Winner: Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Activision | PC,PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3, PSP,Wii,Xbox,Xbox 360
First there was X-Men Legends, a mutant-powered beat 'em up that offered satisfying action for comic and videogame fans alike. Next there was X-Men Legends 2, which added even more mutants, more villains and more power-ups. Then, last fall, came Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
It's essentially the same game as the previous two - and manyof usabsolutely loveall three-but Activision has nowroped the entire Marvel universe into one title. There's literally nothing left to draw from, not even Marvel's many alternate dimensions - Alliance already mixes bits from the "standard" comics and Marvel's newer,"Ultimate" line to create a strange blend of characters that can't be added to or modified. The source material is exhausted, folks - you literally can't make this any bigger or more epic.
We could imagine a game based upon the classic"Infinity Gauntlet" storyline,or something involvingmegalithic, universe-widecrossoverevents like "Inferno" or "Atlantis Attacks", but even then, you're including many characters that have already seen action.
We suppose they could open the floor to the 30-plus unplayable heroes that cameo in Alliance, but does anyone really want to play as Hank Pym or Corsair? Didn't think so. There are just enough random characters left to garner interest in another sequel (Psylocke and Hulk would be cool), but for what it's worth, this series is over and done.
