Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: 10 Things It Must Include
More heroes. Bigger Levels. Greater destruction. A third entry has to have it all.
Remember Marvel: Ultimate Alliance? That awesome, dungeon-crawling RPG developed by former X-Men: Legends devs, Raven Software? Well, if you do - and if you enjoyed it, more importantly - you'll probably want to know that a remaster is out on PS4 Xbox, and PC (sans the first game's DLC).
That's some pretty amazing news, especially once you consider that Marvel - having only recently stepped back into the business of crafting superhero video games - had offered no indication that such a move was coming. For fans left despondent at the thought that one of their favourite titles was forever lost to a digital abyss - onset by Activision's decision to abandon Marvel altogether - this is bound to make their summer just that little bit better.
What this spells for a potential sequel, however, is uncertain. Irrespective of whatever intentions Marvel may have for the Ultimate Alliance brand, it's fairly obvious that there's a massive audience for it. I mean, who doesn't love making their own personal Avengers, drawn from the very best the Marvel Universe has to offer? It's certainly a killer premise, and one that would most definitely benefit from a dedicated current-gen sequel.
For now, however, you're just going to have to settle for this remaster. And for those of you who haven't yet dipped into Marvel's classic gaming library, there's no better introduction than Ultimate Alliance. Just, err, ignore the sequel.
10. An Even Bigger Roster
When the first Ultimate Alliance game dropped in 2006 (yes, it really has been ten years since its release), fans were quite rightly blown away by just how many Marvel heroes they could actually play as. Everyone from Captain America, Spider-Man and Wolverine, to lesser-knowns like Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel, came equipped with their own fleshed out powers and dialogue. This was then further improved upon in the series' sequel, albeit with a focus on the Marvel Universe's villains, rather than its heroes.
A third entry, then, should logically aim to give players a gargantuan cast of Marvel mainstays. At its peak, Ultimate Alliance 2 had a whopping 30 characters to choose from, and, considering the mantra of the current console cycle really is 'bigger is better,' anything short of that can only disappoint.
All of Ultimate Alliance's old characters simply have to return in one way or another, but as for new characters that could potentially join the series, well, I guess we are yet to see the Guardians of the Galaxy, or even the likes of War Machine, Jessica Jones and The Punisher make their current gen debut.
Regardless, the dynamics of the Marvel Universe have changed a great deal since 2009. Popularity levels of characters have, of course, fluctuated in the years since. And as Marvel seeks to shun the X-Men throughout their cross-medium exploits, I wouldn't be surprised if they were omitted altogether.