3. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006, Raven Software and Activision; Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, PSP, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PC)
Activision hit the jackpot with its X-Men: Legends series last generation – an action RPG in the vein of Gauntlet, a solid beat-em-up/role-playing hybrid that put players in the shoes of some of Marvel’s most famous angsty mutants. Developer Raven Software followed that up in 2006 with Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, which took the same premise and basic mechanics of Legends and expanded it to feature a huge bevy of heroes and villains from the entire Marvel universe. Cobbling together teams of heroes from the Avengers, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and all corners of the Marvel Universe. The game was an enjoyable beat-em-up chock-full of comic book fan service. A sequel hit a few years later but it didn’t manage to reach the heights of the original.