This bland, repetative beat'em'up serves as fanfare only.
Its not that the concept isn't intrigueing, its just that the execution is handled so poorly that this game truly becomes a chore to play, which is both unfortunate and frustrating, especially given the product license and possibilities.
There are some positives, mostly ones that will appeal particularly to the hardcore Marvel fans. The cast is unparalled, and includes such staples as SpiderMan, Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, Ice Man, and all members of the Fantastic Four to name a few. The game's animations and representations of the heroes and villains, as well as thier superpowers, is done admirably well.
So how could this game go wrong?
Simply put, its all flash, no substance, and by the time you reach the fourth mission (or possibly sooner depending upon your patience) you quickly realize that there isn't a ton of variety here.
Marvel fans will quickly point out how many locations and side characters are at play here, but this fanfare trick will all but alienate any casual gamers, simply because the story is so convoluted and haphassard that only those excited by cameo appearances will want to pay attention to the "plot". I'm all for satiating the appetite of the hardcore fans, but not at the expense of the overall product. Unfortunately, thats what happens with Ultimate Alliance; so many characters, locations, and references are crammed into this game, that it ends up feeling disjointed, segmented, and at times, all too convenient. A more structured and streamlined concept would definitely have gone a long way to making this game playable to someone other than just the adept Marvel afficianado.
The other issue I had with this game was its overall design. There aren't many open areas for grandiose feeling battles, and there isn't much variety to be found in the various levels. The game essentially boils down to a generic hack and slash affair in which neither mission objectives nor map layout will impress you much. Maps are simplistic strings of generic rooms joined by narrow hallways. Each area has a general theme, but the lack of depth given to the layout design makes each new area seem like you're replaying the last, just with different colored walls. This is further hindered by the inclusion of RPG elements, which in all honestly, don't really make a ton of sense here. The heroes start off with basic moves, and you have to "level up" each hero to unlock thier more interesting abilities. The problem is, you accomplish this by the collection of little tokens which can be used to purchase the upgrades, and these tokens are found simply by smashing things. You don't even need to pull off special moves or find secrets to get these, you simply keep punching whatever random barrels or containers are lying about. This can either be a blessing or a curse; while tedious in nature and making little sense, at least you'll have something else to do whilst trudging through each bland and repetative mission.
This simplistic and forgettable experience will serve Marvel afficianados well from a fanfare standpoint, but it will leave casual gamers wanting more. Alot more. Once you're over the novelty of the characters available, the underlying game becomes shallow at best.