Visually Marvel Nemesis is very pretty, with dramatic lighting, well-designed characters, and interactive environments that really add to the complexity of this new engine. You really notice this running on an HDTV, which brings out the colors and detail even further. Characters animate quite well, and the camera doesn’t give gamers a major headache. More impressively, the game offers two modes of play out of one engine. Single player mode is your basic beat’em up where you lead your character from point A to point B, fight a final baddy and continue to the next chapter. The Vs. Mode pits you in a brawling 3D fighter mode that looks impressive as well. Even the cut scenes tell the tale of each character quite well, and whether the game uses CG or in game cuts, it all looks very good. If one thing no one will able to disagree with is that Marvel Nemesis looks the part…even if it doesn’t play it.

Audio is adequate with decent sound effects and voice acting. You get most of your voice over acting during the cut scenes which is a good thing, as I’m sure we would all pull out our hair if we had to hear The Thing say “it’s clobbering time” after he killed each foe. The voice actors do a very good job bringing the characters to life. Obviously, Hugh, Toby, Michael Chiklis, was too busy to provide such voices, so their stand-ins do a good enough job here. The game does pack a punch using Dolby Digital sound. Believe me; nothing is finer than hearing the bass booming explosions and crushing sound effect rush by your ears in surround sound.

Gameplay is the area where this series, if there is a sequel, needs a bit of spit and polish. Let me start off by saying that the controls aren’t the issue, nor is the A.I. The area where the gameplay lacks is the variety on moves, combos, and just providing ways to keep gamers interested after the smoke and mirrors of the visuals wear off. This is as basic of a beat ‘em up title as I have seen in some time. Even the ability to use other characters really doesn’t break up the monotony that the gameplay provides. What is worse, the same basic and boring move sets are used in the Vs. Mode! Lastly, the special moves that your character possesses aren’t very special, and rarely capture the personality of your brawlers.

Marvel Nemesis provides an all-star Marvel Line up that includes: Spiderman, Wolverine, Iron Man, Venom, Storm, Daredevil, and others. Heck, even the EA created villains are not half bad and really give freedom for other hero ideas to spawn in the future. You are even given the back-stories for the Imperfects so they aren’t just pallet swaps thrown in as challengers. With a deep story line utilizing multiple characters, the game, while not always interesting to play, does make you want to continue further in the story. Multiplayer action offline or online will provide enjoyment for a short amount of time, but the lack of a real deep move set allows the game to grow tired after a couple of hours. There are some unlockables in the game, but nothing that makes you go “ooh” or “ah”.

Overall, if you must have everything Marvel, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is a must buy for you. Everyone else will find the game growing stale after a weekend rental. What hurts Marvel Nemesis the most is the build up and hype that surrounded the game before it was released. I think gamer’s expectations were way too high on this one. In the end, Marvel Nemesis isn’t a bad game by any means, but it is far from perfect.