Same X-Men Legends formula, this time throw in over a hundred Marvel heroes and villains for another epic action RPG
Last time, the X-Men and members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants teamed up to save the planet from the evil mutant Apocalypse. This time around, Dr. Doom has put together a band of villains known as the Masters of Evil. Like any RPG, you learn more and more of the villains plot as you work your way thru the game. Working your way thru Marvel Ultimate Alliance is alot like X-Men Legends 2. The game is divided into 5 acts, with a hub level at the start of each level ranging from Stark Tower to the house of Doctor Strange to Asgard. The levels making up each act are just as varied, from Atlantis to Mephisto's Realm to Murderworld to Asgard to Skrull. As for playable characters, a few X-Men still show up (Wolverine, Storm, Iceman and Colossus [exclusively for next gen systems]). Joining them is an amazing group of superheroes: Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, the Fantastic Four, Elektra, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Deadpool, Spider-Woman, Moon Knight (also next gen exclusive), along with unlockables Blade, Daredevil, Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Black Panther, and Nick Fury. Overall it is a very impressive roster of playable characters. And, like in the XML games, you have free reign to choose the heroes you wish to use. And like in XML2, using a specific group of heroes yields group bonuses, like using the Fantastic Four or the Avengers.
So, great cast of playable heroes, how does the gameplay hold up then. Well just like in the previous XML games. The controls are still the same, A button is light strike, B button is a heavy strike that can be charged, X button picks up items and grapples enemies, Y button jumps and is used for flight, right trigger brings up powers menu, left trigger handles your teammates AI if you are playing single player. This time around however, since you can charge the heavy attack (B button), your melee combos are more limited. But making up for that is the fact that you can use your powers more often because Raven did away with healing potions. In MUA defeated enemies drop red orbs that heal and blue orbs that replenish energy so you don't have to worry about stocking up on potions. Now you may think this would make boss fights tougher, well you are half right. Some of the boss fights are tougher, but after dealing some damage, bosses will drop the orbs so your party can continue fighting. Also only bosses drop gear, which does actually help speed up the pace a little bit b/c now you don't have to worry about inventory space or missing good items. Plus in a move toward simplifying the game, the default experience system is set to automatically spend skill points and equipping gear for each character. It would have been nice for Raven to default the system to manually spend skill points b/c when you gain access to the unlockable heroes, the system has auto spent the points for you, spreading them around to each skill which is unfortunate b/c there are skills you probably will not use.
Speaking of character's skills, in MUA each character has access to 3-4 powers, 2 boosts, and only one xtreme power, as opposed to the 7 powers, 3-4 boosts, 2 xtreme powers of XML2. However this is a good thing b/c there were too many powers for each character in XML2 and although you had the decision to customize each character how you want, you were overlooking some powers that were essential to that hero. To help compensate for fewer powers, each hero in MUA has access to 3-4 different costumes which you can upgrade via the money you collect from defeated enemies and smashed barrels. Each costume has 3 areas you can boost, examples include + XP, + melee damage, + critical chance, + health regen, + max energy, + weapon damage, etc. The 3rd area for every costume is defense so this time around you have a little more customization over your heroes than in the previous XML games. Not to mention that this time the unlocked costumes make a difference. And the only other big change in the gameplay is the use of the xtreme powers. Instead of the xtreme power icons that you collected in the previous games, each character generates momentum when attacking enemies, so when their momentum is maxed, you can then unleash an xtreme power. What's cool about this system is that when you unleash one heroes xtreme power, any other hero with max momentum will unleash their xtreme power, which comes in very handy during the numerous boss fights in MUA.
The on screen action in MUA hasn't changed much at all from XML. You still have a 4-hero party you use to make your way thru the various levels, hacking and slashing and super powering your way thru enemies and villains. The gameplay is still fun even if this is the 3rd installment in the series, but seeing as how it has not changed very much, you may not like the gameplay of MUA if you did not like the gameplay in XML. Still, MUA is still worth trying if you were not a fan of XML mainly b/c of the cast of Marvel heroes and villains which extends into the whole of the Marvel universe, Xavier and the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Uatu and the Watchers, Namor and the Atlanteans, Lilandra and the Shi'ar, Galactus, Mandarin, Loki, Blackheart and Mephisto, etc etc.
Being the 3rd installment of the XML/Marvel series, the graphics shaped up quite nicely. They may not be as next gen as other games like Oblivion, but for this kind of game you are not expecting the graphics to set the world ablaze. Of course you don't want them to be awful neither. And in MUA they are very good. A more realistic style is used for MUA as opposed to the cartoon style of XML, and it looks just as good, particularly in the environments, which are just as varied as you would hope (bases to Atlantis to Asgard to space). All the heroes and villains also look fantastic, as they should. Same goes for the cinema scenes which open and close each act, and these look just as great as they should.
Mostly standard music accompanies each level and situation. There are some levels that have fitting music, like Murderworld, but overall the musical score is just what you would expect. The voice acting however, is where the money is. Plenty of voice actors are present, considering the overall roster size (playables and NPCs). There is not a bad voice in the bunch neither, everyone delivers a solid performance. Those who have played XML will notice that the X-Men still have their same voice actors who have done a very good job over the years. The other Marvel heroes and villains are all appropriately well voice as well. My experience with MUA was very positive. I really enjoyed the XML games so I knew what to expect from MUA. Still, there were a few things I was pleasantly surprised with, namely how much fun a few of the heroes were to play, considering I mainly stuck to the starting groups in XML, and in that mainly controlling Wolverine. In MUA, I shook things up. I did use the starting four for the early parts of the game, after taking a day to decide who I wanted to use in the first place. My starting group was Captain America, Spider Man, Thor and Wolverine. As I continued, I ended up replacing Spidey and Thor with Daredevil and Moon Knight, and I can further tinker with the group with Human Torch or Iceman, or a handful of other heroes I have not yet tried. What this all means is that you have alot of flexibility in the gameplay, not to mention replayability. And considering the game is around the 20 hour mark, you can replay the game with any number of different hero combinations.
While the formula remained the same, Marvel Ultimate Alliance still forges its own identity from the X-Men Legends games by providing an epic conflict between the greatest Marvel villains and the greatest Marvel heroes.