How do you begin to categorize a game that is so many parts action, so many parts strategy, so many parts RPG, and so many parts hectic? You don’t, in this case, you just enjoy the blend of frantic action RPG adventure that has been served to you on an adamantium platter. Wait, I guess I did just categorize it… Well, never mind, because that’s not the point. For the first time since their arcade debut in 1992, the X-Men have appeared in a video game that is 100% without a doubt playable, and then some. The developers, RavenSoft, have done an excellent job producing an awesome action RPG that just happens to feature X-Men as the main characters. Not an X-Men fan? No problem; you really don’t have to be. Aside from a few nagging problems, X-Men Legends will have you attached to the console for hours on end, and then hooked in a heated debate later about how much Gambit rocks the house. And he does, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Features:

Superb voice acting including Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier

Approx. twenty hours of action filled gameplay

15 playable mutants, each with their own defining characteristics

Tons of collectable items and secrets

Story mode directed by former writers from Marvel

Four player co-op mode, as well as battle modes

More unique mutant powers than you can shake a stick at


Are you Homo-Sapien, or Homo-Superior?
You begin X-Men Legends as none-other than Wolverine, the headstrong Canadian with a hot temper and really funky mutton chop sideburns, as he attempts to stop the Brotherhood from abducting a young mutant named Allison. Unbeknownst to Wolverine, Allison is eventually revealed to be a crucial part of the Brotherhood’s latest scheme to rule over the humans as the struggle between mutants and humans continues. After saving her and returning her to the X-Mansion, Allison enrolls into the school and eventually becomes Magma, the hot new flame of the class (Warning: You can probably expect many, many more of these horribly bad puns to follow). Soon after Allison arrives, the Brotherhood continues to cause trouble by releasing Magneto, whose magnetic personality seems consistently bent on world domination. Fans of the series will immediately notice that the art direction follows that of the most recent X-Men comic, Ultimate X-Men, and will also see that the game’s plot follows the comics’ as opposed to the movie’s.

To backtrack a few steps, the first level works as a tutorial to the relatively simple yet addicting gameplay of X-Men Legends. The basic gameplay is not unlike the Baldur’s Gate series in that you run from area to area, slashing enemies left and right until you ultimately arrive at your main objective. However, X-Men Legends manages to add a new level of depth that previous action RPGs could not reach. Unlike most other games, teamwork and team balance is emphasized heavily in X-Men Legends. Instead of choosing one of the X-Men who you really like, there’s a lot of merit in playing all of them and implementing their strengths and weaknesses to your advantage. Also, choose your team wisely, because while it’s not likely that you’ll fail a mission based on your character choices, it is likely to be a whole lot harder if your team doesn’t have a proper balance.

Size Doesn’t Matter, But Buttons Do
Having a team gives you access to not only just one mutant, but also three other uber-cool X-Men to control at will, thanks to the quick switch control implemented with the D-Pad. You’d think the size of the D-Pad would make switching difficult and perhaps imprecise, but it works rather well despite its size. While for the most part, the GameCube controller works well for the Legends, the lack of buttons on the GameCube controller makes for poor placement of two major functions: health and magic restore. In the game, you use the Z button to instantly chug down a health potion faster than a speeding bullet (whoops, wrong hero reference). However, in order to use a magic potion, you’re forced to hold down the X button and then hit the Z button. While this doesn’t sound difficult, in the heat of the battle it is very easy to make the mistake of mistiming this action and instead downing an oh-so precious health potion. It’s a nuisance more than anything, and makes you long for just one more button. ONE MORE.