When X-Men Legends was announced, I admit I was skeptical. I hadn’t personally played a good X-Men game since the Genesis and I began to lose more and more hope with every Mutant Academy (PSOne) game released. Even X-Men: Next Dimension for the current crop of consoles was better than it’s Mutant Academy predecessors, but still left fans hungry for a more “X-Men” like experience. Enter Activision. Start with Spider-Man for the PSOne, then look at the sequels, and you’ll see they’ve pretty much taken the Marvel licenses over the years and transformed them from laughing stocks to must have titles. They’ve realized that this universe is a gold mine for enjoyable gameplay, and I couldn’t agree more. That’s when I began to have high hopes X-Men Legends, and I was pleased even more when I heard that the game’s developer, Raven Software, was comprised of many X-Men fans, and that the game would play more like Gauntlet than Mortal Kombat. A light at the end of the tunnel began to shine. X-Men Legends hoped to be everything every X-Men game in the past failed to be, and it succeeds where most others have failed.
"... this universe is a gold mine for enjoyable gameplay..."
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X-Men Legends begins simply enough in New York City. A young mutant named Alison Crestmere (Magma, from the New Mutants) is being assaulted by the authorities. This is a young mutant the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants has plans to capture, and she is the same young mutant Wolverine was sent to investigate by Xavier. She is of course captured by the Brotherhood, and you’re task is to save her. The game’s actual focus is on this girl, but it eventually breaks its gaze from her and focuses on the whole team.
You begin solely as Wolverine, but as the story progresses you unlock more characters and modes to play with. When you find Cyclops, co-op mode is also unlocked, so your friends can join in on the action. As the good-but-not-groundbreaking story progresses, you’ll come across a cavalcade of familiar faces. Some of which are playable, and others that are just cool to see. After a while you and four friends will have fifteen characters to choose from, unless of course you opt to go it alone, but playing the game through either co-op or multiplayer presents small flaws (though not fatal); each equal to the other, though totally different.
Playing single player, of course, is the most controlled way to play. You’ll still have four characters in your party, but you’ll be able to switch around them on the fly using the D-pad. You’ll be in direct control over which characters you’re playing with and you’ll be in direct control of how the character is leveled up. And although the computer is usually pretty good at controlling your allies, the computer A.I. can occasionally act brain-dead, thus requiring a little more managing than I would have liked, but it’s never overpoweringly terrible. Playing multiplayer can of course be more fun, especially with powered up characters.
Early in the game the difficulty is very high, not because the game is hard, but because they don’t allow for you to hold enough healing potions to go around, which heal your health and refill your power meter. You’ll find the computer controlled characters are much more adept at not taking damage than human controlled ones, and while the game eventually allows for more to be held, it starts off with an extremely scarce amount of potions.
This lack of potions early on will have you questioning the balance of the game, especially since the regular enemies (who come in fairly large sized groups) pose more of a challenge than the bosses you’ll eventually face. After the first stage however, you’ll find that the game becomes much more manageable, and a lot more fun because of it. It’s the solid play mechanics that keep this game rolling, even through the rocky beginning, and they’ll make you want to press on even when you’re Iceman, alone, potionless, have twenty-five hit points, and you’re starring down the barrel of a tank surrounded by a group of military troupes armed with flamethrowers. I’ve been there, and boy is it fun.
"It’s the solid play mechanics that keep this game rolling..."
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Each mutant comes equipped with their own unique powers. For example Iceman can not only freeze enemies, he’s able to glide across the air on his ice slide, and increase his body armor, while Cyclops is able to use his laser powers in a multitude of ways, but also has leadership skills to add attributes to the team. Every mutant has the proper abilities to correspond with their character, which is amazing because there really are a lot of unique abilities, which include flight, increased agility, teleportation, healing … you get the picture. All of these abilities play into environmental puzzles as well. For example, if there’s a chasm you need to cross, Iceman can build a bridge of ice in order to cross it. That’s just one of the small examples, but there are a lot more creative ones as well. And should you choose to favor some mutants don’t worry, the game has an automatic upgrading system, so when your main team is leveling up, everyone else is at a comparable rate, so if you need to add a character in due to death, of just want to use someone else, they’ll be ready for action as soon as you arrange their stats.
Of course, you don’t fight with your mutant abilities exclusively. Each of the X-Men is able to perform the regular melee attacks, which is basically punching and kicking, and it’s this that makes up the backbone of combat. There is actually a pretty decent, if basic, combo system to fighting this way, and it adds a level of depth to what could’ve just been button mashing. It’s also a blast to add you powers into the mix and see what kind of damage you can do. Sometimes you won’t have a choice, seeing as some enemies are “physical resistant” and have other attributes which may require deeper thinking when considering combat strategies.
It’s in the Danger Room you’ll practice these abilities. Just like in the comics you can train your mutant fighters on how to take scenarios which would otherwise be surprising, and for you, you’ll learn the basics of how to play the game, plus some other cool tricks. The Danger Room is also cool because it’s the first time it’s played an integral part in any X-Men title, just as the X-Mansion plays an integral part for the first time ever, serving as hub of sorts for you to explore during missions. It’s here where you’ll get missions, be able to talk with other students, check out the X-Men’s apartments, and access some really nifty retro missions. Scenarios like *SPOILER* the first time the Juggernaut attacked the X-Mansion, and the Weapon X escape are included,*END SPOILER and they’re sure to excite fans. There’s only three of them, which is quite a bummer, but they add to an already lengthy quest. Let’s hope for more in the sequel. The main game will last you around twenty plus hours.
"X-Men Legends is such a success because of its overall polished form. "
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Aurally and visually this game is pleasing as well. The characters are all cel-shaded in a realistic world, which really adds to the comic book vibe. It’s surprising how good this game looks, with not a hint of slowdown, especially when you consider how many objects are moving, and how in-depth the environmental effects are at times. All of the voice acting is great as well, with the exception of the overly exuberant Cyclops (who sounds very out of character because of it), and Alison Crestmere being very annoying (she’s voiced by the same voice actress that does Susie from the cartoon Rugrats… yuck). Patrick Stewart (from the movie) even does Professor X’s voice, which is a really cool bonus. Even the music used during battles and just in the environments is complete, and adds to the mood perfectly.
X-Men Legends is such a success because of its overall polished form. Nearly every detail came off in perfect form, and even those that didn’t only need minor tweaking in the already announced sequel. Nothing in this title is in need of a major overhaul, which in today’s marketplace is astounding. The source material couldn’t have been used better, and the depth in which it was used will appeal to all fans of X-Men. I would expect that all of the little complaints I had will be addressed in the sequel. Even so, this game is one of the most enjoyable I’ve played all year, and it’s one no fan of X-Men, or Action/RPG’s should be without.
