Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion

Vicarious Visions’ Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion is the sequel to one of the better action RPGs in recent memory. The original Marvel Ultimate Alliance graced platforms spanning the last and current generation consoles and featured a who’s who of Marvel characters including Spiderman, Ghost Rider, Captain America and Wolverine. Although its roster differed between systems with heroes and villains being cut from different versions and exclusives put in place, the sequel has so far been confirmed for PlayStation 3, Wii, DS and Xbox 360 with few exclusives or cuts confirmed.

Little is known about the story yet. However, we do know that it begins with a military strike on a number of countries by Latvia, so Doctor Doom should be making an appearance. So far the only heroes and villains confirmed include Iron Man, the Invisible Woman, Spiderman, Hulk, Captain America, Wolverine, Venom and Green Goblin. It’s still early days yet so more will be announced before release. Further details such as story and settings are still few and far between.

To help keep gameplay flowing smoothly, developers Vicarious Visions are improving the camera and game controls – although exact details of the changes haven’t been released. The new game controls will allow players to combine attacks as seen in a trailer at the recent Comic Con 08. Hulk will be able to throw Wolverine into a few unfortunate foes, Spiderman will be able to restrain some villains while Iron-man charges his chest laser – the list of potential combinations is longer than Mr. Fantastic could ever hope to stretch.

Thus far, it’s looking like a great addiction to the series, albeit more of a Marvel fan-service game than a widely appealing action RPG. It won’t be out until at least 2009 so it will need all the super heroes it can get to stand up to Diablo 3. Keep it locked on NZGamer to see if it saves the day or gets a level 99 hammering from Diablo 3!