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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

EMAIL PRINTwii

7.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 31 critic reviews
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Based on 20 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Vicarious Visions

Genre(s): Action, Role-Playing Game

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: November 14, 2006

Summary

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action/RPG that features the largest roster of comic book characters ever seen in a video game. Players assume the roles of more than 20 Marvel Super Heroes including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Captain America, and through their actions determine the fate of both planet Earth and the Marvel universe – revealed in one of multiple epilogues. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance offers total team customization, where players create their own team name, icon and vehicle, as well as establish their team reputation as they play throughout the story. Gamers also have the option to level up each character individually to their liking, or all team members at the same time to keep their heroes balanced. With the game's new combat system, players battle against the world's most notorious Marvel Super Villains in the air, underwater, and on the ground, using grappling, blocking and dodging moves, by charging up their Super Hero powers before unleashing them, and using environmental objects as one and two-handed weapons. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance features a storyline where the missions players accept, the objectives they complete, and their interactions with other characters throughout the game directly impact how the story plays out. The game also features a robust multiplayer component where fans can band together with friends as their favorite Marvel Super Heroes, and fight evil in both on and offline cooperative story modes. There's also a Competitive Mode where the game tracks various in-game stats so players can see how well they stack up against one another – affecting the amount of experience points earned and how equipment is distributed. [Activision]

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Also On The Web: Official Game Site

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

PGNx Media

The game includes tons of gameplay, a plethora of Marvel characters, a great presentation, and successfully balances the action and RPG elements, while letting players choose just how much they want to micromanage. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance has something for everyone.

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Console Gameworld

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is packed to the brim with heroic good times. It manages to be the least tedious of any Action RPG I’ve ever played, and the Wii edition makes good use of the new console’s unique strengths.

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GamingTrend

With better focus on what players want, including four (useful!) costumes per character, a plethora of villians and heroes from Marvel lore, better visuals, tighter RPG elements, less of the Chatty-Cathy moments, and FAR more tough boss and mini-boss battles, Marvel Ultimate Alliance could be the geekfest that keeps players wrapped onto whatever platform they chose like a pair of tight blue spandex with a big 4 on the chest.

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GameZone

The Wii control scheme fits this game very well, and when coupled with a good story and incredible cast, the result is a game that is very entertaining.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Ultimate Alliance may be schlocky and unrefined, but the endless Dream Team combinations of Marvel super and not-so-super heroes prove irresistible.

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Game Informer

The core of this fantastic superhero game is still in place, and if you have ever wanted to feel more like you were actually slashing with Wolverine’s claws, now’s your chance.

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Pelit (Finland)

A nice team-based action-RPG that is a bit too much like X-Men Legends. The wiimote controls do not bring anything new to the mix. [Feb 2007]

Gamer 2.0

Marvel Ultimate Alliance is certainly worth picking up. With an adequate campaign and more playable comic book characters than you can shake a stick at, plus bonus side missions for all of them, you’re definitely getting more than what you paid for.

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GameSpy

It's a satisfyingly lengthy game, with loads of missions to complete and a huge assortment of comic book-inspired side missions to bring you a little more insight into the backgrounds of the game's leading characters.

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Nintendo Power

Great production values(including a terrific mood-setting soundtrack)and a host of concept art and comic-book unlockables help tie everything together to make for a top-notch superhero action-RPG. [Jan. 2007, p.102]

My Gamer

The gesture system is a comfortable way of controlling the heroes. Unfortunately the graphics do not scream next generation, but the Wii is more focused on the gameplay aspects, which are certainly unique in this game.

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Digital Entertainment News

It's Marvel and it's wonderful. That being said, you probably want to pick it up on another console.

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NintendoWorldReport

The Wii version is definitely not the best one available, but if you have no alternative, this is a fun and very lengthy adventure to enjoy on your Wii after Zelda has been exhausted.

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Official Nintendo Magazine UK

With control issues and the disappointing lack of online co-operative play aside, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a mindless and enjoyable action game that should keep comic book fans happy for a while. [Jan 2007, p.70]

GameSpot

The tacked-on motion controls and lack of online support take some of the shine off this otherwise dependable superhero adventure.

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Games Radar (in-house)

If you're a comic-book fan, this is probably the most satisfying videogame ever made for you.

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eToychest

The real appeal of the game is in its visuals and production values, and these elements take a real hit on the Wii console. If you have the option to invest in one of the other versions, that’s the best route to take. The "novel" controls on the Wii are more gimmicky than fun in this particular title.

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Next Level Gaming

Unlike Madden for the Wii which EA made it to be a very fun game due to excellent controls, Marvel is a different story that take time to get adjusted.

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AceGamez

Even though it is considerably harmed by the inane support of the Wii-mote to the point of the extreme, and the slightly boring battle system, the dull visuals and quite a lot of glitches, the game manages to sneak by as one of last year's best games in the genre.

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Boomtown

The fairly patchy Wii functionality isn't enough to critically damage Marvel Ultimate Alliance but it's certainly something many developers will have to work on. It should make the inevitable sequel something to look forward to.

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ZTGameDomain

Control and graphic issues aside this game is a must play for anyone who is a Marvel Comic book fan. Not only is the story engrossing, but the huge cast of characters is a comic book fans dream come true. Hopefully Activision will produce a sequel to wrap up the loose ends to this great game.

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PALGN

The Wii controls make a great game a good game. All the core ideas are presented, but only accessible if you quite literally want to make the move to snare the fun.

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Game Chronicles

Sure, the levels and even the gameplay get a bit repetitive (and painful) at times, but there is always great action and the potential to share that action with your friends.

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Kombo

The multiplayer modes are enjoyable, but it's hard to get very excited about them with the 360 version of the game offers both online cooperative play as well as an offline mode.

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Game Revolution

A must for Marvel fans, a good buy for everyone else, Ultimate Alliance is an epic in an old package, kind of like those massy boxes of comics you have hidden away in your attic, gathering ebay value like dust.

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IGN

While it’s definitely a step up from current generation, Ultimate Alliance doesn’t hold up against its next gen. counterparts, and that’s a bit disheartening. The big gamble lies in the controller, and in the end we’d honestly prefer a game like this using very minimal motion control in favor of more accuracy and dependability.

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Deeko

A great game, and the Wii version fails only through the limitations of the system's hardware. To the developers' credit, they manufactured an absolutely fantastic control scheme, a difficult task on a controller so far removed from the known console staples.

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NGamer UK

It can get repetitive over time and the level design feels uninspired. [Feb 2007, p.59]

VideoGamer

The new gesture controls simply don't work well enough, and in a game that promotes button bashing the constant use of the Wii-mote is more than a little tedious.

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Cheat Code Central

Even despite its few flaws, MUA is a blast to play. If you’ve ever enjoyed an X-men Legends game, MUA is a step above and beyond that.

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Worth Playing

This game is the absolute antithesis of what you should get to show off the power or the playability of the Wii.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 20 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nigel T. gave it a6:
I had played this when it first came out, and am reviewing this after just playing it on the 360. That being said I find the graphics and camera in this game underwhelming to say the least. If approached correctly the Wii's poor little Hollywood graphics card can push out some stunning visuals (ie: Zelda, Metroid), but not in this game. Then the controls, I grew tired of basically just shaking the controller around. Really, Wii consumers were promised a fresh and new approach at gaming, I find this just tiresome. I would put this down as playable but nothing special.

Ronaldo F. gave it a5:
The graphics are nice but then the controls are dull and many characters simply don't behave as you would expect from the Marvel comics. Finally, the whole game is very repetitive and thus fun is very limited.

S B gave it an8:
I'm still in the fairly early stages of this game, but so far I find it very satisfying. The graphics are great despite some of the other comments, although I expect you will need a quality monitor and component connection as they are realatively detailed and can be dark. One of the attractions of this games is the ability for cooperative multiplayer, which is really good for a family. My 6 year old and I are working our way through it on the "easy" difficulty setting. The number of different moves available to each of the numerous super heroes seems large and adds to the interest in the game. Worth a look if you have a willing partner, but probably good enough to play on your own if you've finished Zelda too.

Nick F. gave it a9:
Although it has truly horrid camera and graphics, the gameplay is very challenging and fun, with an array of marvel characters. If you want a challenge, even a small challenge, buy this game.

Jake J. gave it a2:
Poor game, awful camera and difficult levels from the very start, difficult gameplay and boring attack techniques.

Patrick R. gave it a4:
The videos released for the Wii gameplay are a total lie. They show all these videos of people playing the game and making gestures like the superheroes to activate their powers. Instead, you make the same 4-5 gestures for every character and it gets tedious fast. Furthermore, all of their boasts about having so many characters and them all feeling unique are pretty overstated. Many of the characters feel exactly the same and even more have clumsy, awkward power sets that don't do the character justice. Elektra is especially poorly done from her powers to her geriatric voice acting by Gabrielle Carteris (ie. Andrea from 90210/The Surreal Life.) Also missing from this lackluster decline in a series are much usefulness for travel powers. In the Legends games having flyers, teleporters, and bridge builders was one of the most interesting gameplay challenges. Not only have the challenges been removed with surgical precision, but also the ability to customize those powers is missing too. For a game already struggling with being tedious this would have helped a lot with breaking up the monotony. Finally for a game striving to make unique power builds, they made the unusual choice of fitting all characters into the same formula of powers. All characters have two party buff powers and while Deadpool insulting enemies to debuff them comes off clever others come off contrived such as Daredevil's heightened senses extending to the whole team. Part of the success of the Legends series and what made the characters feel unique is that each character was more specialized. By formatting them so similarly the game loses the most important part of the comic experience: character.

Nick L. gave it a5:
This felt more like working than actually playing a video game. Same motions over and over make this game tedious.

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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Game Info

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What The Critics Said

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