Long ago, the development team bragged about the PS3 only effects this game would have, boasting on PS3's superiority. Apparently, between the time it takes to brag on something, and the time it takes to do it, alot can change. And while the PS3 version DOES sport additional effects, it also sports a framerate as choppy as the latest Saw flick.

The first warning sign should have been "Activision." This is, after all, the same company that claimed the additional cost of developing next generation titles would be the core factor in their $60 pricing during the Xbox 360 launch. And then they delivered lazy PC ports (Quake 4) and higher res texture versions of Xbox games (Tony Hawk, Gun, etc). So to see a company pull lazy port jobs on 360 deved games isn't exactly suprising to me, but it is misleading. Game quality should NEVER take a hit just so you can show up someplace on time and these games (Marvel and Tony Hawk) would have been much better served to be optimized and delayed until they were done, likely placing their release sometime in the dry months of January or February, where releases are slim and sales would have been assured just by being there in the dry spell. But no, they had to be there at launch and the game shows it. It should also be noted that, like Resistance, SixAxis functionality is more tacked on rather than a core element.

I use the term Game loosely because what follows is, typically, and exercise in babysitting brought on by crappy AI, horrid collision detect, inconsistant framerate, but hey, it's loaded with unapologetic fanfare. Well, if you ever had the desire to fight second stringers like Radioactive Man, then it's fanfare. Fact is, majority of your villians are strung together in a random combo and this fact doesn't even sink in until the end of the first level, when Scorpian, Bullseye, Winter Soldier, and Radioactive Man are all backed up by... Fing Fang Foom.

The core gameplay reflects closely to a rousing round of superhero Gauntlet and that's about as in depth as this game gets. When in single player, you can switch heroes at will and likewise, anything less than 4 players gets their pick. Of course, the heroes you really want to play as will remain unavailable until you get to your first checkpoint but I digress. In fact, the only way this stinkpile is playable is taking advantage of the four player ability.

This game is broken! Spending time trying to climb a ladder and not being able to because an enemy is at the top is the least of your troubles. In fact, in many occasions, you'll just be angry at the design layout because the play area mesh just isn't functional and reminds me of the earlier days of gaming, like when Landstalker first hit the scene. It's unknow to me whether or not this game is functionally retarded on the 360 as well but I can tell you they at least have a consistant framerate.

Graphics 5/10
Flashy particles cannot make up for an uninspired pallette, inconsistant framerate, and environments and textures so generic, you expect a barcode to accidently be shown at any minute. Hardly a step up from their last generation counterparts.

Gameplay 4/10
Attack, attack, attack, occasionally a special. That's all you can do which is fortunate since that's all that's needed. In fact, the sole redeeming factor in the gameplay department is the ability to chug through this crapfest with four friends, a rare feature on PS3.

Replay 1/10
If you get through this once, rest assured, you'll never want to again.

Sound 3/10
Generic sound effects with typical repeats of "Wolverines most quotable quotes." It would have been nice to see then at least mimmick the talk rate wth the character personality. Like, can you believe Deadpool rarely quips? Spiderman is also about as vocal as Thor or Captain.

Final Verdict
Only the hardest of the hardcore Marvel fans need apply, and even then, get it for 360 if you have one. This game stands solely as a testiment to just how little access many developers had to the full dev kit before launch. Or just to Activisions laziness.

Don't Buy It