Review of Marvel Ultimate Alliance for Xbox360

I just finished playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance on the Xbox 360 and it was one of the best games I have played in a long time. So here is my 'official' review.

The background story for the game is that Dr Doom has assembled some of the most notorious villains in the world in a plot to take over the world.  Nicky Fury of SHIELD calls upon the superhero's of the world to stop Dr Doom. This is where you come in. You get to assemble your own four person team to battle Doom and the bad guys. The story takes off from here taking you through many different worlds leading up to a final battle with Doom. The game does a great job of interweaving many subplots (often revolving around different marvel characters) into the main story line.

Characters. Since this is a Marvel game, you can only play Marvel superhero's like Captain America, Fantastic Four, Blade, Spiderman, etc. It' actually a pretty good cast of characters. You can also download extra characters through Xbox Live like the Incredible Hulk. You start with a certain number of characters you can play and along the way you can unlock different characters.

Teams. You select four different characters and that forms your team. You can change your characters along the way at different points if you want to. But the game allows for your team to have a reputation and you can build points and special abilities along the way if you stay with the same characters. If you choose a pre determined team like the Fantastic Four then there are even some special moves you can do.

My Team. For my team, I chose Human Torch, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Colossus. The beginning levels are a good time to use different characters and get a feel for what you like. But you should choose wisely. For example, the Torch and Iron Man can both fly which is a very useful ability. Colossus is very strong and can lift things that other characters can't. My favorite character was the Torch because he could launch projectiles such as fire balls and also had some special skills to clear an area easily.

Game Play. The basic game play is you have a light attack, heavy attack, and then special skills. Your basic attacks are the A and B button and the Y button is for jumping. The X button is used to throw your opponent. Your special skills like a pulse ray or super smash are accessed by the right trigger and any of the four main buttons. You have access to up to four special moves at any one time. The caveat is that you have a power meter that you need to replenish in order to use your moves. You can switch between characters using the left pad at anytime which is a great feature. The rest of the characters follow you along and you have a few basic commands to make them attack, defend, or just left the computer control them.

Overall the game is a lot of fun to play. It doesn't feel like a button mashing game because of the special moves you have and the ability to switch characters instantly. I also really enjoyed the storyline as well. I think it helps to know who the superhero's are and their background stories but I don't think you would play this game if you didn't know your superhero's.

I loved this game and I don't think it got the respect that it deserved in terms of other games out at the same time. You get to play as some of the greatest superhero's with a great story line and there are a ton of bad guys and bosses to battle. Definitely check this game out - you won't be disappointed.