Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects

They attempted something risky and for the most part pulled it off well. I would have liked to see bigger levels.

The Story mode was a great idea that just fell short in its execution. The fighting was a little bit shallow, but it was still fun.

Keep your expectations in check, and there's some fun in the mayhem. [Oct 2005, p.126]

A rather straightforward 3D brawler, with enemies materializing in a green haze and fairly begging to be dispatched with prejudice. [Oct 2005, p.55]

Xbox Live gamers will enjoy the online play (if they select a character that can fire weapons- or powers-based projectiles) and it's nice to have a brawler/fighter that showcases the Marvel universe so well, but an imperfect storyline that just doesn't draw gamers into the Marvel Nemesis realm very far and a weak A.I. challenge in the single-player story mode hold the game back from reaching the heights of previous Marvel-based games.

The game does have a lot of unlockables such as special photos, comics, and of course characters, but aside from that there really isn't a whole lot to do after you unlock everyone, which won't take long.

Walks a fine line by having a great concept, amazing line-up of characters with a average game behind it.

It's not the most original brawler out there, but the tasty graphics and cinematic comic-book style action help make up for some of the games imperfections.

A pretty average beat 'em up. There are some annoying control and camera issues. And the imperfects? Boring! [Nov 2005]

The impressive amount of characters to play with, along with the striking character graphics and animations, gives the game a good presentational value, and the exciting boss battles and interactive levels make this an entertaining game that is worthy of at least a rental.

Although Marvel Nemesis is far from being a perfect game, it's still an exceptionally strong outing for EA. Comic fans should be suitably impressed with EA's use of the Marvel license, and fighting fans will likely find more than enough substance to keep themselves entertained.

The super-simplified combat soon trounces those expectations, however, as you realize that many characters' moves are gussied-up versions of web attacks and fireballs.

Sadly, a missed opportunity from EA. Someone has come up with a great concept, brought on board some incredible comic talent to help bring it all together but it's let down by a poorly designed fighting engine and badly balanced characters.

Rise of the Imperfects is a fun experience and a beauty of a game, but is probably best as a rental. Only those without the skill or desire to master complex fighting moves will enjoy this game long enough to warrant a purchase.

On paper this should have been one of the best, but it has fallen well short of the mark and I can only recommend this game as a hire title because that is all the time you will need to finish the game and realise how repetitive it is.

Marvel Nemesis has been engineered in such a way that you must slog through the game's weakest parts to gain access to its best features--and you'll have to wrestle with some serious balance and gameplay issues along the way.

A mixed bag of imperfection and rather jagged diamonds that should seriously be weighed up before purchasing.

The lineup of Marvel characters is pretty impressive but does nothing to save Rise of the Imperfects from the problematic gameplay issues.

When it all comes down to it, this game is similar to "PowerStone," and not even as fun.

Like in the movies, not even an appearance by super-hottie Elektra can save you from the frustration and repetition. [Dec 2005, p.108]

Faceless-cyborg-smashing melee battles are repetitive, uninspired, and glitchy. And with each story line presented in a series of minimissions averaging 3 to 4 minutes apiece, you spend a lot of your time switching characters and saving and loading instead of just playing the darn game.

Nothing more than a ho-hum experience that looks painfully ordinary when compared to the rest of this season's excellent comic games.

The combat is far from fluid and the missions feel stuttered and short...and how will Marvel fans feel about killing off some of their favourite characters???

A good-looking game that should've focused on one thing above all others. It might've been a good four-player arena combat game; it could've done all right as a mission-based beat-'em-up; and it's just barely possible that this might've worked as a 3D platformer starring Marvel's characters. As a game that tries to be all of those things at once, it's about as fun as gargling mayonnaise.

A weak in the knees one button beat-em-up that has absolutely no teeth. The fighting engine is so watered down that only geeking Marvel fanboys will elicit any enjoyment out of spending any time with it.

The characters are wasted, despite the more than adequate job done to animate them, and despite EA's roll-out of limited edition comics to whet our appetites, the new characters are poorly realised and immediately forgettable. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]

Unfortunately being forced to play through the storyline mode is what really brings this game down.

Under-use of the Marvel license, focus on style over substance and a rushed developer have ensured that Marvel Nemesis will be the turkey of the EA holiday lineup.

The area where the gameplay lacks is the variety on moves, combos, and just providing ways to keep gamers interested after the smoke and mirrors of the visuals wear off.

The story mode is boring and full of repetition, the controls are overly simplistic.

The graphics seem mostly unimpressive despite some quirks, and the gameplay never really meshes. Only some online options and multiplayer goodies keep this from being completely imperfect.

Inarguably, it's a sucky game. Once you've taken Marvel Nemesis through its paces, you'll pierce its glinty armor with your newfound eye beams of license abuse and try to toss it into the local penitentiary for the rest of its unnatural born life.