Assemble a four-hero team, create a team name and logo, and limber up the button-smashing muscles because this game is a hack-and-slash workout. Each hero has standard melee moves (punch, grapple), but the real joy comes in mastering the heroes' special combat abilities, such as Spidey's webs. Slinging Captain America's shield is particularly effective and fun. As missions are completed (and villains defeated), the heroes become more powerful and can purchase upgrades to their powers, such as more damaging punches, or new costumes, which also make the heroes more mighty. The entertaining plot unwinds as a veritable who's who of the Marvel universe make cameos. The voice acting is uneven, and some of the dialogue is corny, but comic fans will jump at the chance to don a cape and go toe-to-toe with evil. As Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) might say, "It's clobberin' time!"
Resistance: Fall of Man
Sony Computer Entertainment
PlayStation 3
This standard-bearer of the PlayStation 3 launch titles does not disappoint. Resistance begins much like the now-standard World War II first-person shooter but quickly evolves into something more ambitious. The plot, set in the 1950s, has a War of the Worlds vibe — an alien race known as the Chimera has taken over Europe. Players assume the role of an American soldier engaged in a final defense of the continent. The control scheme is standard first-person shooter fare, but the motion-sensitive PS3 controller is used effectively; tilting it left brings up the area map, shaking it throws an enemy (or flames, if you happen to be on fire) off your back.
Graphically, the game is as impressive as one would expect from a US$600 gaming console, but the real magic reveals itself when the dozens of enemies and other moving objects fill the screen and the action never stutters. What sets the game apart from WWII shooters are innovative weapons and enemies. One of the earliest guns (taken from the enemy, naturally) allows a homing "tag" to be set on an enemy. Once tagged, the player can seek cover, aim in the enemy's general direction and be assured the firepower will find its target. The intricacies of this and many other weapons must be mastered to complete the game. Enemies run the gamut of frightening abominations — spidery creatures run creepily along walls and ceilings — each with a particular weakness that can be exploited with the right weapon. Co-op mode allows a local friend to join the battle. Online play is free, and up to 40 players can join the fray at once.
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