Introduction
Marvel and EA Canada teams up to give us an adventure into the Marvel universe, filled with a smorgasbord of old and new characters. From Spider-Man to Iron Man, you get to play through this unique story driven fighter that features some classic confrontations. Are Imperfects perfect? We'll let you know in our extensive review of Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.

The Game
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is a game that I was personally excited for. Being a fan of almost everything Marvel, I couldn't wait to see what this "Imperfects" storyline was going to be. Especially adding in the fact that EA Canada is behind the healm and not the Marvel experts over at Activision. Well, "Nemesis" might not measured up to my high expectations; I still enjoyed running through the game as the iconic Marvel characters.

Elaborating more on the characters (a major focus of the game) we have the classic scenario of good vs. bad. The Marvel "Good Guy" side which includes; Spider-Man and his nemesis Venom. X-Men Wolverine & Storm. Hells Kitchen's Daredevil. The Fantastic Fours' Thing & Human Torch. The Avengers' Iron Man. The Brotherhoods' Magneto and last, the assassin Electra. It's quite the diverse lineup of heroes to have in one game and will no doubt lure Marvel fans into this property. It's truly a blast playing some characters that don't have their own game like Daredevil or Electra.

On the "evil" side are the 'The Imperfects.' An original concept, The Imperfects are looking to take over this little planet and the only thing in standing in their way is Marvel's eclectic group of super-heroes. It's a typical comic plot which works as well as any other. As a group, The Imperfects translate well into the story, even if they are not the most original bunch. I know it's not as interesting as Venom or any Marvel character, but here is the list neverless. Brute Bridge. The femme fatal Faultzone. The chemically enhanced Hazmat. Zapper John Ohm. Amazon warrior Paragon. The diva Solara, and my personal favorite The Wink. Each character has their own "thing" that makes them unique, but really, how can you measure up to the classic line-up of the heroes.

So the line-up is solid, all we need are the game mechanics to follow suit. Gameplay wise, Nemesis is your basic brawling experience. It not too deep, keeping the buttons busy and the gamer focused on doing damage. For a reference, its like an old school side-scroller built in a 3D world. Unfortunately Marvel Nemesis feels a little too rough and ultimately thrown together. The fights can at times can be rewarding, but for the most part you just hit buttons and wait for it to end. The enemy AI is pretty low key, so you will be crushing the missions effortlessly, minus a few select boss encounters. The good part is you can go pick your hero to progress through the game fighting other Marvel heroes along with the Imperfect clan. Showdowns are great, we have some fantasy warfare up in here. However, once the smoke clears you won't be heading back for round 2. Nemesis is simply not polished or deep enough and ends off being nothing more than an average fighter.

Marvel Nemesis does have a robust online portion of the game which can be a crooked affair if you're relaying of the typical live crazies. If you're gaming with someone you know, or a real player Marvel Nemesis can be a lot of fun online. The online portion of Nemesis gives you a chance to play through new levels and unlock new characters for online gaming which is a great idea. It gives gamers the extra push to try it out online. The multiplayer mode is a standard affair, but keeps the pace up quicker then the single player experience. The online part of Nemesis helps balance out our gameplay score and keeps you interested after you've hand enough of the single player missions.

Graphics & Sound
Employing Illustrator Jae Lee from the Marvel camp was the perfect choice to help with the graphic design work. Along side Lee is Paul Castling, who has worked on some Hollywood blockbusters like Spider-Man and the Punisher. These two hired guns help bring the Imperfects to life and keep some legit Marvel influence in the game. Overall the graphics are a little bit of a let down mostly in the animation and character modeling aspect of the game. I really loved the art style of Nemesis, but it boggles my mind how some characters look good and others bad. For example Spider-Man, Venom, Iron Man and The Torch all look great and then Wolverine, Daredevil, Electra and Storm look oddly bad. It's very strange and I never understand considering a comic book illustrator worked along with the team.

The Imperfects, although fairly interesting could have used more detail because they don't stand out in comparison to the Marvel characters. The graphics really needed to be more spot on with the characters because you know them so well, other then the characters the game looks great. It's a real mixed bag with the graphics in Nemesis and I'd say the games greatest flaw.

Lowdown
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects walks the line between a good concept with an amazing line-up of characters built around an average game. This could have been one amazing piece of Marvel gaming glory, but instead, it falls short. Still, Marvel fans will be lured in, so let's just hope it for the rental.

Reviewed by Downtown Jimmy | 11.09.05

FEATURES:

• Fight Like a Super Hero: Easy to pick up and play but challenging to master, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects gives players full control over each individual character's unique super powers.
• All-Star Marvel Line-up: Renowned comic artist, Jae Lee, is lending his talent in bringing Marvel's character's to life. Roster features Marvel's legendary Super Heroes including Iron Man, Spider-Man and Wolverine.
• New Family of Super Heroes: EA has tapped top entertainment industry talent including concept artist, Paul Catling, to help create a new family of Super Heroes called, The Imperfects, as well as other veteran Marvel talent to help develop the back stories for the new characters.
• Your Environment is a Weapon: Defeat opponents in interactive fighting arenas where everything you see is a weapon. Smash opponents into walls or throw destructible objects for massive and devastating attacks.
• A Brand-New Comic Series: EA's new Super Heroes will be unveiled in a Marvel six-issue miniseries titled, Marvel Nemesis: The ImperfectsT from May to October.
• Epic Multiplayer Mayhem: Compete in single-player, multiplayer and online modes for epic, head-to-head clashes.
• Single-Player Action: Gamers will be pulled into the deep storyline and intense gameplay found in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects' single-player mode that is unparalleled in the fighting genre.