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Take a really good formula and turn it into a great formula. This is X-Men Legends II.
October 9, 2005 | 11:11 AM PSTby: Shawn Sinclaire
It was only a year ago that Activision released X-Men Legends to the game loving public. That title went on to become the greatest selling X-Men game of all time; and for good reason. It was freakin’ awesome. Now just imagine that title and imagine expanding upon it and improving upon it in many different ways, losing little to none of the awesomeness in the transition. That is what X-Men Legends II is.
Features
How Much is More?
The review could have been ended with that last sentence, really. X-Men Legends II is in fact its predecessor with some notable upgrades and changes. Perhaps the most obvious and superficial change is the story. The story this time takes place after the events in X-Men Legends, when both the X-Men and Brotherhood are left weak from their altercations with each other. A very powerful and potentially immortal mutant named Apocalypse decides that this is the time that is ripe for his conquest of the world. He begins his plan by kidnapping Xavier and a powerful mutant named Polaris, and then destroying the land of Genosha, home of the Brotherhood, in the search for mutants with harmonic DNA. Both of these events leave the X-Men and the Brotherhood with no other choice but to rely on each other to overcome Apocalypse. Temporarily, at least, a truce must form between the two rivals.
The story throughout the whole game is quite good and enjoyable for both X-Men fans and those new to the series. One of the great things about X-Men Legends II is that it provides enough back information about the X-Men that it can throw in subtle jokes and fan service to longtime readers of the series while not excluding those who have never really been Marvel fans. For example, you can ask just about every character in the game “Who are you?” through dialogue and you will be treated to some brief history of the character. This allows those with mutant experience to skip the dialogue that they know and move right to the point.
The CG and the voice acting in the game help to propel the story but only one of these is done well. The CG is visually stunning and full of some great fan service moments that X-Men geeks will surely love, especially the intro. However, the voice acting tends to leave something to be desired - specifically, a mute button. The dialogue is good, and the script is excellent, but the execution turns out to be cheesy and sometimes downright annoying. Certain characters sound great. Xavier, voiced by Patrick Stewart, sounds as level headed and omniscient as he should be, for example. Bobby Drake, the Iceman, sounds young, stupid, and arrogant just as he should be. But then you have characters like Rogue, Gambit and Sunfire that are so ridiculously over the top with their accents that it’s more humorous than enjoyable. It’s as if not only did the Ragin’ Cajun grow up in New Orleans and develop the accent, but that he had never had any exposure outside of the area so all of his lingo is just slurred garble with a hint of Mardi Gras. The voice acting is clear and the dialogue concise, but the actors are over the top at times.
Smashy Smashy
But forget the dialogue, forget the story, and get right into the meat and potatoes of the game. Smashing stuff. That’s really what X-Men Legends II is all about, right? You can take teams of four mutants into dangerous area with tons of superpowers and attack moves that allow you to smash faces, smash walls, and smash – well – just smash. Broken down to its simple roots, X-Men Legends II is a stylistic beat ‘em up title. You move from locale to locale fighting onslaught after onslaught of enemies and occasionally beating up a boss. The core isn’t what makes the game good, however, it’s all the fluff up above it.
X-Men II
For example, most beat ‘em up titles have a rather limited amount of moves that you can perform. In this title there are tons. You have two main combat buttons, a throw button, and a jump button. The two main combat buttons can be used in various sequences for different effects such as tripping and opponent or launching him into the air. The throw button can be used for throwing opponents or picking up very large objects and hurling them. Then the jump button, well, jumps. By then access your super power menu which gives you immediate access to three super powers and one room clearing X-Treme power. Looking at super powers alone, you have over 150 different choices available to you depending on the character you are using. Then consider the fact that some normal combat moves are character dependant as well (only strong mutants can throw enemies, for example) and there are tons of ways to play. X-Men Legends II gives you a way to strategize their attacks and develop their own gameplay style. Will you play a more supportive roll and stay back behind the front line with mutant powers to support, or will you jump into the fray and slice and dice until you can’t slice and dice no more? That’s your call.
Final Word
As mentioned in the intro, X-Men Legends II is pretty much an expansion on X-Men Legends. This is not a bad thing, because the latter was an excellent game, and the former is even better. For those new to the series, they will enjoy a large assortment of characters, a solid plot, tons of secrets and unlockables, and a fun and enjoyable combat system that you can play solo or with friends. The online modes for the Xbox, PS2, and PSP versions of the game are excellent, and co-op on GameCube is just as good. The only real flaws to be associated with the game are some cheesy dialogue and voice acting, and the occasional AI snafu. Overall, X-Men Legends II is highly recommended for X-Men fans and action game fans alike.
Features
- Official Marvel license
- Play as both the X-Men and the Brotherhood
- 16 playable characters, over 150 super powers to learn and use
- Large, destructible environments
- 4-Player co-op via split screen or Xbox Live
- Tons of secrets to unlock
How Much is More?
The review could have been ended with that last sentence, really. X-Men Legends II is in fact its predecessor with some notable upgrades and changes. Perhaps the most obvious and superficial change is the story. The story this time takes place after the events in X-Men Legends, when both the X-Men and Brotherhood are left weak from their altercations with each other. A very powerful and potentially immortal mutant named Apocalypse decides that this is the time that is ripe for his conquest of the world. He begins his plan by kidnapping Xavier and a powerful mutant named Polaris, and then destroying the land of Genosha, home of the Brotherhood, in the search for mutants with harmonic DNA. Both of these events leave the X-Men and the Brotherhood with no other choice but to rely on each other to overcome Apocalypse. Temporarily, at least, a truce must form between the two rivals.
The story throughout the whole game is quite good and enjoyable for both X-Men fans and those new to the series. One of the great things about X-Men Legends II is that it provides enough back information about the X-Men that it can throw in subtle jokes and fan service to longtime readers of the series while not excluding those who have never really been Marvel fans. For example, you can ask just about every character in the game “Who are you?” through dialogue and you will be treated to some brief history of the character. This allows those with mutant experience to skip the dialogue that they know and move right to the point.
The CG and the voice acting in the game help to propel the story but only one of these is done well. The CG is visually stunning and full of some great fan service moments that X-Men geeks will surely love, especially the intro. However, the voice acting tends to leave something to be desired - specifically, a mute button. The dialogue is good, and the script is excellent, but the execution turns out to be cheesy and sometimes downright annoying. Certain characters sound great. Xavier, voiced by Patrick Stewart, sounds as level headed and omniscient as he should be, for example. Bobby Drake, the Iceman, sounds young, stupid, and arrogant just as he should be. But then you have characters like Rogue, Gambit and Sunfire that are so ridiculously over the top with their accents that it’s more humorous than enjoyable. It’s as if not only did the Ragin’ Cajun grow up in New Orleans and develop the accent, but that he had never had any exposure outside of the area so all of his lingo is just slurred garble with a hint of Mardi Gras. The voice acting is clear and the dialogue concise, but the actors are over the top at times.
Smashy Smashy
But forget the dialogue, forget the story, and get right into the meat and potatoes of the game. Smashing stuff. That’s really what X-Men Legends II is all about, right? You can take teams of four mutants into dangerous area with tons of superpowers and attack moves that allow you to smash faces, smash walls, and smash – well – just smash. Broken down to its simple roots, X-Men Legends II is a stylistic beat ‘em up title. You move from locale to locale fighting onslaught after onslaught of enemies and occasionally beating up a boss. The core isn’t what makes the game good, however, it’s all the fluff up above it.
X-Men II
For example, most beat ‘em up titles have a rather limited amount of moves that you can perform. In this title there are tons. You have two main combat buttons, a throw button, and a jump button. The two main combat buttons can be used in various sequences for different effects such as tripping and opponent or launching him into the air. The throw button can be used for throwing opponents or picking up very large objects and hurling them. Then the jump button, well, jumps. By then access your super power menu which gives you immediate access to three super powers and one room clearing X-Treme power. Looking at super powers alone, you have over 150 different choices available to you depending on the character you are using. Then consider the fact that some normal combat moves are character dependant as well (only strong mutants can throw enemies, for example) and there are tons of ways to play. X-Men Legends II gives you a way to strategize their attacks and develop their own gameplay style. Will you play a more supportive roll and stay back behind the front line with mutant powers to support, or will you jump into the fray and slice and dice until you can’t slice and dice no more? That’s your call.
Final Word
As mentioned in the intro, X-Men Legends II is pretty much an expansion on X-Men Legends. This is not a bad thing, because the latter was an excellent game, and the former is even better. For those new to the series, they will enjoy a large assortment of characters, a solid plot, tons of secrets and unlockables, and a fun and enjoyable combat system that you can play solo or with friends. The online modes for the Xbox, PS2, and PSP versions of the game are excellent, and co-op on GameCube is just as good. The only real flaws to be associated with the game are some cheesy dialogue and voice acting, and the occasional AI snafu. Overall, X-Men Legends II is highly recommended for X-Men fans and action game fans alike.
November 20, 2009
