Did you back the wrong horse Johnny? Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on the Wii

So I got myself a Wii, a while back, I don’t think I announced it here. There was at least some small amount of happy dance as I joined the millions of others with those bobble headed Wii avatars.

I chose the Wii out of the XBox, it and the PS3 based in no small part, the cost and the idea that I might actually be able to finish The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which I consider one of the greatest 1 player games I’ve ever had the joy to play.

Once someone informed me that Ocarina was not lost for all time tied to the now defunct Nintendo 64 and that I would be able to get it for my Wii it got me across the line.

zelda Now I’ve had the Wii for a few months and I knew going in that the graphics didn’t hold up to the PS3 and XBox. That’s all cool, it does exactly what I was hoping in regards to Zelda and Mario Kart.

However there are a couple of sticking points.

The Ghostbusters game which I resigned myself to accepting the cartoon graphics to play on the Wii STILL hasn’t been released here despite being on the PS2 for the last couple of months. Obviously Sony wants people like myself flipping out and buying it on PS2 or upgrading, it’s marketing of course but is screwing over the fans that great?

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has actually been released for the Wii but things are not looking so sunny in Wii land for the Marvel Universe. I first got wind of this when QYDJ regular Matt from Culture Kills warned me not to rush in and grab it as there are some rumours floating around relating to quality. Matt knows I have been burnt before.

Iron Man on the PS2.

Shudder.

I blamed Matt too for not being on constant call just in case I needed to ring him regarding games purchases. Wishing to avoid my nonsensical ravings at him he caught this MUA2 situation early and gave me fair warning.

Matt’s no fool when it comes to games and these are some of things going around the interwebz in regards to the game:

This clumsy and unsatisfying sequel is a step backward. Gamespot
Someone needs to learn the definition of “Ultimate.” IGN

Oh dear, these are the specific Wii reviews on the game and whilst the other platforms don’t get perfect scores in any sense of the term they all rate a lot higher than the Wii version.

So now I’m beginning to feel like I got myself an expensive Zelda box with a side of Mario Kart.

Also speaking of Culture Kills, I did a guest post over there the other day talking about my own gaming experiences to which Matt added a great title and some awesome commentary so go read: Lee Sargent and the Guest Post of Doom oh and if you don’t already, read the rest of the blog, it’s all good stuff, especially Matt’s The 25 Best Playstation 2 Games I’ve Ever Played series of posts.

Mistress B

We get a LOT of great value out of our Wii, but then we have kids who can spend hours playing Wii sports and similar so it's not all super heroes and graphics in our house. Though I must admit that the Wii sports and Mario Kart get just as much of a work out from the (drunken) adults and company as the they do from the kids on occasion LOL

I'm hoping that Nintendo come up with some suitable versions for the Wii of Donkey Kong and Banjo Kazooie.

I can't believe you haven't finished Ocarina of Time! The only one I haven't finished is Wind Waker and that's because it's SHIT! Am currently work on Twilight Princess when I can find the time (and wrestle the controls away from the 15 year old)
.-= Mistress B´s last blog ..Head down, bum up =-.

Lee

Yeah when I played Ocarina the first time I got to a stage in one of the towers and because of a glitch it had let me go all the way through to there without the exact thing I needed and then I couldn't get out.

Pissed me off royally. So I never finished it and always regretted it.

I've got Twilight Princess and I haven't had the chance to even open it!!! Now the next one is coming!!

WiddleShamrock

Glad you have mentioned this.

We are getting a Wii for Christmas for the family. Was thinking of trading in the PS2. Master 9 asked for some Indiana Jones game, and we considered getting the Wii version instead. Now I won't.

Thanks for the heads up.
.-= WiddleShamrock´s last blog ..Keep us in your thoughts =-.

Lee

Oh I'd probably get the Indy games because I'm sure especially the lego ones that they good on the Wii. I actually think that the controller set up is really good and that I'm just bloody old :) - so the kids might love it and it does at least get them swinging their arms and moving if only a little instead of sitting there passively.

So please don't be dissuaded from getting the Jones game for the Wii just read the reviews first to make sure! If there are still games they play on PS2 it might be worth hanging on to as well (PS2 games are getting pretty cheap for the back catalogue!)

MC

With the PS2, don't think new... think back catalog... because that is where the quality is right now. They may not be all shiny and pretty like the stuff on the new consoles, but with careful purchasing, you can get a library of great games on the cheap for the most part.

And I admit that I am a lot more savvy when it comes to buying quality games, but even I get burned sometimes when I go into a store and they have stuff on sale and such. (I have bought so many subpar games from bins in Electronics Boutique for 5 bucks, it isn't even funny)... so don't feel bad about getting sold something that just doesn't deliver. And the number of times when I picked up a mediocre game when there was an excellent game that I had in my hand and put it down.

I sort of expected the PS2/PSP to get shafted with the newer games, but shafting the Wii seems really counter productive to me given the price point of its games and the large user base... then again, when you look at the general quality of a lot of the 3rd party games that come out for the console, I guess that lack of quality in ports shouldn't be so surprising.

Basically the only reason I have a Wii is for the legacy games... I don't own a lot of disc based games for it, because most of them are shovelware. But if you want to play NES, SNES, and all those great games from the past, it is awesome.

Lee

I will no longer be buying any new or even old games for the PS2 - I want to focus on the games I have which is a bloody lot last count. Picked up way too many bargain bin jobs like yourself. Too bad you can't play PAL games!

It seems the Wii is THE console for legacy games!

MC

I have a backlog of 140 games for the PS2 and I am getting more weekly. So, I don't think I could accommodate the games you would want me to take anyway.

I wish I was joking, but I did a soft count a few weeks ago and that would indeed seem to be an accurate estimate.

That figure also doesn't include games that I own that I am actively trying to rid myself of.

And to put this in perspective, Metacritic has around 1600 games listed for the PS2 (with 5 reviews or more) which means that I have a backlog which represents almost 9% of the entire library of the system. (and I've conservatively played another 7% of the games on the system too).

Sort of makes that list I put together not seem like some little whim, does it?

Lee

That's why when I want to talk PS2 games you are my man!

I'm really surprised to hear there is THAT many games!!! And yes it does put that in perspective somewhat.

SamuraiFrog

I'd like to get the Wii basically because I miss the Zelda games and Mario Kart, and the new Mario game coming up looks like a fun throwback to Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3. If the Wii gets a little cheaper, I don't mind buying it just for those games. I've spent a lot of fun hours playing those and would love to go back.

But I still love my PS2 for combat and superhero games, though it looks like less and less games are coming up for PS2 now. I've heard a lot of the same complaints about the Wii--that it really favors more cartoonish games over anything very sophisticated.

I would caution you against getting Ghostbusters for the PS2, however. Becca and I have it, and while it's a fun game, it's VERY buggy, and has stalled a number of times. It can be really frustrating. Apparently the PS3 version is much better, but since a PS3 still costs half of a rent payment, I'm not jumping on it yet.

Lee

It's exactly the reason why we got the Wii - Zelda and the older games - if only they would release Starfox I'd be MORE than happy :)

I actually cracked open the PS2 on the weekend and spent a couple of house blowing cars up in one of the car games I've got - so for me the PS2 is not quite dead yet. I suspect I'll go through the catalogue of games that I have and try and finish them all before giving up on it.

Thanks for the heads up regarding Ghostbusters, I found out today that we will definitely be getting a PS3 so I'm just going to wait now and get it then. (I'm going to justify it by not buying a blu-ray player - first world problems!)

Jenny Mathis

Aren't a lot of games not going to be so great on the Wii? I keep Wii for Nintendo stuff and my Xbox and Playstation for superhero games, no need to get them on the Wii I think.

Lee

Hi Jenny, definitely right on the graphics front for the Wii, games just can't look as good, but apparently the game-play is often dumbed down or reduced to a complete mess.

The Wii is all about game-play so it unfortunately ruins these games.

Ghosbusters was just delayed as some sort of marketing gimmick by Sony who has the region 4 distribution rights and therefore only released it on the Sony consoles.

I highly recommend sticking to XBox and Playstation for your superhero gaming needs :)