Have any of you ever ventured into Bizarro World? Anyone who knows what I am referring to is a fan of the comics. Whether it be DC or Marvel, comics hold a special place for a lot of people because it is an escape from the reality you’re in to a place where you can be whoever you want. Apparently, comics are the in-thing now, hence the Bizarro World reference. Major blockbusters flanked by just as many games make it a comic fanboy’s wet dream. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a sequel to one of the best comic button mashers I have ever played. Now, with an updated roster, game play mechanics, graphics, and great backstory, MUA2 promises to deliver a great view into the Marvel Civil War. Pick a side, things are going to get real.

MUA2 has one obvious, yet not-so-simple goal: improve on its predecessor. The premise of the game is very straightforward. Assemble a team of 4 superheroes, button mash your way through countless enemies and a plethora of super-villains you will encounter across your way. The button config has barely changed but there have been some added caveats. You can store health packs and allocate them when you see fit which is a great addition, especially for boss battles which can get hectic. Second, and the biggest addition, is the introduction of Fusion powers. You can easily select another hero to combine powers with by simply pressing the LT then the appropriate face button. If you are playing co-op, both players can easily combine by doing the same function. The powers can do tremendous damage to enemies, especially when they greatly outnumber you, which is often. The game also offers a schism between super heroes, which gives you two separate storylines to play through, allowing only certain heroes to be used in each, greatly adding to replay value. There are also RPG elements where answering questions when prompted will lead to added bonuses to your team depending on your response.

With all button mashers, you do face the issues of repetition and MUA2 is no different. The level design is on rails for the most part and if you bore easily by cruising through generic enemies until a boss fight, you may take issue. There are also clipping instances where characters get stuck in weird places and this often causes you be stuck or just warped back to where the game thinks you should be. The camera is improved, but again, you will be obstructed more often than not and will take damage and you cannot see what is going on while a huge platform blocks your view. The Fusion powers are fun at first but become repetitive as there are only so many combos you can have and you will likely stick with your favorite as some are much more useful than others. The graphics are better than MUA2, but were not as sharp as we expected, especially in the cutscenes.

Despite camera issues, glitches, some framerate dropping, and overall repetitiveness, MUA2 is a lot of fun. It is a must have for comic book geeks like us here. The amount of playable characters is superb and using their powers is very refreshing. With so many possible teams to build, upgrades to enable, 2 separate campaigns, simulator challenges and various difficulty levels, there is a ton to do here if you want. This is a button masher and a mindless one at that, but this is exactly what fans of the X-Men Legends/MUA series wanted: the chance to be awesome superheroes who just flat out kick ass. I don’t want to think while I make the Human Torch and Gambit combine to rain down kinetically charged playing cards and flaming death upon helpless Latvarian baddies. I just want to kick ass and not take names. I just want to kick some ass. There is plenty of ass to kick in MUA2.