Metareview: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

While Marvel's Ultimate Alliance of heroes doesn't appear to BIFF POW much new ground in Activision's new sequel, reviews describe the game as a solid effort that's likely to appeal to fans of the original outing. Even better, it features the return of any comic book lover's greatest nemesis: the Marvel trivia minigame.

• GameDaily (80/100): "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 may seem like more of the same, dig a little deeper and you'll reap its rewards. A great storyline, satisfying beat-em-up action, nifty Fusion attacks and a cornucopia of familiar and new characters make this a very friendly Alliance."

• IGN (77/100): "I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the trivia game and mission simulator are back and welcome distractions, but they're presented in the same way as the original game. It eventually gets to the point where you have to scratch your head and wonder why this game took three years to produce when it's so similar to the last one."

• Gamespot (75/100): "Not only will the campaign last you around 15 hours or so, but the branching story gives you a good reason to return. ... While Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 may not take the series in a big and bold new direction, or benefit from the kind of refinement you would look for in a sequel, it does deliver the button-mashing, power-flinging, over-the-top action fans of the original would expect. And it's just good fun, even if you don't know Iron Man from Iron Fist."

• 1UP (B-): "It's still satisfying to have some buddies hop into a game and take out robots together. And I still smile when I answer a bunch of dorky Marvel Universe trivia questions in a row. I just hope that for the next Marvel Ultimate Alliance (or whatever they call it, maybe Ultimate Marvel Amalgamation or something), either Raven returns as the developer, or Vicarious Visions learns from its missteps and crafts a better game."

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