Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
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| Marvel: Ultimate Alliance | |
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| Developer(s) | Raven Software Vicarious Visions Beenox Studios Barking Lizards Technologies |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Engine | Vicarious Visions Alchemy |
| Release date(s) |    October 24, 2006 (PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, GBA) November 6, 2006 (PS3) |
| Genre(s) | Action RPG/ Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB : Teen (T) (For Violence and Mild Language.) ESRB: Everyone +10 (E+10) (Game Boy Advance version) (For Violence.) |
| Platform(s) | PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Wii |
| Media | CD, BD-ROM, DVD-ROM, UMD |
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game released by Raven Software and Activision in October 2006 in U.S. Previously referred to as Marvel Legends, this game features more than 20 characters which are available to players and 140 character appearances in total.
Contents |
[edit] Story
Dr. Doom has formed a new Masters of Evil in pursuit of an unknown goal. They then launch an attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Nick Fury sends out a distress call to all available meta-humans. Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man and Wolverine respond and proceed to eliminate Doom's forces. After saving the helicarrier, Nick is given the OK by the government to create a special task force of superhumans to counter the Masters of Evil.
[edit] Features
The game features over 140 characters from the Marvel Universe. Players are able to create teams, and have online and co-operative play, for up to 4 players. In arcade mode players will have to fight for the most kills in order to get the experience points at the end of the level. There are also special comic book missions, revisiting a moment in a character's past and facing a classic arch rival. Characters may have up to four costumes, which can alter the stats of the character.
Players will fight in mid air, underwater and on the ground, with fully destructible and interactive environments in over 17 locations, traveling around different locales on planet Earth, different dimensions, and even the depths of space by the end of the game. The game has alternative endings, affected by the decisions the player(s) make throughout the game. These endings are based on whether or not the player chooses to complete optional missions.
The game is quite rewarding for fans of Marvel's characters, providing lots of bonuses and nods to knowledgeable fans who know their comic history. Putting together teams of characters who have a shared history together, for example, may give team bonuses (ex. using Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Ms. Marvel on the same team would yield you the Avengers, giving you a boost in attack damage for all team members). Using particular characters to interact with other NPCs can also yield additional dialogue, and villains will also react accordingly when met with their nemeses (for example, Bullseye will talk directly to Elektra or Daredevil upon seeing those characters in the first chapter). The game also features trivia games, artwork and many more references to the Marvel Universe.
While many characters in the game by default are rendered with the appearance they have in the Ultimate Marvel line of comics, the world of the game is predominantly based upon that of the original Marvel Universe, with many villains, character designs and references to events that exist only in that continuity (for example, Galactus is the original Marvel Universe's version, not Ultimate Marvel's hive-minded robotic version).
[edit] Versions
The game is available for the Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Game Boy Advance, Wii and PC. The graphical engine and looks differ between the various platforms. For the PS2, Xbox, and Wii, characters models are similar to X-Men Legends II style. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions feature more detailed character models and environments. The PC version vary depending on the customization of a user's settings, at maximum settings and shaders with premium hardware, the PC graphics will be similar to or better than the 7th gen. The PC version also features "intuitive mouse controls" [1] and works with a gamepad.
There are exclusive characters on the GBA, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. The PSP has four exclusive characters, the GBA has two exclusive characters, and the three next-gen systems share two exclusive characters. Moon Knight and Colossus (the next-gen exclusive characters) are now playable on the PC version as well with a game mod. Activision has officially announced that there will be 8 additional downloadable characters on the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Marketplace on Tuesday 10th of April 2007- Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Magneto, Sabretooth, Venom, Doctor Doom, Hawkeye and Hulk[2] . It has not been said whether any other platforms will have access to these characters.
[edit] GBA
"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" is drastically altered for the Game Boy Advance Port. The game is now a side-scrolling fighting game, with minor RPG elements (such as the ability to alter your characters stats). Also the graphics are compressed qualitywise for system and the character selection has been drastically reduced.
Teams consist of three characters and a striker, a non-playable fourth character who can be summoned to perform a devastating attack directed toward on-screen enemies.
Playable characters include:
- Spider-Man (Starter Character)
- Wolverine (Starter Character)
- Iceman (Starter Character)
- Blade
- Captain America
- Deadpool
- Elektra
- Thing (Must be Unlocked)
- Ms. Marvel (Must Be Unlocked)
- Thor
Strikers include:
- Dr. Strange (starter striker)
- Ghost Rider
- Iron Man
- Dark Phoenix
- Namor the Sub-Mariner
- Vision
Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Iceman are the game's starter team with Dr. Strange as your striker. Blade, Deadpool, Captain America, Elektra, and Thor become unlockable after completing the first mission, along with striker Ghost Rider. As the game progresses, characters become unlocked as more missions are completed.
Some additional gameplay modes are also included for additional gameplay: S.H.I.E.L.D. Simulator, Time Challenges, Scavenger Hunts, and a Survival mode.
[edit] PSP
The PSP version features simplified graphics, different characters, and extra features:
- Four exclusive playable Marvel characters: Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye and Ronin
- One exclusive comic book villain: Swordsman
- 6 special comic book missions
- Microphone support (voice chat), via which players can speak with other players online
- Online-recordable player statistics
- Exclusive prequel missions
- Three exclusive single-player gameplay modes
[edit] Wii
The Wii version features:
- Specific motion-sensitive controls for normal moves
- Motion-sensitive controlled Special attacks, unique for each character
- Access to any special move at any time, which is unavailable for any other build.
- There is no online play, but there is a normal multiplayer mode in which up to four players may play at once.
- Does not have the five exclusive simulator missions available on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.
[edit] Characters
While Ultimate Alliance follows in the footsteps of Raven Software's X-Men Legends games, it has a broader scope of inclusion, adding playable heroes from Marvel Comics' other popular comics, including Spider-Man, many different members of the Avengers, and the entire Fantastic Four. In addition, each character has four different costumes. Most of these extra costumes are different costumes characters have had in their comics appearances; for example, Spider-Man has his black symbiote costume and his red and gold "Iron Spider" costume, as well as his classic red and blue costume. Some of the costumes are alternate versions of the same character or even entirely separate characters with similar powers or appearance: for example, many characters appear in their Ultimate versions, and both versions of the character Spider-Woman as well as the MC2 character Spider-Girl are available via the costume change feature.
One major thing to note is that the version of Nick Fury used for Alliance is not the same as previously appeared in the X-Men Legends game. However, the General Nick Fury model that was previously used is still available as an alternate costume for Fury.
While all versions of Ultimate Alliance share a common core of initially-available and unlockable characters, many of the different versions have exclusive characters. The PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions have only the basic core, while the PlayStation Portable version adds four characters, the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii versions share a pair of exclusive characters, and the Game Boy Advance version has two exclusive characters while lacking some of the unlockable characters.
The Hulk was going to be the final playable character, but as the rights to use the character are held by Sierra Entertainment, this was not possible. However, the player meets Bruce Banner in the Omega Base & sees a defeated Hulk in a cinematic prior to the final mission. The character will be made available for the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Marketplace in April 2007 (see above)
As of March 23rd, it has been announced that the 360 version of the game will feature new content with 8 characters that updates them with costumes, special powers, and voice dialog for the game. The new expansion pack will include 4 heroes The Hulk, Cyclops, Hawkeye, and Nightcrawler as well as 4 villans Doctor Doom, Magneto, Venom, and Sabretooth.
Characters that appear as alternate costumes are listed under the original character.
- All playable characters have four different costumes, except Moon Knight, who has three.
- In the case of Silver Surfer, all of his alternate costumes look the same.
All characters in italics are costume changes for other characters that are of different personas altogether. Daredevil, Black Panther, Nick Fury, Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Blade are not available at the beginning of the game.
| Playable Characters | ||||
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| Unlockable Characters | PSP Only | PS3, Xbox 360 & Wii Only | GBA Only | |
| Non Playable Characters | ||||
| Villains | ||||
[edit] Voice actors
[edit] Locations
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[edit] Reception
[edit] Awards
- Received the Video Game of the Year award from Wizard Magazine issue 183.
- Received the IGN Award for Best Story on PlayStation 3 in 2006.
- Gaming Target - 52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006 selection [2].
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance's official site
- MarvelDatabase:Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
- Gamespot trailer for the game
- IGN: PS3
- 1up look into M:UA
- Gamespy information on M:UA
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance at MobyGames
Categories: 2006 video games | Captain America video games | Video games based on Marvel Comics | Cooperative video games | Fantastic Four video games | Game Boy Advance games | Iron Man video games | PlayStation 2 games | PlayStation 3 games | PlayStation Portable games | Spider-Man video games | Wii games | Windows games | Xbox games | Xbox 360 games | X-Men games | Superhero video games
