Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance may just be copying the same structure of Diablo in pretty much every way possible, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Yeah, it’s basically “X-Men Legends with the whole Marvel universe,” and that’s certainly more than enough for some people. For everyone, it’s the addicting joy of having classic and popular (at the time) Marvel heroes hang out and kick monsters until they get the best loot around, and do it again.
The fun of the original Ultimate Alliance comes in both the beefed up character roster and their powers. There’s some overlap in how each one plays, but they all have skill sets that perfectly reflect their personalities and character history. It feels like a game made for Marvel fans, by Marvel fans — the kind that you call your friends up to come over and play with some pizza and drinks over the weekend. It’s all wrapped in a rather silly story that’s basically just a walking tour of the most memorable Marvel locations (at the time), but it’s worth it because you get to have Spider-Man and Wolverine team up with Daredevil and Hawkweye to fight Fin Fang Foom. Sometimes, that’s enough.
Thankfully, both Ultimate Alliance 1 and its sequel are available to play on the PC, Xbox One, and PS4. If you’re in the mood for a nostalgia trip with a Diablo clone or have never played them, then it’s your lucky day.
