 hat can I say? X-Men Legends was one of my favorite games last year, and the sequel manages to walk that fine line of keeping everything that made the first game great while simultaneously excising almost all of the petty problems and frustrations. Not content to just eliminate those missteps, Raven has upped the ante with a larger game, more powers, and the big kicker of online play. It is, quite frankly, one of the best console multiplayer games available, and still manages to please X-Men fans in all the ways that matter.
It’s hard to tell at first glance about the potential fun of the title. Like its predecessor, the lack of detail in the art style certainly isn’t going to convert many players. However, it’s hard to complain about the graphics when the game simultaneously relays such an exciting display of mutant powers, constant action, and the destruction of almost every object you pass. When playing single-player, the ally AI is certainly more than adequate, but there’s something about throwing down lightning bolts and optic beams with three of your best buds that is hard to equal. Like before, up to four players can jump on one machine and play through the campaign together, but now the same number can join together through online functionality. Finding and joining sessions is simple, there’s full headset support, and once the game gets going, things flow along as smooth as can be.
A number of technical issues marred the sheen of the first game, and almost all of these have been repaired this time around. It’s now nearly impossible to accidentally fall off a ledge to an automatic death, and general AI pathfinding seems significantly improved. The list of powers for each character has more than doubled, and there are now several options for how to level-up your character – one of which completely auto-sets your abilities so you’ll never have to pause the game. Finally, combat itself has been rebalanced and improved in numerous ways. Individual characters display unique strengths, and the management of power use and combination melee attacks has dramatically increased in importance.
For the comic aficionado, there’s the same attention to detail that the first game offered, and plenty of content placed in purely to satisfy the hardcore. The ability to play as Brotherhood members like Juggernaut or Magneto is alone worth the price of admission. Add in cameos from lesser-known heroes like the members of Alpha Flight and memorable locations like the Savage Land, and it becomes clear that the RPG elements should at least offer up some fond memories of long-gone comics. Overall, I offer the identical recommendation I did last year – this is pure fun that increases exponentially as you add more friends to the mix.
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No one could ever accuse the X-Men Legends series of being overcomplicated, or for that matter, nothing we haven’t seen before in one shape or another. There is no denying however, that this is one of the best experience-grinding games to ever hit the consoles. Sure, it’s not exactly gorgeous to look at, but the graphics are more than satisfactory to deliver what this game does do very well, and that’s gameplay. Many of the nagging problems of the first game, like characters that were worthless, annoying interruptions for leveling and item changes, and long periods of boredom during the Mansion scenes have been rectified. But more importantly, you can now take the multiplayer experience online, which simply makes an already great game even better. |
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9 |
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| CONCEPT: |
| A second stellar edition of the franchise has the X-Men and Brotherhood joining forces and blowing up everything in sight |
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| GRAPHICS: |
| While still not the highlight of the game, detail has been improved and stages are more interesting than before |
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| SOUND: |
| Explosive effects, cheesy (but appropriate) voicework, and a pretty decent score. No complaints |
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| PLAYABILITY: |
| Great controls and a steady challenge curve mean veterans and newbies alike should just dive right in |
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| ENTERTAINMENT: |
| Just as fun as the first one, minus most of the minor frustrations |
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