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2019 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is the third game of the Ultimate Alliance series, coming out an entire decade after the second. With Team Ninja and Nintendo taking over from Activision, the series has been allowed to evolve into something new.
Ultimate Alliance 3 serves as a reboot for the series, creating a whole new continuity and revamping its visual style. While Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 managed to sell 1 million copies, the reception was rather mixed. With the Marvel brand more popular than ever, it can’t help but seem Ultimate Alliance 3 has been underestimated and overlooked by many players.
ten UA3 has an impressive roster of Marvel characters to play
Within 10 years between Ultimate Alliance games, Marvel’s landscape has changed dramatically. Ultimate Alliance 3 reflects this change through its roster of playable characters. Classic Marvel characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man are all in attendance, but Miles Morales and Kamala Khan also make appearances.
Some of the playable characters have evolved over the years as well, such as Carol Danvers who went from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel. With the release of the X-Men, Marvel Knights and Fantastic Four DLC packs, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 has assembled an impressive roster of 52 characters.
9 New takes on Marvel villains make for interesting boss battles
What’s a bunch of heroes without a bunch of villains to face? As the title of the game suggests, players face off against members of the Black Order as well as their master, Thanos.
While they serve as interesting bosses in their own right, things get even more exciting when other Marvel villains show up as boss fights, now fueled by the Infinity Stones. These allow for new interpretations of classic villains to fight like Green Goblin with the Time Stone, Kingpin with the Power Stone, or Ultron with the Spirit Stone.
8 Variety of locations widens the scope of the game
The 10 chapters of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3The main story focuses on a different iconic setting from Marvel Comics to fight and explore. The variety of locations gives players a wide range of settings and characters to interact with. There are classic land sites like Avenger’s Tower, Xavier Institute, and Wakanda to explore. However, Ultimate Alliance 3 expands the reach by giving players access to cosmic locations like Knowhere and Attilan, home of the Inhumans. Even other realms like Asgard and the Dark Dimension are featured in the game.
7 Build your own team in single player or multiplayer
A major axis in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is the possibility of forming a team from 4 characters from the list. There are countless character combinations that each offer different team bonuses. Players can also perform synergy attacks by having two different characters on their team with compatible abilities.
This 4-character gameplay can be enjoyed solo by switching between characters. There is also an online and local multiplayer mode where up to 4 players can each take control of a single character. In an age where online multiplayer seems to be the main focus, it’s nice to see a game with fully integrated cooperative gameplay.
6 There is no shortage of customization options
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 gives players access to awesome customization options. Not only can players mix and match characters to form their own team, but each heo can be customized to suit the player’s taste. There are multiple unlockable costumes for each playable character – some act as recolors while others completely change the character’s appearance. Some notable costumes include Old Man Logan for Wolverine and Ronin for Hawkeye. Players can also unlock a variety of voice lines for each character which can be triggered during the game.
5 There are plenty of RPG elements you can sink your teeth into
Not only Ultimate Alliance 3 has an impressive customization system, but it also has a lot of RPG elements in it. First of all, each character can earn XP to level up and increase their stats. Each character can also upgrade their abilities and equip the ISO-8 crystals that are collected throughout the game.
These crystals perform various functions and each have their own level of rarity. Players can manage or upgrade their ISO-8 crystals at the Lab, which also houses a skill tree where points are spent to gain permanent stats and perks.
4 Awesome voice acting brings the game to life
The worlds and characters of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 come to life in part thanks to a stellar vocal cast. The game is littered with some of the most notable voice actors.
There are too many to list here, but a few stars are Laura Bailey as Black Widow and Nolan North who duplicates Deadpool and Rocket Raccoon. Dubbing keeps the gameplay from getting stale, as characters interpose vocal lines that can either add much-needed comedic relief or add to the intensity of the situation with a good quote.
3 A compelling story holds it all together
The impressive cast of characters and worlds in the game wouldn’t have had as much of an impact without the gripping story mode that ties it all together. While the game features familiar Marvel characters and locations, the story always finds ways to present them in new and exciting ways.
Ultimate Alliance 3 does a great job of introducing interesting characters throughout the story to keep players engaged. One area where the characters really shine is during the story’s many cutscenes. These cutscenes allow for a significant level of interaction with the characters that cannot be experienced during the game.
2 Additional modes help flesh out the game
While the story mode is the main attraction, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 also has a lot of additional modes which add a lot of replay value. Infinity Trials and Gauntlet are two modes that feature different challenges that when completed provide players with special rewards.
Danger Room is an X-Men themed mode that pits two teams of characters against each other to complete challenges as quickly as possible. The challenges in these modes can often be difficult, so it encourages players to keep playing in order to strengthen their characters. Trying to collect all the rewards from these extra modes will definitely keep players busy for a long time.
1 It’s a celebration of all things Marvel
The amount of love and care that has been put in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is clear. The game celebrates all forms of Marvel media. The characters and locations are inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Marvel animated series and of course Marvel Comics.
Ultimate Alliance 3 The story obviously draws inspiration from the MCU’s Infinity Saga. Meanwhile, many characters are voiced by actors who have portrayed them in previous video games and animated shows. By embracing all of these different aspects of Marvel, UA3 becomes an exceptional entry into the world of Marvel.
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