So we finally delved into Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 as a couple (is there any other way?), and while it's obvious that the game lacks much of what made the original so great...we're having fun with it. A lot of dissenting voices suggested that we stay away, but for more than 50% off I figured I couldn't go wrong. For the most part it was a good buy, I think.
Barring the usual complaints of "I'm trying to read the text, stopping skipping through it!" and "What the heck is Spider-Man's web sticking to when he swings?" we have been having a lot of fun with the game.
Until...
About an hour in, we were forced to decide which faction we would side with. Unlike the original Ultimate Alliance, your stats don't carry from character to character. And when you've upgraded two characters from either side of the Civil War, it becomes a somewhat difficult decision to make together.
Now at this point in the article, I wanted to make a dig at the community here for the vehemence surrounding Juggernaut - when an hour into the game half the characters become unplayable anyway - but since we haven't finished the campaign, I'll leave it to you to clarify in the comments section. I haven't used Juggernaut, and I don't miss him. I miss Iron Man, darn it!
In the meantime I have a couch to dispose of, because apparently my attitude ("I'm Gambit, I'm the leader of this troop, I'm a rebel Texan, and we're not signing the mutant registration bill!") wasn't a good enough answer. And like the insistent mother that coldly steps in front of you and punches the Reset button when you're just about to defeat Andross in StarFox 64, I took a swing at the nearest Stark Tower guard. Without missing a beat, my wife disappeared and She-Hulk tore our leather couch in half. While I was sitting in it.
"I made your dinner, and you repay me with this betrayal? Hulk smash!"
When I first read the tagline "Whose side are you on?", I hadn't intended to draw that line right here in my entertainment room! I thought that little marketing nugget was addressed to myself, my wife, and my co-op buddies - not to everyone looking in at our little dilemma. Yet I sit at work, text messaging friends and relatives who don't even know what a Logan is, and asking them what they would do: register as a mutant, or fight the machine. For the most part, my inbox is empty.
In seriousness, though: the civil war debate in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is pretty thoughtful, and sets an emotional stage that I haven't been on recently, including my play-through of Modern Warfare 2. The plot of Ultimate Alliance 2 overall has its own brand of ridiculousness, but with a close friend it can be turned into a good experience. Remember: this is based on comic books. It's hokey. It's laughable.
Except the destroyed couch part. That's not funny.