Just like Camilla Parker-Bowles, sometimes a game can have the best pedigree and come out a bit of a butter face, andMarvel: Ultimate Alliance is just this type of game.

M: UA is the third Marvel title from the partnership of Activision and Raven Software, after the unequivocal smash hit X-Men: Legends, and the very successful follow-up X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse. To ensure proper adherence to the Marvel cannon, Raven again teams up with a well-known writer from the comic universe, this time it’s C.B. Cebulskiof Marvel Mangaverse fame.

This time around, it isn’t just the X-Men you get to run around through a top down set of levels, dungeons, and intermediate bases scenes, rather nearly 140 unique characters from the Marvel universe appear in the game, with roughly 20 of them that are player controllable (some of which are unlocked as the game progresses). Characters from every team you’ve ever read about are including, along with some of the most popular solo acts (Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and Ghostrider) to ever grace the pages of a marvel mag. There are special characters that are unlockable in each version of the game, and I think it’s unfortunate that players who don’t have different consoles cannot experience playing as a character available on a different console (like Moon Knight, who as my all time favorite Marvel character is only available on the Xbox 360.)

Graphically the game is an improvement over either of its two predecessors. 3D renderings of characters provide much of the visual enhancement, but as they constantly on screen, it makes for a major facelift. The cell shading of the previous two games has gone the way of the dodo and it really works to the games benefit. The levels are roughly the same graphically as the previous editions, but Castle Doom and the visit to submerged Atlantis are especially visually appealing. Of note are the CG cutscenes from Blur Studios, in particular the opening scene, which stands out to remind us that even on a no-longer top of the line console, graphics can still be truly mesmerizing.

The audio of the game is about average. Unlike the XML titles; none of the voices that have become synonymous with the big-screen editions of the characters are present. This is very disappointing, as Spider-Mans quips are hollow without Tobey Maguire’s delivery and Professor X is really not Professor X anymore without the power of Patrick Stewart delivering the lines. On the plus side, the score is one of the better scores written specifically for a game in a long time. The music almost always matches the tone of the game play, and with the exception of the repetitive combat theme, it’s diverse enough to never feel like we’ve heard the same music throughout the game.

The controls are solid, and anyone who has played the XML titles will feel right at home immediately. This game is a button mashers delight, with the ability to really work in the special powers of the characters if t...