All this superhero goodness is a blast for one player, but the hack-and-slash action is loads of fun for up to four. You can play either offline or through Xbox Live. The standard cooperative gameplay lets you and your friends enjoy the story together. Arcade mode does the same, but adds the twist of competitive gameplay, with the best player (most knockouts, items, etc.) gets the glorious mantle of "most valuable hero."

Now, there are a few minor problems with Marvel Ultimate Alliance. The characters in the cinematics are set. If you've toiled through hell with Ghost Rider and damn it, you want to see him in a cutscene... too bad! The other problem is with the ridiculously powerful characters like Thor and The Silver Surfer. It doesn't make sense that they can't bash their way through anything in the game. True believers will not buy it for a second.

It's clear that the Xbox 360 version received more attention than its siblings. Compared to the other editions of the game, the PlayStation 2 build is the ugly duckling. The in-game graphics, pre-rendered cutscenes, and sound just aren't nearly as crisp on the PS2. Still, it's an improvement over X-Men Legends in all counts, but if you have multiple consoles in your living room then the PS2 version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance should be skipped in favor of the Xbox or Xbox 360 varieties.