Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Review

A colorful cast of comic characters enlivens this fun and technically uneven sequel.

You don't need to be a comic book geek to know that Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is a lot of fun. Mashing on buttons to make the screen erupt with sparkling superpowers and flashy martial arts squirms into the pleasure center of the brain, and once you succumb to the innate delights, it's hard to tear yourself away. For better and for worse, this sequel to 2006's action role-playing game is highly reminiscent of its predecessor: it's packed with heroes and villains culled from the Marvel Universe, brims with button-tapping glee, and suffers from occasional and annoying technical idiosyncrasies. Its improvements to the formula can't be ignored, however. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is easier to look at and features an intriguing character dialogue component. It also ties the heroic crew together with a much more intriguing story based on the Marvel Civil War miniseries, though comic fans should note that it takes more than a few liberties with that narrative. This isn't a groundbreaking game, but it's an enjoyable and replayable one. 

The first half-hour of the game introduces you to all you'll need to know to get you through. From an isometric camera view, you lead a team of four Marvel stars through hordes of expendable henchmen and glowering robots, occasionally taking detours to solve simple puzzles and bash on the villains standing between you and fist-pumping victory. You lead one hero at a time, while the AI and/or other players, online or off, control the other three. Regardless of which heroes and antiheroes from the roster of about two dozen you choose to take along, they can all string two types of melee attacks into combos, grab various objects and enemies to throw around, and perform four superpowers limited only by a quick-recharging power meter. While each controls more or less the same, there's a good amount of variety among the heroes. Storm can fly and knock down multiple foes at a time with a gust of wind; Venom's tongue can lash about, doing damage to any nearby enemies; and Iceman can call forth an eruption of ice to impale villains from underneath. Whether you're on your own or with buddies, the action is good, laid-back fun.

However, not all the characters are created equal. They're all fairly balanced, but that doesn't make them all correspondingly fun to play. The Invisible Woman's debuffs can be helpful, but she's not as viscerally appealing as Wolverine, with his dramatic clawing, or Deadpool, whose well-rounded powerset and self-referential one-liners make him consistently satisfying to use. However, ceaseless button mashing can make even the best characters tiresome, especially once you've discovered effective patterns that you can keep spamming again and again. Fortunately, you can change easily to another character not controlled by another player and switch unlocked heroes in and out of your active crew on the fly. If you're on your own, you'll be pleased to know that the AI often does a good enough job of taking care of the characters not in your control, using powers frequently and choosing enemies wisely. That isn't always the case, though. Every so often, you'll glimpse AI-driven heroes wandering about but contributing nothing to the chaos, and as in the first game, they might get stuck on objects or stutter about in an animation loop until they break free.

The most notable additions to the action are fusion powers. As you damage enemies, you fill up a fusion meter, and once it's charged up, you can initiate a two-hero fusion attack. There are several types of attacks, depending on the two heroes involved in the fusion. Guided attacks, like the fire-and-ice beam created by Iceman and the Human Torch, let you maneuver the pair about the screen, zapping any foes unlucky enough to get caught in their elemental stream. Clearing attacks, appropriately, clear the immediate area of baddies, such as the laser deflection that Iron Man and Captain America perform. Different fusions come in handy at different times, but many of them are absolutely fantastic to watch, like any of those featuring Storm's whirlwind. Various combinations of heroes don't all make for singular fusions, however. Storm-plus-Gambit is essentially the same fusion as Storm-plus-Spiderman--one throws cards into the cyclone, while one spews webbing into it. The repetition among fusions is disappointing, especially if you tend to stick to the same one or two characters, but fusions are probably the best part of the game: most look fantastic and colorful, they do a lot of damage, and you don't have to be stingy with them. 

 

The story that gives context to all this action is based on two Marvel storylines: author Mark Millar's Civil War comics event and Brian Michael Bendis' Secret War. The narrative doesn't closely follow those plot outlines, but Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2's version is intriguing, and its tale of superheroes divided over the US government's attempt to force heroes into legally registering has provocative political and social undertones. It also forces you into an eventual decision that doesn't just divide your hero roster, but divides the entire game into two separate story experiences before bringing them back together again. It's a clever method of storytelling that gives you a reason to replay the game again once you've finished the first time, just to see how it plays out if you make the other choice.

Your involvement with the story isn't limited to making a single decision, however. Throughout the game, you'll engage in dialogue with various characters and choose one of three different responses to their statements: aggressive, defensive, and diplomatic. Consistent responses lead to in-game rewards like team medals (more on these to come), though their contribution to the story is disappointingly negligible. The response options often don't fit their category; sometimes, each choice seems equally smarmy (every option might seems like it should have been categorized as "passive-aggressive"). And because the dialogue is based on the situation and not necessarily tailored to the character you're controlling, your choices may not seem completely appropriate. Don't be surprised if you find yourself thinking, "Come on--Venom would never say that!"

As you hack and slash your way through Latveria, the Negative Zone, and other locales, you'll level up and earn team medals, so there are several ways to customize your roster. Customization is a bit more streamlined in the sequel than in the original. For example, you no longer find and equip gear as you did in the original, and you're limited to equipping team-wide medals that may add cold damage to your melee attacks or increase the number of experience orbs you earn. It's disappointing to see the role-playing elements of the original stripped down in such a way; after all, finding more loot is an addictive part of similar games, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 doesn't seem to benefit in any way from this change. As before, you can let the game handle all the leveling for you and never worry about spending experience orbs and skill points if you don't want to. Sadly, if you prefer to micromanage your heroes, you might get exasperated with a glitch that constantly resets the autoleveling option back to on, even after you turn it off. Other elements of the game have been smoothed out for the better. The menus are easier to navigate, and the addition of a navigation arrow means you'll rarely lose your way. And in the most convenient and slick addition of all, should an online buddy wish to upgrade his hero, he can do so without pausing the game for everyone: the AI will simply take over for him until he returns. 

The visuals have also been noticeably smoothed out. Environments are attractive and you'll traverse a nicer variety of locations than in the first Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. There are still too many sterile interiors, but outdoor regions look terrific and colorful. Power effects are snazzy, filling the screen with bolts of electricity and bursts of fire. Character models also look better and, in most cases, seem true to their familiar comic book design. However, both the visuals and the sound design are still exasperatingly uneven. In the character select screen, the heroes look great; during conversations, they look stiff and occasionally bizarre, and the camera might give you a view of their internal geometry. The frame rate can't always handle the excess of particles and explosions; it takes noticeable dips here and there, especially when you're playing online. The inconsistency holds true for the voice acting as well, which is at times right on point (Deadpool was apparently a developer favorite; be sure to listen closely to the closing credits) and at other times laughably campy. The soundtrack and audio effects are rousing and boisterous, qualities perfectly consistent with the subject matter.

There's a lot of game packed onto this disc. Not only will the campaign last you around 15 hours or so, but the branching story gives you a good reason to return. Furthermore, there are additional stand-alone missions to take on, most of which are designed well and are enjoyable to tackle; a trivia game that will test your Marvel comics knowledge; and lots of costumes, audio discs, and dossiers to collect. So while Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 may not take the series in a big and bold new direction, or benefit from the kind of refinement you would look for in a sequel, it does deliver the button-mashing, power-flinging, over-the-top action fans of the original would expect. And it's just good fun, even if you don't know Iron Man from Iron Fist. 

By Kevin VanOrd

Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

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You don't need to be a fan of Batman to enjoy this excellent third-person action game.

 You've heard of Batman no doubt, but if you don't read comics, it's conceivable that you might be unfamiliar with Arkham Asylum. The iconic psychiatric hospital is essentially Gotham City's Alcatraz, and it has housed just about every villain Batman has ever tangled with at one time or another. Now, thanks to Eidos and developer Rocksteady, Arkham is also the setting for a great third-person action game in which the lunatics take over the asylum and only you can stop them. As Batman, you not only get to go toe-to-toe with thugs in fast-paced punch-ups, but you also employ satisfying stealth tactics, play with great gadgets, solve some remarkable riddles, and do a decent amount of detective work. In short, you get to do all of the things that you want to when you don a Batman costume in a game, provided you weren't hoping to get behind the wheel of the batmobile.

 

Because just about everything else needs to be unlocked, the first time you boot up Batman: Arkham Asylum, your first port of call (after creating or logging into a Games for Windows Live account so that you can save your game) will inevitably be the Story mode. Here, you learn that Batman has captured Joker, and as the lengthy intro sequence plays out, you see him being returned to the asylum under Batman's watchful eye. Joker doesn't seem at all perturbed by his predicament, and it quickly becomes apparent that he has deliberately allowed himself to be captured as part of a grand plan that involves taking control of Arkham Island and throwing a party there with Batman as the guest of honor. Clearly it's a trap, but as Batman (and as someone who demands more than two minutes of gameplay before the credits roll), you just can't walk away from it.

As you take the controls, Arkham Asylum wastes no time throwing you into the thick of the action. Almost immediately, you're rushed by a few of Joker's goons and encouraged to knock them out using both basic attacks and counters. Both the Xbox 360 controller and mouse-and-keyboard control schemes work very well, though the latter occasionally demands a bit more dexterity to perform certain actions. You're free to move between the two options on the fly though, and the onscreen prompts for context-sensitive controls change accordingly. Using just two buttons on your mouse or controller, you can perform a huge number of moves from Batman's superbly animated repertoire, and it isn't at all difficult to string together combos worthy of Hollywood's finest fight coordinators. That's because for the most part, at least early in the game, combat requires you to do little more than mash the attack button and then hit the counter button anytime you notice an enemy with an "I'm about to attack you" icon above his head. None of the thugs that you encounter pose much of a threat individually, but you rarely encounter fewer than three or four of them at once, and often, you'll be up against six or more. Furthermore, the vanilla thugs are joined by enemies with knives, cattle prods, and guns later on, who force you to raise your game and incorporate stun attacks and evasive rolls into your deadly dance routine. Boss battles against supervillains like Scarecrow and Harley Quinn are definitely among the game's highlights, though it's a little disappointing that there aren't more of them. One supervillain in particular makes a number of appearances, but you never actually get to fight him.  

  The combat in Arkham Asylum never gets overly complicated, though the number of moves and attacks at your disposal increases quite dramatically as you progress through the Story mode, earn experience points, and subsequently spend those points on acquiring new combo moves and gadgets. Throws, takedowns, and even batarang attacks can be incorporated into your combos this way, but you never need to press more than two buttons simultaneously, and the timing of your moves doesn't have to be particularly precise. Fighting against mobs of up to a dozen enemies or so is a blast, and while they're not smart enough to all just jump on you at once, they're not stupid either. Given half a chance, thugs will pull pipes from walls to attack you with, pick up boxes to throw at you, and recover weapons from fallen colleagues. Fortunately, there's one weapon that your foes seem blissfully unaware of but which Batman is incredibly comfortable with: the environment.

Your surroundings don't always have a role to play in combat, but during large set piece encounters (many of which can be replayed against the clock in Challenge mode), using them to your advantage is practically a requirement. Picture this: You walk into a large room where eight gun-carrying enemies have been instructed by Joker to keep an eye out for you. You can't leave the room until every single one of them is unconscious, and going toe-to-toe with them isn't an option because--at least as far as this game is concerned--bullets are Batman's kryptonite. What do you do? Job one is to stay out of sight, which can often be accomplished by crouching atop gargoyles mounted high on the walls that, while an unusual interior design choice, make near-perfect hiding spots from which to survey the scene using your X-ray-like detective vision. From a vantage point like that, you can perform glide kicks to swoop down and floor enemies passing nearby, perform awesome "inverted takedowns" to grab guys as they pass directly beneath you and leave them hanging on ropes for their comrades to see, and throw batarangs that serve a number of useful purposes. Or, if you need to move, you can use your grapnel gun to zip to another location. Just be sure to suspend your disbelief as you do so because you're invisible to the enemy when you're in transit. 

Once you've thinned your number of enemies a bit, it's safer for you to move around on the ground, and that's when you can really start to use the environment to your advantage. You can rig explosives to bring walls and ceilings down on top of enemies, crash through windows and ceilings, hide in floor grates and emerge directly behind unsuspecting enemies, and, well, you get the idea. All of these actions can be performed quickly and easily, but that doesn't make them any less satisfying when they work.

The reactions of enemies who know that their colleagues are being picked off one by one adds massively to the feeling that you're playing as a bona fide superhero. As their numbers diminish, enemies become visibly more scared--they start to move around in pairs rather than individually, press up against walls and lean around corners, and ultimately get so panicked that they fire a shot anytime they turn a corner. Listening to their superbly voiced conversations clues you into their state of mind as well. Initially, your enemies will be quite bold, loudly making threats and musing on how famous they're going to be for killing you. But as the odds gradually shift in your favor and Joker taunts them, they exude less and less confidence--ultimately sounding like they're resigned to their fates and might start crying at any moment.  

The quality of the voice acting never falters for a second in Arkham Asylum, and while Mark Hamill's Joker is unsurprisingly a standout, there are great performances from other characters too. Listing them here would be to risk spoiling elements of the story for you, particularly where the other villains are concerned. You just need to know that every character in the game is well written, well voiced, and often well worth listening to--whether it's a supervillain, a thug, an ally, or a lowly security guard.

One character that you definitely want to listen to carefully is Edward Nigma, also known as Riddler. That's because there are no fewer than 240 "riddles" for you to solve on Arkham Island, and doing so not only earns you a good number of experience points but is also the only way to unlock character bios, character trophies (detailed character models that you can examine and admire at your leisure), and Challenge mode maps. The riddles come in a number of different flavors, many of which don't involve riddles at all, and the one thing that they all have in common is that they're rewarding to solve. For example, finding hidden patient interview tapes or chronicles of Arkham affords you additional insight into the asylum's history and inmates, while cracking a cryptic clue to locate an item that you need to take a photo of might make you feel smart and, if you're lucky, earn you enough experience points to purchase your next upgrade. The best of the proper riddles are those that lead you to photograph question marks painted around the island, which doesn't sound very interesting until you realize that these question marks can only be seen using detective vision from very specific locations. That's because these elusive punctuation marks are painted in two parts at different locations that are often quite far apart, so the solution requires you to find both parts and then figure out where to take the photo from so that they line up perfectly. It's clever and compelling stuff, though it does encourage you to spend more time than you'd probably like in detective vision mode.

In fact, it's likely that you'll spend a good portion of your time with Arkham Asylum in detective vision mode even if you're not looking for hidden question marks. In regular vision mode, you just get to see that this is a great-looking game with superb animation, excellent lighting, and impressive attention to detail. But when you switch to detective vision, you can immediately spot destructible surfaces, more easily locate hidden items, and spot enemies through walls. You can even tell at a glance which of those enemies have guns and which don't because they're colored differently. It's unfortunate that the predominantly blue-with-white outlines vision mode is so invaluable because, while it's an interesting look, it's akin to reading a black-and-white photocopy of a beautifully colored comic book.  

If you're a fan of Batman comic books, you should feel very at home in Arkham Asylum. There are plenty of nods and winks to inmates who don't actually appear in the game, and even some of the minor characters have neat backstories that are faithful to their previous, infrequent appearances in comics. You shouldn't feel intimidated if you're not that familiar with Batman, though, because the game does a great job of giving you all of the information you need, as well as plenty that you don't. For example, taking the time to read prominent character Harley Quinn's bio and listen to her patient interviews offers valuable insight into her motivations that might add to your enjoyment of the game, while unlockable information on such characters as Prometheus, Calendar Man, and Humpty Dumpty just adds a little flavor.

More significant unlockable content comes in the form of eight challenge maps, which come in regular and extreme difficulties for a total of 16. The maps are based on areas that you visit in the Story mode, and the challenges are split 50/50 between purely combat-oriented sequences and stealth-based "Predator" gameplay. In the former, you're pitted against four increasingly tough waves of enemies and score points for performing combos, avoiding taking damage, executing ring outs, and using a variety of different moves. In the latter, you're dropped into a level where every enemy has a gun and your goal is to take them all down as quickly as possible. The twist is that to earn a respectable position on the online leaderboards (which you need a Games for Windows Live account to access) in the Challenge mode, you also have to earn medals, and in order to do that, you have to deal with some of your enemies in very specific ways. During a stealth challenge, for example, earning the maximum possible three medals might require you to perform a silent takedown from behind and an inverted takedown, as well as pull an enemy down from a walkway while hanging from a ledge.  

The medals get even more demanding in extreme challenges, where you need to knock guys out while crashing through windows, pull floors out from underneath multiple enemies, and even cause three different walls to fall on three different thugs simultaneously. In regular stealth challenges, the wall-mounted gargoyles are your best friends, but on extreme maps, all of the gargoyles are booby-trapped to blow up shortly after you land on them. Robbed of these safe vantage points, you have to spend a lot more time moving around on the ground, which--because you have detective vision--you can do without needing to stop and peek around every corner. Stealth gameplay is almost never this fast-paced or action-packed, and it's rarely this fun.

Regardless of whether you're getting sucked into the Story mode or competing for high scores in the Challenge mode, Batman: Arkham Asylum does an outstanding job of letting you be Batman. Everything about this game--the impressive visuals, stirring soundtrack, superb voice acting, fiendish puzzles, hard-hitting combat--feels like it has been lovingly crafted by a development team that's both knowledgeable and passionate about the source material. Miss out on this one and the joke's on you.  

By Justin Calvert

Chrontendo 24: This Time It's Personal!

So, we've made it. After much swearing, sleepless nights, and shaking fists at the heavens, Chrontendo Episode 24 is finally here. By all means, head on over to archive.org to stream or download. I hope you are in a festive mood, since Chrontendo 24-27 will be covering the 1987 holiday season. What do we have to look forward to? How about Mega Man, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear? Yep, plenty of big money franchises kicked off in December '87.

Today, however, we'll have to satisfy ourselves with the release of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! Or for the Japan-centric among you, the big game over there was Hudson's Famicom version of Japan's biggest selling PC game, Xanadu. And, of course, the unveiling of Hudson's and NEC's cutting edge new console, the PC Engine. These were heady times for Hudson, I'm sure. Unlike Sega, Hudson decided to keep one foot squarely on each side of fence. While releasing a steady stream of software for their new console, they continued to turn out games for the Famicom. Apparenlty Nintendo was fine with that.

Also, in the bonus content department, we have a reasonably long look at the arcade games of 1987. The big three being: Contra, Double Dragon, and R-Type. Ever wonder why Contra is called "Contra?" When I first saw the game in arcades, I assumed it had an uber-patriotic, right-wing theme to it, based on the title and military theme. Then it turned out you weren't killing Communists, you were fighting aliens. Weird, huh?

Let's get started with this episodes MVP:

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

The first couple years of the NES in the United States were dominated by three games: Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda and Punch-Out!! The brainchild of Genyo Takeda from Nintendo R&D1 (the same guy behind the cartridge battery backup and the N64's analog control stick), Punch-Out!! was a perfect example of an arcade port done exactly right. Nintendo's home system couldn't replicate the arcade version's graphics, so it focused instead on tightening up the controls and polishing the gameplay until it gleamed. Add in the name and likeness of Mike Tyson, the newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and Nintendo had an instant, massive hit.

Those interested in Punch-Out!! will undoubtedly want to check out this lengthy conversation about the game between Takeda, Shigeru Miyomoto, Satoru Iwata, and others. Among the many fascinating nuggets found within: the double monitor cabinet was designed to clear out an excess of monitors in Nintendo's warehouses. Thanks for Game Developer Research Institute for posting the link.

Other notable games:

Faxanadu

Nihon Falcom may have been a big player in the Japanese computer game scene, but they seem hesitant to try their luck in the console market, preferring to license their games on a one-off basis to various publishers. Here we find Hudson releasing a special Famicom exclusive spin-off of Falcom's mega-hit Xanadu. This couldn't really be called a "port", since Hudson virtually redesigned the game from scratch, stripping down the RPG elements to the bare essentials. Faxanadu is a strange, fascinating, and often irritating game. If nothing else, Hudson's sense of visual design shines through the sometimes clunky gameplay. Certain moments, like an eerie world enshrouded in smoke and fog look like nothing else on the Famicom.

Bubble Bobble

On the exact opposite end of the video game spectrum, we have Taito's Bubble Bobble. Unlike Kiki KaiKai, Taito decided to port Bubble Bobble to the FDS virtually untouched. It stands as one of the best and most accurate ports of an arcade game we've seen so far. Never played Bubble Bobble? Well, you control a dragon that breathes bubbles rather than fire. But don't be alarmed, those bubbles are deadly enough for your dragon to go on a 100+ level murder spree, killing every single creature that crosses his path. Never underestimate the homicidal potential of bubbles in the right hands.

Lupin III: Isan no Pandora

A surprisingly well done anime-based game from Namco and.... Tose?! Yes, schlock meisters Tose finally put their name on something decent. A pretty solid action platformer that allows you to alternate between three playable characters, sort of like SMB2. Though in the fine Japanese tradition of making supposedly-tough characters vulnerable to wussiest little enemies, master thief Lupin, arms expert Jigen and samurai Ishikawa Goemon XIII can all be taken down by stray cats.

On the flip side of the coin:

Karate Kid

My ill will towards this game has already been revealed to the world. Still, I've got to point out that LJN's entry in to the video game market opened the floodgates for movie tie-ins and licensed IPs on consoles in the US. It's worth recalling that back in 1987, games based on movies were still far and few between. The main exception being games released on the Master System featuring Sylvester Stallone.

Romancia

Compile ported the popular Falcom computer game and squandered the opportunity. Imagine Legacy of the Wizard, except with a much smaller world and lots of running back and forth over the same level. You mostly look for various hidden items that have no in-game description whatsoever. Doesn't sound to bad? Well, should I mention there is no way to save your game and no passwords? Or that you have one life and no option to continue?

Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race

Absolutely my least favorite racing game for the Famicom so far. Surprising, because it's from Nintendo and Hal. I was hoping this would be an updated version of 1984's F1 Race, but it turns out to be an old-school top down racing game.

Joust

Thankfully, the last in Hal's weird little series of arcade ports.

And let's not forget...

Jaws

Not as terrible as Karate Kid, this Westone developed LJN game is merely short of repetitive. Based on the film that finally killed the Jaws franchise, Jaws: The Revenge.

Gotcha! The Sport

The best of the three LJN games, Gotcha! is a decent little light gun game. Though one that requires you to use the light gun and the regular controller simultaneously.

Artelius

Nutty space RPG from Nichibutsu featuring Star Raiders style battles. Not nearly as interesting as it might sound.

Uchuusen: Cosmo Carrier

More Star Raiders action, this time from Jaleco. Sort of similar to Cosmo Genesis/Star Voyager.

Kick Challenger - Air Foot

The second game from VAP; about 1/100th as awful as their first, Super Monkey Daibouken. Here you control an ambulatory tomato with enormous feet, as you wander around kicking rocks and mushrooms looking for Nike shoes. Wait, what?

Family Composer

Remember Ikinari Musician from earlier in '87? Sort of a virtual music studio game? Well, Family Composer is just like that, only with 100% fewer dancing rabbits.

So, it was a long time coming, but hopefully, Episode 24 will be worth it. Episode 25 will presumably be free of any bonus content, and thus arrive on time. Once again, Chrontendo Episode 25 may be downloaded here.