Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

The game begins, then, with Nick Fury leading a team of superheroes to invade the fictional nation of Latveria in order to prevent the nation from supporting a group of supervillains to wreak havoc elsewhere. The mission, however, is not sanctioned by the US government and results in the introduction of the 'Superhuman Registration Act' as a way for authorities to keep track of what they see as "weapons of mass destruction" in human form. The Act polarises superheroes everywhere and you are given the chance to fight as representatives from both sides during the game.

Split between these two sides is a slew of playable characters from the Marvel Universe; encompassing everyone from Captain America to Iron Man and Wolverine, and beyond. Players can take four such characters to confront each mission, swapping between them on the fly. The four characters themselves can only be swapped at select intervals, however, which can prove frustrating if a group isn't faring particularly well on a certain mission. New characters are unlocked as the game progresses, and each brings a unique super power. Regardless of which characters you choose, however, the basic gameplay mechanics remain the same.

 

The game is played from an isometric point of view and relies on simple objectives - seek and destroy, etc. - which heavily emphasise combat. Each character has access to standard attacks and special super powers - with the former used to build up a meter so the latter can be used with an oft-irksome tap of the D-pad. Unfortunately, neither is particularly satisfying to unleash, especially at the game's outset. Even basic grunt-type enemies require a fair amount of effort to be dispatched, which quickly makes combat feel like more of a button-bashing slog than a series of exciting super-powered showdowns.

As you progress through the game you can allocate points to upgrading characters' powers. While this is a step in the right direction, you will still be required to spend a good deal of time spamming standard attacks before you can even make use of your better powers. It is also possible to combine multiple characters' powers into a single Fusion attack. While these are very powerful and can even heal teammates, they're fiddly to pull off - you need to hold the Z-trigger and shake the Nunchuk to do so - and they require that you spend 'stars' which, once again, can only be acquired by repeatedly performing more menial tasks.