It’s been about three years since we’ve seen the reunion of our favor Marvel characters. I can’t tell you how many hours I poured into “Marvel Ultimate Alliance.” It became a must-own for our video game library for both my daughter and I. Although we enjoyed so much time in the original, we can finally take a breath of fresh air.

Activision has done it again with “Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.” Time to suit up and take on the vast array of villains who stand in our way.

Anyone who loved the first game is sure to love the sequel. The gameplay has everything you remember and then some. Whether you play alone or with friends — locally or online — this game is a good time. What made the first game great was the large selection of characters you can choose from to select for your team. Throughout this review I’m going to assume that you have played the original and your question is: “Should I buy the sequel?”

That was my point of view. Having spent hours building our characters up to the ultimate superheroes, do I really want to abandon ship for a whole new game and start from scratch?

Yes. Yes, I do.

You’ll notice the improved graphics first. Each character has more detail and animation. The levels are more interactive which allows for more action-packed battles. There is nothing more satisfying than picking up a car with the Hulk and launching it clear across a few blocks at your enemy sending them flying into a building.

The destructible objects included this time make battles seem like something out of a movie. With the same control scheme of a beat ’em up game from the past, you start begging for more bad guys every time you clear an area.

It’s clobbering time!

Any superhero game wouldn’t come complete without super powers. Just like the previous titles, each hero has an arsenal of four super powers at their disposal. Just squeeze the right trigger and pick a button while you send your enemy flying through the air with a tornado from Storm or find a large rock landing on their head from the Thing.

Every character is different. Captain America will run in and bash his opponent with fists and shield but you probably shouldn’t do the same with Jean Grey as she won’t last very long. With Jean you want to use her powers of telepathy before even approaching her prey. There has been one major change with super powers this time around. In the original, each hero had one special power that required building up your meter before you could unleash your true rage.

Enter Fusion Powers. With a similar gauge system, once filled, you will unleash a super move with one of your other four teammates. This leads to some of the coolest moves I’ve seen in a super hero game. I find myself trying different combinations of characters to see exactly what they can do together.

For instance, if you choose the Green Goblin and the Hulk, the Hulk will rip a huge rock from the ground and hold it above his head. The goblin then spices things up by sticking a handful of explosive pumpkins to the rock right before the Hulk hurls it at the bag guys. Wow. Talk about an explosion.

Characters like Spidey and Storm take a different approach on there victims. Spidey will round up as many enemies as he can with his webs and ties them up in the center of the screen while Storm then calls to the heavens for a lighting bolt to finish off the helpless foes. Don’t be surprised if you find yourselves trying to see what other combinations you can come up with while forgetting your main objective. It’s just that much fun.

This year the team at Activision took on the “Civil War” storyline from the comics. The government forces all superheroes to register their true identities for the sake of civilians. Heroes choose to side with either Iron Man as he leads the registration act or Captain America’s fight to keep secrets as they are.

The only downfall I have come across is that when you decide what side you want to be on the game will not allow you to play as characters on the opposite side. This is a huge letdown when the main aspect of the game is to be able to choose from a huge pool of Marvel superheroes. There is a silver lining that I have discovered. If you complete the game once, next time you go back — and you will go back — you can select any characters you want.

I was relieved to learn this.

Another positive is that the blue shield save points are gone. You can now save anywhere in the game and at any time. This was a real annoyance to the last game especially when you had played for a while and didn’t want to quit because you had to find a blue shield save point. Also, the fans who loved the extras in previous game will be glad to hear that all the goodies are still there. You can review all your character content, videos, and unlocked artwork at your leisure. The trivia challenge and the simulator also return.

If you need a little downtime and test your Marvel knowledge, feel free to do so in the trivia challenge. Or maybe you would like to do a little side mission in the Marvel simulator. Each hero has a side mission that will pertain to a story for the character or maybe just a fun timed game of crate bashing. These are nice little side games but you definitely will find yourself wanting to get back to the main action.

Should I buy it?

Back to my original question: “Should I get Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2?” Again, I say yes.

Everything you loved about the first one has returned with added bonuses. Better graphics, large environments and the best cast of playable characters you can find in a superhero game make this a must-have for any fan. Once you have beaten the game once, twice or three times, you will find yourselves going back for more fun as well as trying to level up your characters for more powerful moves.

My daughter and I have been having so much fun with this one and if you have kids or buddies who are superhero wannabes then wait no more. So get yourself a copy and meet me online so we can do battle; either friend or foe. What side will you choose?