  It is time to hack and slash, bub.
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In the world of the X-Men, civil war amongst mutants is a mainstay of the series. Professor Xavier and his students hold onto a shred of hope that one day mutants and humans will live together in peace. Sometime villain Magneto have no use for peace. They believe that mutants should rule the Earth instead of living like outcasts and take what is rightfully theirs by any means necessary. As the foot soldiers for their mentors' ideologies, both the X-Men and The Brotherhood have clashed time and time again.
In 'X-Men Legends 2', the warring mutant factions do the unthinkable. They band together to battle a common foe: the ancient evil known simply as Apocalypse. Believing himself to be the very first mutant, Apocalypse's goal is to destroy Earth as we know it and rebuild it in his image. To achieve this dark dream, Apocalypse kidnaps Polaris, Beast and Professor Xavier then he lets loose his Four Horsemen upon the world.
For comic book fans, that's the hook of this faithful sequel to last year's 'X-Men Legends'. You can mix and match mutants from The Brotherhood and the X-Men to form any kind of team you want at any time. Depending on whom you select, your team might get bonuses as well. For instance, if you pick Juggernaut, Rogue, Wolverine and Colossus, your team will be designated, as 'The Bruiser Brigade' and you will receive +20 Energy per knockout you deliver. Select the 'Old School' squad of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Toad and Magneto and +15 percent is added to your Max Energy.
As one might imagine, neither your X-Men nor Brotherhood members are pleased about having to team with the so-called enemy. In a clever touch, that situation is explored at length in many of the mission briefing cut-scenes.
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Click here for the official 'X-men Legends 2' trailer. (Quick Time: 5.09 Meg) |
For those who could've been living in an underground bunker last year, 'X-Men Legends 2' is an RPG that echoes such games as 'Balder's Gate: Dark Alliance'. You move your party of characters around jungles, ancient temples and the like taking on enemies, completing assigned tasks and collecting items and points to progress to the next stage of the storyline as well as increase the stats of your chosen characters. At first, it may be odd to find and outfit items like Colossus' Bracers of Strength but it is surprising how quickly you will become used to this strange but brilliant amalgamation of a Dungeon and Dragons style adventure with the X-Men and Brotherhood as your characters.
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Whereas the original 'Legends' was somewhat bogged down at times when it came to leveling up the stats of your characters, 'Rise of Apocalypse' makes those chores as easy as giving Beast a flea infestation. If you wish to, you can allow the in-game intelligence system to manage your team for you and in that way eliminate of the fussing and get back to the fighting.
The strength of this sequel though is also its weakness. If you are a devoted follower of the comic book series, you are bound to get more out of 'X-Men Legends 2' than your average Joe who doesn't know Scott Summers from Alex Summers. Those players might become disillusioned with the repetitive gameplay and plethora of characters and events, which mean very little to them.
While the special attacks, diverse settings and guest-star appearances by other notable comic book heroes and villains such as Iron Man, Kazar and Lady Deathstrike will thrill any Marvel Comics fan, it is the intriguing storyline that will compel players to press on with this title. Apocalypse's master plan is doled out in small doses with every reveal generating more and more questions about what the heck old prune face could be up to. There is an assortment of plot twists too that provide surprise after surprise as you continue forth. If nothing else, 'X-Men Legends 2' is a well-crafted and executed storyline that gets progressively intriguing the more time you spend playing it.
WHAM! Rating: |
8 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
T (Teen) |
Official Web Site: |
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