Genre: RPG
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Release Date: September 20, 2005
Buy 'X-MEN LEGENDS II: Rise of Apocalypse':
Xbox | GameCube | PC | PlayStation 2 | PSP
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Apocalypse is here.
For those of you who've heard of the X-Men, either through the comic or the cartoon series, you know that whenever Apocalypse shows up, the impossible happens. Cities are taken under siege, beings that are otherwise considered titans fall, and the strangest team-ups tend to occur to combat the menace. This is no different.
Magneto decides that his Brotherhood of Evil is no match against Apocalypse alone, and thus forms an alliance with Charles "Professor X" Xavier and his X-Men. Neither side is too happy about this turn of events, but they all grudgingly agree to work with each other until their mutual goal is accomplished. Even so, there's infighting left and right, along with secrets revealed from many mutants that they rather would not have were it entirely up to them.
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What does this all mean for you?
It means that you and your buddies get to partake in one of the better multiplayer action games of the year. Oh, it's perfectly serviceable by yourself, mind you. Still, playing these types of games with friends increases its intensity exponentially.
X-Men Legends 2 is an action-RPG, played out in the vein of dungeon crawling games a la Gauntlet. It's the same as the first game, with one difference - this game is what the first should have been. The first was an incredibly novel idea and approach, but a few flaws - mainly on the action side, but some in player management - kept it from being the true classic it was intended to be.
The great thing about XML2 is that every single one of the first game's flaws has been addressed. Every one. You just don't see that sort of thing anymore, you know?
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The game starts out with four-player capability right off the bat. The massive, easy-to-get-lost-in X-Mansion gives way to a series of tiny headquarters which change with each chapter. The action is faster. The AI behaves better and is more controllable. The character roster is varied due to the introduction of the Brotherhood and the depravity of the developers (playable Iron Man and Deadpool? Sign me up). Finally, you can take the whole shebang online and battle cooperatively with friends.
Just like the first game, one of the best things you can do is customize your team, in more ways than one. First off, each character is fully customizable in terms of powers; you can add or remove attributes on the fly, and the designers have thought up clever ways to implement every mutant's powers in a battle setting. You'll be able to mix and match the powers you want, and there are so many attributed to each character that you'll find yourself switching between power assignments in the middle of battle. Fortunately, it's quick and easy. Powers aren't simply little pieces of graphics that pummel enemies, either - some are essential to progression, i.e. building bridges and putting out fires. Nightcrawler's power of teleportation, as can be guessed, is mighty useful, which balances out the fact that he sort of sucks in a straight-out fight.
In both the first game and this one, customizing a mutant's powers can be pretty complicated if you just came to this party for the action side of things. As a beat-'em-up fan myself, I found the otherwise nifty character customization system pretty cumbersome, especially when it's dumped on the player all at once from the beginning. Fortunately, in this game, you can have the computer level your character up for you, which will prove to be a godsend for a ton of people. They can now experiment with characters at their leisure rather than being forced to tinker around with them every time a level is reached lest they suffer consequences. This one feature alone makes the entire game more palatable and less intimidating on the whole.
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Finally, certain teams, when put together, may incur active stat bonuses based on their canon affinities. Putting together Magneto, Toad, Scarlet Witch and Juggernaut gives you the "Brotherhood Of Evil" team, which gains more experience in fighting. Putting together Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Jean Grey and Storm gives you "Femme Fatale," which gains back health with every bit of damage they do. The game encourages you to mix and match, yet always come back to some stable teams depending on situations.
There's not a lot of difference, aesthetically, from the original X-Men Legends and Rise of Apocalypse. The exact same graphical style is used, though the cel-shading used may be a bit more obvious and vibrant than last time. Because of this, the game looks more like an expansion pack than a sequel. Fortunately, the gameplay proves that this isn't quite the case.
Get ready to have your ears assaulted with every single kind of impact and explosion known to man-simply because, well, that's what the X-Men do. It's what they're capable of-slicing, stabbing, blasting, punching, kicking, biting, licking, pounding, setting things on fire… shoot, all of that stuff. It's a testament to Raven Software that they actually managed to replicate the countless sound effects of the powers of the X-Men, the Brotherhood and their enemies for this title with such faithfulness.
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The rest of the sound is give or take. I'm more immune to cheesy voice acting than most people, but even I can see it. It won't kill your ears, but you comic buffs out there may be in for a groaner. As far as music goes… you know, I don't remember hearing much of it. I know it was there, but it pretty much all got drowned out in the aforementioned sounds of battle.
The game has some nice extras: a trivia game, wallpaper and images, comic covers, and plenty of Danger Room scenarios which will help you to hone your skills. Between this, the gameplay, and the online capabilities, it won't be hard to find ways to stay busy.
If you weren't a fan of the first X-Men Legends despite how many people told you that you should have been (don't worry, I feel your pain), if you were, or even if you missed the first one, fear not, because this new installment is solid. Fetch-quests and sometimes tedious level-grinding aside, Raven Software has refined and polished their product to a shiny sheen, and you should reward them for it with your money.
Oh, and get some friends. You'll want them here.
Score: 8.3/10
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