NYCC 09: Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Q&A
What's this here Civil War all about?
February 6, 2009 - It's a good time to be a Marvel fan. First, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was good; second, Vicarious Visions and Activision are making Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2; and third, this sequel is based on Civil War, an awesome storyline that redefined the Marvel Universe.
So, yeah, it doesn't suck to be a part of the house that Stan Lee built.
With so much news about Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 breaking this week, we thought it was only right to grab Dan Tanguay, director and lead designer on the game, and get some answers about just what the heck is happening in this super-hero RPG.
IGN: What did Vicarious Visions take away from the first game – both its own work and Raven's? Obviously it was a success, but what did you want to keep? What did you want to loose?
Dan Tanguay: We wanted to feature several key elements from Ultimate Alliance. The most obvious was the largest army of heroes. We have just as many heroes in this game, and we've introduced fusions (aka team-ups) between each of those heroes. Ever wonder how Spider-Man and Captain America would team-up? We have it. We want players to explore the hundreds of fusion combinations and discover interesting and unique ways to use them.
But Ultimate Alliance wasn't just about the heroes. It was easy to pick-up and play, it had tightly paced missions, and it had compelling upgrades. All of those are very important to this game too. And my personal favorite—the cooperative play—is still central to the experience, especially given our focus on team-ups.
We didn't set out to purposefully lose anything from the previous game. Instead, we asked ourselves this question: what do we need to do to create the strongest Civil War experience? This story requires a very specific approach. That led us to push other features in different and more believable and cinematic directions, including our art/audio style, characters, environments, and camerawork.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/951/951841/marvel-ultimate-alliance-2-fusion-20090205091009447-000.jpg)
IGN: What heroes and villains are back for this game? What heroes and villains are here for the first time?
Dan Tanguay: Unfortunately, I can't dish on all the playable characters.
But I can say that there's an excellent mix. We have old returning favorites, like Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and more. We also have some favorites that fans have been clamoring for, as well as brand new characters that tie very closely to the Civil War storyline. I'm most excited about the brand new characters because they're very fun to play, and I expect they'll become new fan favorites.
IGN: Civil War was one of the defining moments of the current Marvel Universe – was it a no-brainer to use it for the game or was there trepidation? Why?
Dan Tanguay: It was actually a bit of both. As soon as someone proposed the idea of doing a Civil War game, we knew we had to do it. It's a great setup for a game, and it felt fresh and relevant. So then we buckled down and started working. That's when the trepidation crept in. A Civil War game is a huge challenge. In addition to things like believability, we had to put a lot of effort into giving the player meaningful choices and making sure we did the storyline justice.
IGN: From the little bit we've seen, the style is different than the Civil War from the comics. How is the story different? Was the comic just a launching pad or was it an outline you tried to follow? What set pieces did you keep?
Dan Tanguay: As we worked with Marvel, we realized that a "what if" approach to the storyline would best suit an interactive adaptation of Civil War. So this game still exists in the Ultimate Alliance continuity. There are a number of reasons for this, but perhaps the simplest reason is the best one. (If you're sensitive to comic spoilers, you may want to skip to the next question.)
We felt we couldn't end the game with Captain America giving up, since anyone playing him wouldn't do that. Additionally, we wanted to bring this sprawling game storyline to a close, instead of ending on a cliffhanger. So we wrote a different ending, and a lot of changes flowed from that.
Still, we use the comics as an outline to follow. So we have a number of set pieces from Secret War and Civil War, including an attack in D.C., the ambush at the Chemical Plant, the Prison Convoy, and more. Some of the details have changed—as they always do in a video game adaptation—but we've captured the spirit and themes of Civil War. It feels like Civil War when you play the game.
IGN: Does Cap die?!
Dan Tanguay: You'll have to play the game to find out.
IGN: Team-up moves seem to be a big part of gameplay; what are some of your favorite teams and moves?
Dan Tanguay: Right now, my favorite team is Marvel's First Family: the Fantastic Four. I like playing them because they cover every combat style I'd want. Mr. Fantastic is a great melee fighter, The Thing's a powerful bruiser, The Human Torch is an exceptional ranged attacker, and Invisible Woman's great at controlling crowds.
As for my favorite team-ups, I really like Wolverine & Hulk's fastball fusion. It's great for dealing a lot of damage to mini-bosses. Like many other members of the team, I also like Storm & Torch's Fiery Tornado. Controlling such a destructive force feels phenomenal.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/951/951841/marvel-ultimate-alliance-2-fusion-20090205091005978-000.jpg)
IGN: Is the focus still one dungeon crawling? Will there be alternate pathways?
Dan Tanguay: The environments will still feel linear, though there'll be plenty of room for exploration and secrets. Even though the maps don't branch too much, we didn't want this feeling just like another dungeon crawler. We have put an incredible amount of work into making the environments feel massive and alive. Certain maps have ceilings; other outdoor maps have stunning vistas. Dynamic lights cast moving shadows, and the audio creates a world beyond the visuals.
IGN: How do super-powers and leveling up work this time? Is it the same system as before?
Dan Tanguay: The power and leveling system is similar to the first Ultimate Alliance, since that was a robust design. Still, we've changed up a few things to make upgrading feel fresh. Heroes still level up, and they still have upgradeable powers and alternate costumes.
But they also now have passive abilities and shared team boosts. Boosts are medals that heroes can earn from defeating enemies, heroic deeds, or even the types of choices you make in conversations. Players can choose which boosts to equip their team with.
IGN: Any chance of Ultimate Alliance 3 being about Marvel Zombies?
Dan Tanguay: We haven't thought too much about the next game yet, since we're very focused on creating the best Civil War experience in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
I will give you my personal opinion though: if the stars were to align, I would work on Marvel Zombies in a heartbeat. |
