I was a pretty big fan of the Civil War storyline in Marvel Comics, and it was generally very well-received for helping to solidify Marvel as publisher willing to assert itself in some relevant and meaningful way, in a post 9/11 America. Yeah, it's about politics, and terrorism, and individual rights vs government control and the concerns of many, and all sorts of things. Ultimate Alliance 2 took an interesting Marvel story, and fluffed it up a bit, attempted to tie it in with the original Ultimate Alliance Latveria plot-thread, and in the end came out with something less stellar than the predecessor or the comic arc that inspired it.
That's not to say that Ultimate Alliance 2 is a bad game. It is a good game, and flirts at times with being a really good game, but never comes to realize its potential. Some things that the game gets right are: better graphics than the original, a streamlined item system that did away with the awkward drops of the past and instead replaced them with "boosts" that affect your entire team (though there are some negatives to this also), more stylistic flair and streamlined continuity between the story chapters. Oh yeah, and the fusions are pretty cool.
There are some negatives that are hard to ignore, however. The boost system gets rid of those awkward and frequently useless drops of the original Ultimate Alliance, but it can make the system feel "dumbed down," and removes the experience a step away from some potentially enjoyable RPG elements ("sweet loot!"). The story, which I mentioned, is lacking, and the whole Civil War tension quelled by the threat of a hivemind of nanites meant to control villains seemed wonky. While the fusions are cool, there are segments in the game obviously tailored to their use. Throwing 100 enemies at someone so they can suck them up into a flaming tornado (human torch and storm, go!) is fun the first few times, but it speeds up the whole process of disillusionment with your enemies. I just slaughtered 5 million henchmen in 12 seconds! Is that what being a hero is all about?
In the end, Ultimate Alliance 2 fell short of what could have been a great sequel. It is a good game, and should be played by fans of the original, but don't expect to get the same replay value or depth that you saw in the first one.
