What better way is there to bond with your team at E3 than beating up hordes of HAND ninjas as your favorite Marvel character? None, I say. This was objectively proven yesterday at Nintendo’s E3 demo booth, as the MonsterVine crew (and our wonderful Nintendo contact) all assembled to save the world as some of Marvel’s greatest heroes. I never expected Ultimate Alliance 3 to exist after all these years, but I’m definitely glad it’s here.
Like the most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Ultimate Alliance 3’s overarching plot revolves around Thanos and his villainous “children,” the titular Black Hand. The demo we played had essentially none of this, which is completely fine. Instead, our demo focused on a more grounded threat (by Marvel standards)– the supernatural ninja clan known as the HAND. After a quick briefing from Jessica Jones, we were off to Shadowland to battle the otherworldly shinobi threat. I was Star-Lord, while my team consisted of Wolverine, Captain Marvel, and Thor- a good mix of X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Avengers.
After a brief stealth-based segment, we quickly found ourselves being thrown straight into the Diablo-esque fray. Lasers, slashes, and lightning bolts flew across the screen as the four of us used all sorts of tech and super-powers to mow down our shadowy foes. The feeling of synergy between the four of us was really something to behold, as our attacks fed into one another in a spectacular fashion. Someone would make a tornado, and I’d set it on fire with my element blasters, creating a huge inferno that did extra damage to any ninja unlucky enough to exist within its range. There was such a variety of special moves and combo attacks to try out that I was experimenting with combos for the entire demo, without ever switching characters. If this depth and variety of moves carries over into the full game, I can easily see hours of my life being devoured as I level up all my favorite characters.
“You can definitely do everything on your own, but I can personally attest to the game being far more fun with pals.“
Then all four of us did an ultimate team attack, which devoured the screen with all sorts of projectile mayhem. It can be a bit overwhelming, but I think this flashiness suits the comic origins of Ultimate Alliance 3 rather well. Playing with friends is still the way to go in Ultimate Alliance 3, which is easy to do with the nice and simple drop-in/out multiplayer. You can definitely do everything on your own, but I can personally attest to the game being far more fun with pals.
Though not all characters were available in the demo, the roster was rather impressive, and indicates a promising change in Marvel games going forward. I’ve often complained about how recent Marvel games avoided the X-Men and Fantastic 4, and I’m ridiculously happy to say that it seems as though those dark times are at an end. Wolverine and Storm were both in the demo, as was Venom and Deadpool, who were all previously taboo characters. It really feels like the game is embracing all, and I mean all, of the Marvel universe again after far too long, and I couldn’t be happier.
The use of minor characters like Jessica Jones is great as well, as it makes the setting feel more alive and comics-accurate, even if they’re not playable. Shadowland is an interesting setting to use as well, as it’s what becomes of Hell’s Kitchen when Daredevil becomes the leader of the HAND. This willingness to embrace Marvel comics, as well as the enormous Marvel Cinematic Universe, bodes well for Ultimate Alliance 3 and future Marvel-based games.
It’s safe to say that I’m incredibly excited about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. I loved the first two, and the third shows a ton of promise and potential. Thankfully the game launches for the Switch in just over a month on July 19th, so I won’t be waiting too much longer to clobber Thanos with my close friends.
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