Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 looks much better than its predecessor. There's a lot of streamlining in the Menu systems, the animation work is superb, and the destructible environments look fantastic. Another huge plus is that MUA2's camera is not as afraid to get up close and personal as the first game's camera was. That's not to say the camera's perfect; it can become uncooperative at times. All the RPG-esque number-crunching is on full display, and every hit landed is marked. There are some quirks; the framerate will take a hit whenever the action gets too hot, and then it will take another when you unleash a Fusion attack on a screen full of enemies. Occasionally, the screen will get too busy, which makes it difficult to see what's going on with your character. None of this detracts significantly from the experience, but none of it will go unnoticed, either.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 sounds great. Every attack sounds like it should, from the snikt of Wolverine's claws to the groundshaking noises of pretty much everything The Thing does. The voicework is just about right; all the stereotypes and corny one-liners of the Marvel universe are present and accounted for ("Always bet on Gambit" from Monsieur LeBeau, and "Cool, I was just chillin'" from Iceman). The music stays out of the way for the most part, but what's there is decent enough to keep anyone from complaining.
