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Certainly got the 'Imperfect' part right...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 27 / 29
Date: October 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm a long time Marvel Comics fan, and I must admit that I was definitely caught up in the hype surrounding Marvel Nemesis. After buying it on impulse and playing it for 2 days, I can sum the game up in one sentence:

Marven Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is little more than a frustrating, unbalanced, and completely mindless button-masher.

Now, I'm not one of those people that gives a bad review because I fail to beat the game or a level a few times in a row. After slogging through most of the game's extremely frustrating story mode, I found little reason to continue near the end. The Story Mode starts out easily enough, putting you in the role of The Thing. Out of nowhere, alien ships attack and the Thing finds himself stuck on a completely destroyed bridge, with alien cyborgs teleporting in all around. And there's where the...'fun'...begins.

Marvel Nemesis has little going for it in terms of the fighting engine. With merely one attack button, your attacks are VERY limited, and hence the game is reduced to a simple button masher right off the bat. Every character has the same, generic 3-hit combo that launches the enemy either in the air or straight back, or nowhere as is the case with most of the battles. The other buttons are used for jumping, blocking, and for a grab technique that rarely connects. There are two modifier buttons, which are the Momentum button and Super button. The Momentum button allows your character to make use of their powers to move, whether it be through teleporting, flying, web-slinging, running or whatever the case may be. The momentum button used in conjunction with the attack button can sometimes produce a powerful attack. The Super button allows your character to use their powers in their attacks, such as Wolverine's claws, Spider-man's webs, etc. Otherwise, you are still limited to a mere handful of attacks total in the game.

However, the game's star characters, the "Imperfects", are much more glorified than their Marvel counterparts. In fact, where the Marvel characters have a mere handful of moves, the Imperfects characters somehow manage to have twice as many attacks and maneuvers as the Marvel characters, despite the one lousy attack button. They are tremendously overpowered, excelling in speed, strength and all other abilities. An Imperfect character can destroy a Marvel character inside of 10 seconds, easily. Most of the Imperfects characters are little more than knock offs of the Marvel characters, as they tend to share their abilities (there is one Imperfect that webslings). The design on most of the Imperfects is actually rather impressive, I must say.

The overpowering Imperfects are one of the main balance issues that this game has. No one hero is the same, and the game uniquely captures each hero, but the Imperfects are just far too powerful. Where its a chore for a Marvel character to chain up a combo of more than 5 or 6 hits, Imperfects have no problem chaining well over 10 or more hits a time. The AI controlled characters excel at the larger combos, and picking up and playing versus mode just for a quick, fun match turns into a frustrating and unbalanced bout, should you choose to stick the AI opponent with an Imperfect.

In regards to the frustration factor...if you are prone to throwing your controller, punching nearby objects or tantrums, avoid this game. I never get mad enough to toss my controller, but the Story mode became so frustrating that I not only tossed the controller, I was compelled to angrily remove the game from the system, put it back in the case and toss it on the ground and leave it for a day or so. RARELY do I get so frustrated over a video game, but Imperfects definitely put me over the edge. By the time I was done I felt like I had lost 20 years off my age and became a 3 year old again.

Story mode consists mainly of a series of increasingly difficult missions told from the perspective of different characters. You start out with Thing, and then get the option to play as Wolverine, then Elektra, then Storm, and so on. Each character plays pretty much the same do to the one attack button, but their powers all give them different advantages. Unofortunately, the story mode takes those advantages and turns them into disadvantages. Each level is overpopulated with overpowered, cheap, generic enemies that come in droves and quickly swarm you. In an instant, you can be destroyed. I couldn't help but feel that the game balance was pathetic when I lifted a Mac Truck with Venom and threw it at "Generic Cyborg Enemy 00101021", who took barely any damage, and then was INSTANTLY killed by a barrel thrown by that same enemy. This is another of the game's greatest shortcomings...severe misrepresentation of power. Getting hit by three barrels or rocks, or dinner plates, whatever they may be in a row will instantly kill your character, and yet doing tremendous combos and launching huge objects at these boring, uncreative and generic enemies, does utterly nothing. Sorry, I can't see Spider-man, Venom, or The Thing being bested by a pathetic, uncreative robot. Once you face the Imperfects in the boss battles, forget it. They hit the 'Rage mode'(unlimited super attacks) so quickly that you'll be dead in seconds, and once they get you into the Danger zone (usually within the first 2 or 3 hits they land on you), they instantly perform their finishing move and end the match. It may take you minute after minute of pounding to get their health to budge, and yet two hits, you're in the danger zone, ready for the fatality. Very unbalanced.

Enemies that shoot projectiles also have a tremendous advantage, since there is no delay on firing. Some boss encounters with Imperfects end before the fight even begins, since they start firing their projectile attacks endlessly. Once that happens, just put down the controller...you won't escape. Projectiles, especially those possessed by the Imperfects, do TREMENDOUS damage and will end the match in 4 or 5 hits, and since they tend to hit consecutively with barely a half second delay, you're screwed from the get-go. Even the generic enemies in the Story mode levels can destroy your character in an instant, especially when you face 2 or more at a time.

I suppose amid all my ranting I should say at least some good things about the game, so here goes:

The graphics are nice...very nice. The Imperfects designs are all very good and the Marvel Heroes look fantastic, though some of their faces are a little...off. The Marvel characters are also designed more after their movie counterparts, so Spider-man and Magneto look like they were taken straight from the films (rather disappointed in Magneto, was expecting to see him in his armor). The Vs. battles can become intense and there is unparalleled background interaction. I've never seen so much arena interaction in a game, not even in Powerstone or especially DOA. The game also has finishing moves. I'm not talking about final super attacks, i'm talking about bona fide fatalities. Some of them are so violent that i'm surprised the game got by with a 'T' rating. There is blood, though very little, and it only appears during particularly intense moments or when someone like Wolverine is using a bladed weapon. The Imperfects origin videos are very well done. That's about it for the good stuff.

With an utter lack of play modes and the fact that you're forced to slog through the game's incredibly frustrating story mode to unlock the characters, Marvel Nemesis has virtually no replay value, if any playability at all. I found little redeeming quality in Marvel Nemesis, and it bothers me since I was greatly looking forward to this game. Oh well. Maybe next time will be better. I'm extraordinarily disappointed with this offering.

A fair warning from an old school Marvel fan: hold onto your credit card!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: October 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

When the word came out about Marvel Nemesis I couldn't help to feel this could be a very promising Marvel game. Who wouldn't? The press release (yeah I should know better) made it look great: 15 or more playable heros from several camps not just one: Avengers, X men, Spiderman and the Thing. So far so good. The team EA put together to produce this game looked good on paper also.

Could this be the game that put some of my favorite Marvel comic heros to life on the screen with a good story line, clean graphics and player models, good sound and a great combat/fighting engine? NO. NO. NO. This is nothing but a brilliant marketing plan that made a few investors some money before the word got out that this game is terrible.

I honestly tried to give this game a chance. I tried it for several hours and it was the biggest disappointment in something that had all the potential to be a great title. If you feel like making a few snickering rich guys richer buy this game so they can take even more more money with them all the way to Switzerland while laughing that they duped you bad.

DO TRUST the reviews out there online. Most of them tell the truth about this game. But before bought it I found ONE review from what appeared to be an old schooler like me. He like me didn't want to spend countless hours memorizing key combos and moves. He wanted to get in the game to play as quickly as possible. He like me didn't want to comb through a player's guide for hours before starting. It made sense.

But heres the truth:

Graphics are horrible. What are these people smoking that give the graphics for this game 4.5 out of 5? From even the online mainstream reviewers.

Sound: Not bad

Playability: Worthless. Repeated scenes. Camera mechanics are horrible!

Shame on you Marvel for allowing this sham to use your label. Your heros should revolt and attack the Marvel building for allowing this junk to promise so much and deliver this mess.

Not anywhere near as good as it should be

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

There are so many reasons to dislike this game it's hard to pick just one.

I have to say up front how disappointed I was in this game, given that I'm a Marvel fan. What you've read in the other reviews is basically correct.

If you are a power gamer and are used to having combo moves in your fighting games you will hate this game. If you don't like combos and like a more simple fighting game with amazing graphics, you will like this game.

The divide I think from the reviews comes fromt he different kind of gamers out we have out there.

The things that annoyed me most about this game:

1- When you use your super power attack it does virtually no damage to the opponent. For example, as Storm I hit the computer with 6 lightning bolts in a row and barely did any damage at all. Yet if I go and pick up a barrel and throw it, it does 1/4th bar in a damage. That's broken.

2- One of the maps was bugged. It was the Human Torch defeat 20 enemies in 3minutes 30 seconds map. I defeated 20 enemies with over a minute left in time. The count read 20/20. Yet it didn't give a Victory for the defeat. Luckily there's more than one path to the end of the game, so I closed the Human Torch storyline first chance I got.

3- The game wouldn't be so bad if there were stamina power ups. If you use your super powers 6 times in a row you've used up all your stamina. Stamina comes back extremely slowly. So if you use up your super powers at the start, that's it for the match. It's horribly annoying to have an amazingly powerful super hero like Iron Man or Magneto and be forced to run around punching and throwing like any other fighting game. It's lame and could easily have been fixed by putting Stamina Powerups in the game.

4- The Imperfects are way over powered compared to the Marvel superheroes. The game balance is way off. It's annoying. Take for example the fight between Iron Man and Brigade. Brigade can stand in the center of the map and power up in the energy chamber for as long as he wants and fire endlessly out at you and all you can do it run and hide, or take the beating. The Super Block power burns all your stamina in like 2 seconds, so that's not really an option.

It's surprising to me how EA could have allowed a game like this to be released. The graphics are off the hook but the game play is overwhelmingly flawed.

The WORST Marvel Game Ever

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: October 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is possibly the worst fighting game I have ever played, for any system. You get 2 attacks: punch and throw. Combos happen automatically, and often send you in directions you don't want to go. The controls are frustrating, the fights are hard because you can't really control your character, and you start with only one character to play as. At least the storyline doesn't completely suck.

BEST COMIC BASED FIGHTING GAME EVER!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THIS GAME IS REALLY FUN! i play it every day, it is hard but beatable and 2 player mode is great! its got all your favorite marvel characters and then some! this is a great game for any one who is or ever was a fan of the comics and even for people eho arent. reminds me a lot of the old skool marvel versus capcom nut better and with a deep story line. buy it its good stuff!

Great graphics, but super annoying!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I dunno who said the graphics in this game suck but I personally feel that the graphics is probably the best thing about this game (especially since I just finished playing X-Men: Rise of the Apocalypse, which has comparatively crappy graphics.
I do agree though, that playing the story mode in the game has probably caused my blood pressure to rise to an unhealthy level and unleased a flurry of unsavoury words from my mouth much too often. But after a while, I realised that button bashing isn't going to get me anywhere. For one thing, the characters cannot do anything else for about one second after completing a combo or super move, which leaves them vulnerable to attacks and results in a very quick death. What I needed was real strategy, and that is the fun and the challenge of the game: actually using a strategy when fighting instead of just getting in there and simply pressing the buttons hoping I'll kill all the enemies that way. For example, enemies with projectiles cause the most damage, but are the weakest, so I try to kill them off first. Also, when throwing enemies, my character is invulnerable to attacks (except when hit by thrown objects), so a useful combo I use is to punch an enemy once or twice then follow up with a throw. It builds up my Rage meter quickly without using up power, and once I activate my meter, I super power them all to death. Once you get a good strategy down, the game isn't so frustrating anymore. Except for the stage where Human Torch is supposed to beat 20 enemies in 3 and a half minutes, which I played and lost like a gazillion times, and now I believe is humanly impossible to beat (anyone who did, please tell me how!).
Overall, even though the game is definitely super annoying at first, half the fun is the challenge of figuring out a good strategy. The other half is using that strategy to crush them enemies and win!

Buy another game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

So this game has great potential, awesome storyline, awesome characters, such a great base. But the gameplay quickly takes it all away. Only one superpower, very little in way of changing hits, and everytime you fight a boss you get whipped because you cannot do anything. Want to do something more worthwhile? Go buy the new X-men game

From a True Marvel Comics Fan

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've written reviews for X-Men, X-Men 2, Revenge of the Sith, and I will say this. This game does for these Random Marvel Characters what Revenge of the Sith does for Jedi. It makes them playable on an interactive 360' & 3D intuitive level. It is truly amazing how good it feels to play some of these members of the Marvel Comics family. I've read Marvel Comics for 20 years and this game really captures the basic essentials to a Marvel Comics mini-series employing fantastic multi-media comic art, hand eye playability, appropriate voices, and the proper comic hero/villain personas. It does so by also giving the story an interesting gothic twist. It is the first Marvel Comics interactive mini-series with 1/2 the characters being our favorites and the other 1/2 being completely new, dark and fascinating. Beautiful. I absolutely loved it. It is FANTASTIC. I don't care what the poor reviews say, this game is great. And until Storm starts spending alot of time in her closet (with the doors closed), or until the Thing gets a face lift, Make Mine Marvel.

Very Tricky

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have written only a couple of reviews, this one I chose because I thought it was a very good game. Don't listen to the other people. This game is fabulous. Very little flaws. The levels sometimes can be tricky. Many of the characters you like to see are in it. Many are not. Good characters are Wolverine, Elektra, Spidey, Venom, etc. Sometimes, this game makes you want to throw the controller at the TV, but you must restrain yourself and keep trying.

Graphics - 5
Gameplay - 4 1/2
Fun - 4 1/2
Challenging - 2

ENJOY!

Don't know what everyone's griping about.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: October 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was never very big on fighting games and don't really call myself a Marvel fan, but I always enjoyed watching the new millenium films and take a peak at some of the more-recent comics. The only fighting games I ever played were Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Godzilla: Save the Earth, Soul Calibur II, and Barbarian; I never liked 2D fighting games. When EA announced they were going to release a new fighting game w/ Marvel characters called "Marvel vs. EA", I simply thought, "Another 2D fighting game w/ Marvel characters". I thought it was going to be just like Capcom's "Marvel vs. Capcom" or the "Marvel vs. Streetfighter" series. Boy, was I wrong!
When they showed the first screenshots of the game, something really caught my eye: the Marvel characters resembled their movie counterparts! And who were those other guys? They must have been the "EA" side. Still, I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted this game, because it looked kinda like those "Tekken" games (and I don't like those either). Later, I saw a demonstration shown on some footage from E3 2005, and by then, they gave it the name "Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects" (now the new characters made sense, but I never got the "Nemesis" part of the title; oh well). After I saw it, I wanted it. This was a free-roam fighter, which was the only kind of fighting game that I really liked (and there aren't that many). When the game came out, I rented it (I don't buy games for 50 bucks) and was very impressed, despite all the lousy reviews I saw for it.
Most people said that the story mode was its lowest point. WHATEVER!! The story is awesome! It starts you off as The Thing strolling along a bridge, when UFOs come out of no where and destroy the bridge! Or most of it anyway. Now you learn the basics of combat, fighting alien drones along the way. Then, after you beat the level, you come to a cool cut scene where it shows that superheroes all over are being attacked/killed/gone missing through a News Special Report. I really liked the tragic feel of the story: super beings that have overcome overwhelming odds with near ease for the past few decades (like within 30 minutes or 30 pages) are being easily picked off (as in killed) and only a few (the ones you play as) even get a chance to fight back. I was suprised that there was in fact, alot of beat-'em-up gameplay (and I love that kind) and what better way to do it than with Marvel superheroes in 3D? There's one point in the game where an evil scientist with some foreign name (I think Russian, I don't remember) releases three of his "Imperfects" which is when you choose between The Thing, Wolverine, and Elektra and fight the chosen character as a particular Imperfect and when you beat that chosen character, that character is no longer in the storyline assuming that character is dead (and I unknowingly killed Wolverine, one of my favorites). The gameplay itself can be somewhat tedious and has some very interesting boss fights. The Vs. mode is very fun especially on Lives mode w/ both sides' live bar put on full, but I would rather play the story mode and unlock more characters and stuff. Overall, this game is for everyone: Marvel fans, fighting gamers, beat-'em-up gamers, casual gamers ect. I would really like to buy this game if I had the money. IT WOULD BE WORTH IT!!!

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