Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 102 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 102
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 102
  3. Negative: 12 out of 102
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  1. ChrisS.
    Sep 24, 2009
    2
    A massive disappointment. While MUA1 was an expansive story that swept the whole Marvel Universe and history, this game focusses on a narrow of events in the past 2 years with fewer characters, fewer locations, fewer powers and fewer costumes. While the storyline of MUA1 may have been less coherent - it was FUN to play! This game starts off well but quickly degenerates into a repeatative A massive disappointment. While MUA1 was an expansive story that swept the whole Marvel Universe and history, this game focusses on a narrow of events in the past 2 years with fewer characters, fewer locations, fewer powers and fewer costumes. While the storyline of MUA1 may have been less coherent - it was FUN to play! This game starts off well but quickly degenerates into a repeatative beat 'em up with little difference between levels and bosses. Anyone expecting this story to follow Civil War is in for a let down - the plot goes off on a tangent halfway through and never recovers. And remember those jaw-dropping cinema quality CG cutscenes that had all us fans in raptures in MUA1? Well you wont find any in MUA2! Just more substandard computer animation you'll see in any other game. Sure it looks better during game play, but MUA2 is such a backward step in nearly every other regard that it's almost unforgivable!… Expand
  2. HaroldD
    Sep 20, 2009
    3
    This game is both a massive disappointment and departure from what has made the series great. Activision unfortunately chose a new studio to continue this franchise and it shows. Gone is the ability to select your powers (each character only has four this time around), most of the RPG elements and the competitiveness that came from beating each other to the gold and items enemies drop This game is both a massive disappointment and departure from what has made the series great. Activision unfortunately chose a new studio to continue this franchise and it shows. Gone is the ability to select your powers (each character only has four this time around), most of the RPG elements and the competitiveness that came from beating each other to the gold and items enemies drop (half the fun of the originals IMO). Instead, there are more bugs, horrible live connectivity issues, still no drop in/out co-op, watered down characters, camera issues and a failure to expand the roster with interesting characters outside of Green Goblin. Characters like Iron Man and Jean Grey are really stripped down, and characters that were historical fun, such as Night Crawler, Magneto, Dr Strange, Spider-woman and Dr Doom don't make playable appearances. Sure, the graphics look better and its handy being able to allocate points without going into the pause menu, but what good is that if the core game is significantly weakened?… Expand
  3. BazBazzy
    Sep 29, 2009
    0
    2 Words to Sum Up This Game. System Exclusives. As an avid fan of the first game, I was really hoping they would drop this ridiculous idea in the sequel. Unfortunately I was wrong and I am sorely disappointed in the game developers in this choice. It feels like you're paying for only part of a game knowing that there are other characters out there that you could be using. One problem 2 Words to Sum Up This Game. System Exclusives. As an avid fan of the first game, I was really hoping they would drop this ridiculous idea in the sequel. Unfortunately I was wrong and I am sorely disappointed in the game developers in this choice. It feels like you're paying for only part of a game knowing that there are other characters out there that you could be using. One problem with this, is the fact that characters that were originally in the 360 version (Blade, Cyclops) are now only available on the PS2 or Wii. My ideal team would consist of Blade, Spiderman, Venom & Juggernaut. Now to create this team, I'd have to purchase the Wii or PS2 version and have pre-ordered the game. Neither the PS2 or Wii are systems I would want to play this game on for the controls or graphics. If you must buy this game, please buy it used, so that hopefully the developers will get the point, as any money you save will be worth it knowing you're missing out on all the game can offer. PS2, PSP, Wii - Blade, Cyclops, Psylocke Nintendo DS - Sentry, She-Hulk Xbox 360, PS3 - Iron Fist Pre-Order Only - Juggernaut As another note, that may seem a bit minor, to compensate the system exclusive characters, the PS3 and Xbox 360 are layered with plenty of other boss characters that you won't find in the other games. This is also disappointing as many people will miss out on lots of potential fun fights. Now you may be telling yourself, well this will come along later as DLC that I can pay for and receive all of the characters. If MUA1 was any tell in this, the only DLC that was released, were new original villain characters. The system exclusives stayed were never moved cross-system, so please don't hope this will be fixed unless it is actually announced by the developers. Another tell, is the X-Men Legend games, which had some of the same developers as this series of games, never did the system exclusives. If they do announce system exclusives are cross-system, I will be the first to hop on the MUA2 bandwagon, but until then, this is just a game that I cannot get behind. Besides the system exclusives this game is completely different from the first and loses a lot of it's charm. I'm sure you can get the information on the rest of the game itself better from other reviews, I just believe people need to be educated on this part of the game that you're buying.… Expand
  4. DragonCriticX
    Jan 17, 2012
    3
    Really nothing interesting here if you ask me. The gameplay is boring and stiff and got me tired very quickly, the environments look bland and there are few powers to use compared to the first game. This review is very short because i couldn't stomach myself to play even the second mission. In short there is nothing here to have a long interest in. There are way better super hero games out there.
  5. Spicyphoenix813
    Nov 15, 2021
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bosses are too OP and this comes from someone who played the OG X-men legends on a ps2. They can combine stuns, knockbacks or popups, then follow up immediately with combos, and they already hit hard enough as it is. While we as the player, have no stun or immobile effect on the boss whatsoever, (kind of understandable) we can’t even interrupt the animation of their super moves with our powers. They don’t flinch, they don’t act as though they’re being hit, nothing. Just the red numbers above their heads indicating they are in fact taking damage. Just a little more immersion is all I’m asking. It’s also frustrating the amount of damage they can do while we’re helplessly on the ground, their attack speed is through the roof, and we’re ever so slowly gaining our composure to get up. Then when we ARE up, we get hit again and we die. The bugs. This is the biggest problem I, and so many others on SOO many forums are having. I’m on a One S, which is pretty high quality for high performance running, download and upload speed, and especially fps. I get stuck on levels where I’m supposed to be interrupted by someone, but I face an endless horde of robots spawning from a platform. A character stops speaking and the screen stops on their face. I can only pause it, but the character doesn’t “freeze up” or anything, the camera just stays put on them forever. No options for dialogue, nothing. Much more revision should’ve been done on this game with many many more playthroughs, to ensure things like this aren’t rubbed off as “console performance” as it’s been falsely debunked as before. Sometimes it’s the game itself. Just something to think about before you download as it is a fun story, but the mechanics are incredibly frustrating at times when the aim is to have fun.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

91
#91 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2009
37
#37 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2009
30
#30 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 75
  3. Negative: 0 out of 75
  1. GamingTrend
    88
    One could sum up my issues with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 by the liberties that were taken with both the story and the characters. It's the only thing in my mind that keeps the game from being truly great, because the gameplay mechanics and leveling system are really top-notch.
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  2. 1UP
    67
    But ultimately, even though a lot of things about MUA2 aggravate me, the moment-to-moment gameplay of superheroes beating the crap out of robots/mutants/soldiers with fists, mystical hammers, repulsor rays, giant tongues, and what-have-you feels solid and enjoyable.
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  3. GameZone
    85
    While the combat is a bit too much on the button mashing side, the RPG elements are solidly implemented and the different stories make for a branching experience that hardcore Marvel fans should check out.
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