Why I Love Ultimate Alliance and Arkham Asylum!
Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week's edition of the column goes to a doubleheader where will be discussing 2 very different comic related video games. One of them is innovative and really shows just how a comic video game should be made, and the other is the sequel to a fan favorite game that lets you play with one of the biggest assortment of Marvel characters in a long time. So let's jump right in!
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 doesn't follow up exactly where the first game ended. A new developer, Vicarious Visions, got to handle the property this time around and does some really interesting things with it.
The first big change is the way that the character selection is chosen; you can choose to change out any character in your roster at anytime. From Luke Cage to Deadpool to some surprise choices for the roster - there are a lot to choose from. But it's fast and actually helps if you don't feel like playing with certain characters anymore.
The graphics are a tiny bit sharper but haven't changed too much. It feels like they used the same game engine as Prototype but definitely in a very different way. Some of the favorite moves are back from the first game like Cap's shield throw and fan favorite characters like Iron Fist and Deadpool steal the show away from the bigger players.
Another thing that changes heavily from the first game is a new move that can be used with any two characters of your choosing, called fusion. Fusion combines the move set of two characters to do major damage to bosses and big groups of enemies. There was one that I personally used a lot where some like Luke Cage or The Thing would pick up a boulder, Deadpool would hop up on that boulder and load it up with grenades and then they'd throw it at the character you aimed it at doing significant damage.
The story in the game follows Civil War while taking its own liberties with it as the public loses faith in our heroes and soon you have to make the ultimate decision of which side you will choose. This changes gameplay up as at least 3 characters are exclusive to this part of the story that you can only play if you choose their side. It's fun seeing the differences in the story as well here as Nick Fury is the constant to your team throughout.
Of course the story becomes weaker by the end, which I won't spoil as it definitely seems a bit rushed and not well thought out at all. They manage to pack in a lot of enemies to throw at you at the same time on screen and it feels a little bit like the classic X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle arcade games from back in the early ';90s.
The game sadly isn't perfect as there are plenty of one-liners said by characters that get repeated. (And once again some of the voice casting is horrible miscast.) The camera at several important moments decides to have a mind of its own and there were a few moments on my first play through where the controls didn't respond to me during some important boss fights.
Overall, this is easily a fun game that you can play by just yourself or with your friends and has just released its first downloadable content with new characters and missions as well as Cable, Juggernaut, Black Panther and a couple others. I say at least rent it and see if you enjoy the beat ';em up gameplay.
We go on the complete opposite side of the spectrum with what I view as easily not only game of the year but best comic inspired video game ever. I talk of course about Eidos' brilliant Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The first thing to note about the Batman video game franchise is that we have never had a good Batman game. Since the earliest days of the character in video game form there has never been a good adaption of what makes Batman the character we all know and love. That changed here in spades.
The first thing to note is that Mark Hammil, Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin all reprise their roles as the Joker, Batman and Harley Quinn from Batman the Animated Series. This adds a lot to what is right with this game right off the bat (That was totally not meant as a pun I swear). Mark's joker is a little bit darker then the last time we heard him but it's fitting with what happens in the game. The other element brought in to make this a true comic book video game that shows how faithful it can be was bringing in Paul Dini (Writer for Batman the Animated Series, Detective Comics, Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens) who makes sure that every character fits in how they should and sound right on point.
The mystery of Arkham Asylum is probably one of the best highlights of the game as little Easter eggs are hidden for you to find throughout playing the game that fill you in on the dark past of the island. You also are teased a lot by The Riddler who challenges you to find the answer to all his riddles. There are also plenty of references to the comics put in as we have Aaron Cash, the only guard to 
ever tangle with Croc and get away with it as well as Oracle and a few other surprises that I won't spoil for you.
The battle system in the game should be commended a lot as it's surprisingly intuitive, easy to maneuver and only gets frustrating if you can't block an attack in time. Your move list varies depending on how many combos you can connect and when you have enough points you can upgrade equipment and tools to help you overcome the odds that are thrown at you.
The gadgets in the game are classic. Sadly there is no driving the Batmobile but you do get a grappling launcher, batarangs and a few other surprises that no self-respecting crime fighter would leave home without. Certain devices trigger certain things and add necessary challenges to the gameplay that leave you feeling accomplished by the time you finish.
There is also my personal favorite feature in the game which is referred to as detective vision that lives up to the name. It manages to give insight into what condition your enemies are in, what kind of weakness you can take advantage of and hints into solving the puzzles the Riddler throws at you.
I'd be crazy if I didn't tell you about the boss fights in the game, which changes at each boss. Harley, Ivy, Bane and even the Scarecrow all offer didn't levels of difficulty that you as the Dark Knight overcome. Scarecrow's boss fights are a personal favorite that I dare not spoil for players who will have their brains truly messed with.
A great story, strong gameplay, re playability and many secret to unlock make Arkham Asylum the strongest comic video game ever made and easily make it something any gamer/comic fan should own on their shelves!
Well that's it for this week, readers, join us here next week for another edition of the column where we shall talk about something that I believe should be looked into by any fans of great storytelling!
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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