Marvel may knock it out of the park when it comes to movies, but its history is a bit rocky when it comes to video games: for every smash hit like Marvel vs. Capcom, there's a lackluster release like Deadpool. One of the few bright spots for Marvel video games in the last decade is the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series.
Spanning two games, the top-down RPG series lets players play as and customize a huge number of Marvel superheroes and fight their way through story lines adapted from the comics.
Now fans can relive those fond memories, or check out the games for the first time, with the arrival of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2 digitally on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Each game is available for $40 separately, or for $60 together in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance bundle.
It's a fairly steep price tag (this is Activision, after all), especially considering the games haven't been remastered in any way. These are the same exact games you remember playing on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, only now you can play them again on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or PC.
That being said, the games truly are great. Few games manage to capture the large cast of characters and scale of the Marvel comic universe as well as the Ultimate Alliance series, and they're also great for co-op with friends. Up to four players can all play at once, making it one of the best co-op action games around, especially for comic fans.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is especially relevant right now, as it serves as an adaptation of Marvel's "Civil War" story line. Considering Captain America: Civil War made a big splash earlier this summer and Marvel is currently printing "Civil War II," now is a great time to revisit the classic event story line in action-RPG form.
While Ultimate Alliance represents what a good Marvel game can look like, the truth is that most Marvel video games leave plenty to be desired. That's hopefully changing soon, as Marvel has partnered with developers like Insomniac Games and Telltale Games for upcoming projects.
Insomniac is creating a new, open-world Spider-Man game that already looks incredible, for example. It's not yet known what Telltale is up to, but based on its past work and upcoming Batman game for DC Comics, it's safe to say that Marvel's characters are in good hands going forward.
