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3. Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Activision

www.MarvelUltimateAlliance.com

The preview screening that they showed for Marvel Ultimate Alliance garnered a number of "Best of E3" nominations, but I am guessing largely for its visuals than its gameplay. The presentation was live gameplay on a Playstation 3 development kit and did look smooth and high-definition, but of course that isn’t everything. The game is being referenced as an Action / Role-Playing Game with over 140 Marvel characters and villains. The game places 4 characters in missions to battle against enemies and defeat the villains. There are only 20 playable characters, which include: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade, Ghost Rider, Thor, The Thing, Elektra, and Captain America (and more).

The gameplay is fairly simple consisting largely of your team of 4 characters, which are interchangeable/selectable at the start of each mission. Powers for each character as well as upgradeable outfits and looks can all be unlocked. Each character has a few signature-moves unique only to them that you will be able to use. The missions will be based on a few epilogues, where decisions that are made throughout the game will affect the entire Marvel universe and story and have a dynamic outcome on the end of the game. In addition to regular co-op, there is competitive co-op which allows the players to fight to see who can kill more enemies and get higher scores. There are also Marvel comic missions that are historical missions based off of the Marvel world and will use only one hero.

Although the scale is quite vast (140 characters), the game was not overly impressive. The gameplay was rather confusing and dull, with your 4 super-heroes running around scattered across the screen amidst a sea of enemies. Watching the demo it was often confusing seeing where the heroes were and properly attacking them. The angle and camera movement was also distracting especially in comparison to both Superman and Justice League Heroes. This isn’t to say that DC Comics based games are better, it’s just that this one based on the Marvel universe isn’t the top-of-the-line. There was another sad showing when they demoed the Atlantis level and actually said that "as a videogame" they have the ability to come up with fake nano-technology that allows your superheroes to breathe underwater without additional equipment and fight just as they would on normal ground. Even the water atmosphere was no different - just a murky blue background and the occasional floating bubbles. Although the hopes were high for this game, it just isn’t "making the cut." It will be released this fall, most likely at launch for the Playstation 3.

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