IGN
Who's up for a Marvel super hero smash-up?
by Kathleen Sanders
We were pretty impressed by the demo of Marvel Ultimate Alliance on PlayStation 3 that we saw at E3. At the San Diego Comic-Con we watched an extended demo of what Raven have been busy with since then.
Of the 140 (and counting) licensed characters in the game, about 24 will be playable. At Comic-Con we had a chance to check out The Human Torch, Iceman, and The Invisible Woman for the first time.
On the surface, the comparison to X-Men Legends II is understandable. Then as the screen filled with enemies and erupted with superhero special attacks -- with no apparent slow-down on the Xbox 360 version -- we began to think this could be the superhero-sized version of that game.
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That's a whole lot of hero pack-in.
Chris Palmisano, Associate Producer on Marvel Ultimate Alliance for Xbox 360 and PS3, ran the demo for us. He explained that the team has been working hard on lighting and texture effects, pushing the limits of what next-gen machines can do, and it shows. Captain America and Spiderman's costumes looked almost plastic at E3, but now they look remarkably cloth-like. As the Human Torch begins to explode in an amazing ring of fire, distortion ripples away from him as the heat pushes out along the flames. It looks impressively bright and violent.
The level that improved most from what we saw in May was the underwater Atlantis area. The texture and depth of the water, the way the characters moved through it and how the water altered the look of their superhero powers was actually quite incredible.
We were treated to two new levels in this demo. In Mandarin Palace, which houses lovely, ornate woodwork and richly colored rugs, you can unleash superhero dogs of war. We also got a peek at Murderworld, which is the subterranean mad carnival of beloved Marvel guest-villain Arcade. In the comics Arcade is known for his delight in tailoring Murderworld to exploit the specific weaknesses of his target and then watching with sadistic joy as he is killed by a variety of whimsical and deadly traps.
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The Human Torch vs. Vikings
The game seems like an action-packed, playable Marvel Dictionary. How we clapped with nerdy glee as we spotted bad guys like The Rhino and The Shocker among the licensed characters Ultimate Alliance packs in. Since many of the 140 licensed icons will be mini-bosses the game might offer some fun fights. With 24 playable characters -- each with a minimum of four different costumes -- the game should offer an impressive level of customization.
We're looking forward to seeing more of this super hero super party soon. Marvel Ultimate Alliance is scheduled for the release this fall on nearly every system known to gaming.
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