Preview by: Tracy Erickson

The announcement of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 last summer during Comic Con San Diego came as no shock. The phenomenal sales and critical reception of the original game made it clear that a sequel would arrive at some time in the not-too-distance future; however, it does come as surprise that a concerted effort is being made to evolve the sequel well beyond the scope of the first game.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 blends the story arcs from both Secret War and Civil War series, embellishing upon the combination with its own unique events and additional characters. You begin with the invasion of Latveria with a black ops group consisting of Nick Fury, Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, and Spider-Man. The mission ends with retribution against the United States, attacks killing hundreds of civilians. These attacks on the homeland fuel fury against the mutant population, prompting Congress to pass legislation requiring the registration of mutants with a new governmental agency. Unsurprisingly, a rift grows between those supporting registration and those against it; as such, a war erupts among mutants of which you're placed smack in the middle.

Through the course of the purportedly lengthy campaign, you control an enormous roster of 24 characters. Of course, not all of these are accessible from the start and some become available only as a result of hard decisions made at specific points during the story; that said, it's the largest number of superheroes every assembled in any game to date. As if that weren't enough, more are being promised via download following the game's retail release.

Every character comes with a unique set of powers, which have been cultivated from their comic book history. Earning experience enables you to enhance each character's four core powers, as well as unlock new powers. Solo powers are only one dimension of combat, though. Fusing the powers of two mutants marks a significant leap from the first game, allowing you to combine two seemingly unrelated abilities for devastating effects. You're only able to fuse powers when awarded a combat star, attacks and other actions filling the combat gauge which awards you a fusion star when filled.

It's worth the work. Even the most bizarre pairings yield powerful results. The first fusion we saw brought Iron Man and Songbird together for a fused power called Beam Defraction. After Songbird conjured a pink prism, Iron Man channels a beam of energy into it that splinters the prism and sends prismatic shrapnel into any nearby foes. Another fusion, Clothesline, has Thor zapping lightning at Captain America who then uses his shield to reflect the electric flow to enemies. In the case of the Clothesline fusion, the power is completely interactive. Pressing a couple of buttons and watching the animation isn't something you can always do here; instead, you need to control Captain America's shield to actually hit enemies with Thor's reflected lightning.