As a rule, superheroes have been less than super in videogame form. There are a few exceptions, but generally speaking, high quality comic book/movie conversions are a rare commodity - which makes Marvel: Ultimate Alliance all the more surprising, as it's not only one of the best superhero games ever made, but it also does an excellent job of bringing the neglected RPG genre to a range of consoles - the latest of which is the PS3.

While Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is old news to many gamers, it's still well worth a look on PS3 if you're yet to play it on any other console (and even if you have, unless you own the slightly superior Xbox 360 version then it's still worth considering). But wait - I'm getting ahead of myself. The story begins with a superb CGI movie that shows Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America and Wolverine laying waste to an airborne fleet of Doctor Doom's robotic minions, who are attacking General Nick Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier. It's a shame that the gameplay graphics are still a long way off the quality of these mini movies, and that there are only a handful of CGI sequences interspersed throughout the game, but that doesn't make them any less impressive.

You're quickly thrown into the game with a party of these four superheroes and your battle begins, as you work your way around the Heli-Carrier, beating up all the enemies, confronting a couple of boss super villains and carrying out a couple of simple tasks along the way, all the while smashing destructible objects to collect tokens that you use to upgrade your superheroes' abilities. Ultimate Alliance falls firmly into the Action RPG camp, so those of you who aren't into the random, turn-based battles and exploration of games like Final Fantasy XII needn't be concerned - the emphasis is on action all the way, with the gameplay centred around Streets of Rage style beat 'em up action, as you wade through wave after wave of bad guys.

You might initially be disappointed by the graphics; although everything is authentically recreated with a loving attention to detail, the overhead view is somewhat distant and so you don't get to see all the detail for most of the time. Sure, you can zoom in closer to really appreciate lovely touches like The Thing's scaly skin, The Human Torch's flame effects and Iceman's frosty exterior, but in practice it's hard to see where you're going or locate nearby enemies unless you're zoomed right out. Also, using the game engine for most of the cut scenes is a big mistake, as it leaves the majority of them looking basic and stilted for a PS2 game, let alone a PS3 title - it doesn't affect the gameplay, but it is disappointing that these scenes couldn't at least have been graphically enhanced, given that CGI for every scene is probably too much to ask.

However, for an action RPG, the graphics are superb - every superhero and enemy is beautifully animated and the range of unique attacks across each hero is mind-boggling. Each hero uses the same basic attacks, but they're carried out in a different way. For example, the square button allows you to grapple enemies and either throw them, hold them and punch them in the face half a dozen times or execute a special attack. So, while Wolverine sinks his claws deep into his foe and slams them to the ground, Thor uses his hammer to smack them into the air and then send them flying with a follow up blow, Dr. Strange turns them on their head and spins them all over the place, resulting in the enemy being stunned for a few seconds afterwards, and Mr. Fantastic does a very cool stretch attack, stretching his arms and legs as he backflips a couple of times, repeatedly lifting his hapless foe high into the air and then slamming him into the ground.

There are two main attack buttons - X for a regular attack and circle for a more powerful attack that can be charged up for maximum damage. There are various three button combos, like X, circle, X, which trip an enemy or punch them high into the air, and while each of these combos have the same effect regardless of who you're using, they look different, incorporating each superhero's personality and powers, keeping the action fresh while allowing you to quickly and easily learn the combos. At first it seems like the combat is pretty limited, and button mashing X will get you through the opening levels. The challenge does increase though, and it's well worth learning the combos, as they take bigger chunks out of your enemies' health bars than regular attacks. A standard jump attack is also available, while some superheroes can fly with a double jump, and Spider-Man can swing his way around a level far quicker than he can run. Probably the weakest part of your combat moves is the dodging and blocking, which is carried out using the same button. You don't always get the move you wanted, leading to frustration at times; nevertheless, it's worth mastering these moves for the tougher boss battles and for times when you're swamped by bad guys.

It's at these times when you're up against overwhelming odds that your special attacks come in particularly handy, and they're implemented in a very easy to use manner. Each hero has a range of special attacks that can be assigned to one of the four face buttons (triangle is reserved for the super attack that can only be carried out now and again). You have more than four attacks per character, and more are unlocked as you level up, so it's very handy that you can switch them on the fly. You hold down R2 to bring up the four available attacks and then press a face button to activate the one you want, or you can hit one of the d-pad directions to instantly assign an alternate attack to the corresponding face button. These attacks are extremely useful and spectacular to watch, being heavy on the special effects. X and circle are assigned to attacks, while square uses stat-enhancing effects that temporarily grant you extra speed, strength, defence, health regeneration and so on, indicated by the swirling colours that surround all four of your party members (most of these abilities endow all of your party members with the temporary power boost).

Of course, you can't use these attacks indefinitely - each of them takes a chunk out of your blue energy bar, while the red bar indicates your health. There aren't any medikits to worry about; instead, blue and red orbs fly out of some fallen enemies and various pots and crates you can smash, drifting into the superhero who needs them most, effectively auto-managing your health and energy. This is very useful and makes for one less thing to worry about, although you often fall short in a boss battle, causing you to have to go back to the previous checkpoint and try again; it's at times like these when medikits would have been handy, but the lack of them just encourages you to use more strategy, switch between your heroes and block and dodge more effectively during a boss battle. Switching between party members couldn't be simpler - the four characters are displayed, along with their energy bars, in the bottom right-hand corner and you just hit the d-pad to select the corresponding hero. You can command your heroes too, choosing from one of four modes - normal, attack, defend and assist.

Triangle is reserved for your super attack, which is powered by a white ring that charges up gradually as you perform combos and finishing moves on your enemies - once it's full, activating it performs a stunning attack with a wide radius and high damage, and all heroes who have a full ring execute their super attack for maximum impact; if all four of your heroes are ready to go then you can virtually wipe out a boss in one move with these attacks!

The range of superheroes available is very impressive - over twenty characters are available, including the Fantastic Four, Elektra, Iron Man, Blade, Colossus, Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Storm, plus lesser known heroes like Moon Knight, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Spider Woman, and Deadpool. Marvel fans will be in seventh heaven with the number of playable superheroes and their accompanying superpowers, as well as the very diverse range of supporting heroes and super villains - over 140 in all! Led by Doctor Doom, the Masters of Evil encompass the likes of Rhino, MODOK, Attuma, Tiger Shark, Gargoyle, Ultimo, Shocker, Bullseye. Enchantress, Mephisto, Mandarin, Scorpion, Loki and many more. You'll find yourself battling across an impressive range of authentic comic book locations too, including S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Omega Base, Mandarin's palace, Atlantis, Asgard, Mephisto's realm of fire, brimstone and demons, and even Murderworld, the fairground-themed deathtrap. Each environment is host to an admirable amount of fine detail and variation that lends it real atmosphere, and each location has enough different looking sections to prevent it from growing repetitive before you move onto the next area.

Backing up all this eye candy is a great range of sound effects for the punches, kicks, smashes, crashes and special attacks. They're not ground-shaking or anything, but they certainly fit the comic book action very well, while there is a range of wonderfully orchestrated and nicely varied themes to enhance the atmosphere that much more. The voice acting is a mixed bag - some of the voices don't quite seem to fit the characters, while with others the actor does a great job but it doesn't sound right because it's hard to imagine anyone other than Patrick Stewart playing Professor X, for example. The dialogue is generally well written and the voice acting is well delivered across the board, and while some of it is pretty cheesy, this is comic book territory, so if you're not looking for overblown megalomaniac villains and stereotyped whiter than white heroes or darker, gruffer, moodier characters like Wolverine, then you're in the wrong place.

The levelling up system is a bit confusing at first and could have done with being clearer, but once you've figured out how it works you'll be upgrading your heroes with ease. There are three aspects to enhancing your characters - Powers, Outfits and Gear. The powers are the most important part - each time you level up, you gain a skill point to upgrade one power by one level, although once you reach the higher levels, multiple points are needed to upgrade. You can leave the game to auto-upgrade your heroes, or you can do it manually and focus on the powers you like while ignoring the ones you don't use very often. Powers come with a range of effects - some stun enemies, some damage all enemies in a wide area, some focus on a single foe, some are close-range and others can be used from a distance, like firing a projectile or whipping out Ghost Rider's chain. When you're overwhelmed by superior numbers, attacks that knock all enemies in range off their feet can make all the difference between surviving and falling.

While you can purchase upgrades to your powers, they're incredibly expensive, so it's best to just keep using your favourite heroes and upgrading their powers with the points gained from levelling up, so you can focus the tokens you collect on upgrading their outfits. Each hero has multiple outfits, each of which has three stat-enhancing powers that you can upgrade on an increasing scale of cost. These include things like enhanced attacks or defence, increased health regeneration, increased experience gained when in combat, or even special abilities like a chance of resurrecting an ally when they fall in battle. It can be frustrating when you spend tens of thousands beefing up one outfit, only to unlock another one with a better range of stat-enhancers, but the differences between each are usually enough that you might want to switch between them depending on the mission you're undertaking and the bosses you face. Finally, the gear is very simple - each hero can equip one piece of gear that you find or gain from a defeated villain, and these again have a range of stat-enhancing abilities that you can use to beef up your hero even more, or strengthen a weak area.

When it comes to lifespan, Ultimate Alliance is absolutely packed with things to do. For starters, you won't come even close to maxing out more than a handful of your heroes the first time around, and it'll take you the whole game to really learn the ins and outs of each hero and their powers, and discover your favourites, so playing through again (carrying over all stats and powers) in any difficulty from easy to hard is very enticing, particularly when the combination of four heroes you use (which can be switched around at the various save points in each level) has such a big impact on the gaming experience. There are hidden items to find that unlock extra heroes, concept art, comic book covers and more, plus items that enhance heroes' stats permanently, gear to discover and endless pots to smash to gain the maximum tokens.

There's also a very long list of simulator discs to discover and play through, featuring story missions for specific characters with a twenty-minute time limit. Completing these can give you special rewards if you get a high enough rating, and you earn loads of tokens to spend as well. Also, you can create a specific team, then stick with them to enhance their reputation and gain skill points to increase all four team members' stats when you use them as your party. There's even a trivia game for each of the game's five acts, and a story to follow, as you can wander around each of the bases (which includes Iron Man's Stark Tower, Dr. Strange's England home and Asgard itself) and talk to characters, getting optional objectives to fulfil and following a story by completing mini-tasks to figure out if one of your allies is all that she seems, as you attempt to get to the bottom of Doctor Doom's overall goal.

If all that wasn't enough enticement, you can play through the entire game with up to four players, either offline on the same screen or online with friends from around the world. There are two modes on offer too; Co-op is a simple case of teaming up with friends to beat as much of the game as you like, whereas Arcade pits the four of you against each other, competing to be the Most Valuable Hero on each level, adding that extra incentive and bringing out the rivalry - just like in the comic books when heroes team up and friction inevitably arises! You can even jump in or out of any game too, the competent computer AI taking over for the rest of the time. Speaking of which, the AI for the enemies and allies is pretty convincing, your fellow heroes giving a good pounding and the enemies being varied enough in their attack types and patterns to keep the action fresh. Load times are speedy and infrequent too, although there is a brief load break for going into the upgrade screen, which can be annoying.

While not about to revolutionise the genre or show off the PS3's prowess like some of the other games available, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a real triumph, providing engaging and varied beat 'em up action with a strong RPG flavour that will keep Marvel fans around the world hooked for a long, long time. You don't need to be a fan to appreciate what's here though - the fighting action makes the gameplay exciting and accessible, while the range of interesting characters and their interplay, the storyline and the hero upgrade system adds the depth and variety needed to keep you hooked for multiple plays through. This is a heroic effort indeed!

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).