Marvel Nemesis Rise of the Imperfects

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Jump into the unparalleled deep storyline and intense gameplay -- unsurpassed in the fighting genre
• Compete in single-player, multiplayer and online modes for epic, head-to-head clashes
• Dozens of unlockables - Battle with all your might to unlock hundreds of rewards
• Online play for added challenge

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009351Q6
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 15, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,625 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Marvel Nemesis delivers the definitive super-hero videogame allowing gamers to play as and against the world's greatest super heroes. The game features super heroes from the Marvel Universe as well as a new set of characters created through collaboration with EA and top comic-book industry talent. EA has called on the talent of top comic-book writers and concept artists, such as Jae Lee, for Marvel character and game design, as well as renowned artist, Paul Catling, among other industry talents, to create a new family of super heroes that will go face to face with an all-star line-up of Marvel characters for the ultimate showdown. Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects features more than a dozen fighters in fully interactive and destructible environments. Gamers have full control over the individual characters with each fighter having unique attributes and super powers that are true to their background adding more depth and fighting strategy to the game.

Features:

• Multiple Super Heroes: play as Spider-Man, Wolverine, or other legendary super heroes that span Marvel families, and battle a powerful new group of enemies, The Imperfects.
• Super Power Control: command an arsenal of powerful abilities unique to each super hero, and unleash them to devastating effect on foes.
• Your Environment is a Weapon: throw foes through walls, smash them with destructible objects, and use your surroundings to your advantage in massive interactive battles.
• Multiplayer Mayhem: fight to the last hero standing in epic, head-to-head clashes.

Product Description

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects delivers the most authentic and cinematic Super Hero fighting experience ever seen in a video game, while remaining faithful to the legacy of these classic characters. Control a number of characters from Marvel's library of Super Hero families including Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Iron Man. Pummel and ultimately crush adversaries in fully interactive and highly destructible arenas and experience what it's like to fully posses each Hero's super powers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Certainly got the 'Imperfect' part right..., October 6, 2005

By 

Michael Pappalardo (Ronkonkoma, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Marvel Nemesis Rise of the Imperfects (Video Game)

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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A fair warning from an old school Marvel fan: hold onto your credit card!, October 8, 2005

By 

M. Chase Masters "M. Chase Masters" (South Jordan, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Marvel Nemesis Rise of the Imperfects (Video Game)

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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not anywhere near as good as it should be, October 11, 2005

By 

Jackal - See all my reviews

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Marvel Nemesis Rise of the Imperfects (Video Game)

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.