the game. Before they cut you loose on the game you
go through a quick training mode to teach you how to control
and fight with the characters. So the Wii motion remote is
well used in this game.

YOu start off playing Captain America, Wolverine, Spiderman,
and Thor as you rush to defend a SHIELD carrier and Nick Fury
from an attack by Dr. Doom and his super villian group.

The game play is almost like a top down scroller. You control
a 4 person team and you can change your player by using the +
among the 4. As you progress through the game you get access
to different heroes. You can change heroes and save your game
through different access points on a level. You can also play
4 people in the game at a time, which is really fun!

When you pick different heroes you can create teams to gain
bonus'. For example if you pick the 4 members of the Fantastic
Four and play them you get a Fantastic Four bonus. Same goes
for X-Men, Avengers and such forth.

I noticed that a number of interesting background knowledge is
bantered around in the game. If you are a huge Marvel fan you
will get the background jokes and information that is tossed
around (Mr. StarK, the two young ladies are still waiting for you
in the lobby). This is a nice touch for Marvel fans but if you
are not a fan you do not miss much.

Overall I wish I could have spent more time playing the game
then I did. I only had the game for a week rental and I finished
the first couple of levels.

Enjoyed:

The background knowledge passed around from the Marvel Universe
The selection of heroes to play, and the ability to unlock extra
heroes.
The feel of the game (was like being in the comics)

Dislikes:

Bad camera angles at times (but you can roll the nunchuk to change them).
Poor Graphics at times.
Repetitive fighting styles. Swing remote, hit b progress.


Overall.

I liked this game. I'd give it a 4/5 as it tended to keep my
interest a lot more then other games I have played for the Wii
so far.

Latsyrhc
Tamarack Collectibles.

I purchased this for my 16 year old and he can't get enough of it. He would sit and play it for 4 or 5 hours if I let him. It even got him interested in reading the various character titles. That's a bonus and a tip for any parent out there that wants to encourage and boost reading skills;(it also expands vocabulary) get them into comics. This game also has a wide range of characters to choose from and you make four member teams.

I don't play tons of games but this game is a blast. In single player mode you're able to lead a team of heroes on various missions, some following the plot and some side missions. You can also play with 4 players which would be a riot. My brother and I played and had a great time. When you play two players you can chose arcade style or team mode.

So far I've completed about 3-4 missions and I'm loving every minute of it.

Con: The only con I can think of is that there aren't enough opportunities to save your current position in the game. However, as I mentioned above, I don't play a lot of games and I'm still pretty new to the Wii so this may be the case with all games.

If you're a fan of Marvel or super heroes I highly recommend this game!

Pros
+ Innovative controller scheme.
+ Tons of characters & powers to learn.
+ RPG from the Marvel universe.

Cons
- No online play even though the Wii is fully capable.
- A lot of Marvel characters either are not playable or M.I.A.
- Fighting can tend to be repetitive.
- Only slightly better graphics than current gen consoles.

Comments
This is only the beginning of games involving the entire Marvel Universe. Real time strategy will keep even an RPG hater interested enough to play through. There are only about 5 real CGI cutscenes and they look amazing. One of the biggest disappointment may be no Hulk or Punisher as well as a lot of other characters who won't be included. But most people will have their hands full trying to decide who to pick for their team anyway so it may be for the better.

Verdict
Must play for any fan of Marvel comics if not a must have title.