Great game hampered by performance issues...
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on the PSP is a prime example of why one should alway survey the environment before jumping in. For example, why the game has 0 reviews on Giantbomb.com, or perhaps why the game was on clearance at Target for $7. On the handheld, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a game that can be summed up with "this would kick ass if it weren't for..."
The game starts with a team of super heroes lead by Nick Fury, comprised of Spiderman, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Captain America, on a mission to destroy Doctor Doom's latest fortress in the country of Latveria, the fictional country ruled by Doctor Doom, and run by its prime minister Lucia von Bardas. The attack is not sanctioned by the President, who in typical Marvel fashion is using his comedic lack of intelligence to set up a peace deal with von Bardas, the latter of whom is supplying weapons to super villains. The first mission serves as a tutorial, fighting Doctor Doom's Doombots in order to teach features like finishing moves, flying, and the new fusion ability (which I will get on to later), and eventually the cast splits up to work on their own mission to infiltrate Doom's fortress.
In addition to Spiderman and Wolverine (with Captain America and Iron Man temporarily unavailable for that mission), you immediately unlock Daredevil, Deadpool, The Hulk, Human Torch, Iceman, Blade, Psylocke, Luke Cage, Mr. Fantastic, Ms. Marvel, and The Invisible Woman. Along the way, you will unlock new playable characters, including Green Goblin, Thor, Venom, and more. The PSP does have access to three exclusive characters (Cyclops, Blade, and Psylocke) although about eight characters are only available on the ps3/360 versions. Villains are numerous and memorable, and boss fights generally involve beating up minions, playing some quick time event (mash x, then hit triangle) which summons the boss until his health is whittled down, rinse and repeat four times.
The characters themselves breath life into the game, and carry their personalities from the respective comics. Deadpool, for instance, regularly breaks the fourth wall, shouting phrases like "Just sit down, AI guy, you can't win!" acknowledging his level ups, and "what up, playa?" when selected. You'll have to swap out characters as they are needed, for example Spiderman can't lift heavy objects, but The Hulk can. Likewise, some characters cannot reach high places, but Iron Man can fly up high. As for locales, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 takes players to numerous familiar areas, including Times Square. The fusion system is a high powered attack that deals massive damage, and involves two characters performing the attack. Any character on the field at the same time can be coupled up, although with mixed viability. Linking Iron Man and Wolverine will result in Iron Man firing a high powered beam, which Wolverine reflects off of his claws in multiple directions, damaging anyone in the way.
Mechanically speaking, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will be familiar to PSP owners who played Marvel Ultimate Alliance the original, or any other isometric dungeon crawler on the PSP. Each character levels up separately, and earns new powers as they level. Overall the controls are pretty fluid, although the slower characters (read: Iron Man, Hulk) feel frustratingly unresponsive in some of their hits. Other characters, like Deadpool, almost seem to hit too fast, resulting in a strange mixture of play style that will likely result with the player picking one character and sticking with them, barring the occasional puzzle. That being said, the fighting does often wind up being a button masher once you've expended your energy pool.
Perhaps the most astounding feature of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is in the presentation. The game features fully voiced cutscenes that look great on the PSP.
And now for my biggest gripe with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and honestly my only vice that is cause for noticeable concern: The lag. When battles become populated, the framerate suffers. The game doesn't become unplayable, but pulling off combos and counter-moves becomes increasingly difficult when your characters are jerking around the screen. Other than that, I have no opinion on the game.
I give Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 a 2.5/5 because the performance, although not game breaking, is inexcusable, especially on a platform where you can't just patch out such an issue.