Often times when I write a review I have to put myself in the shoes of those that like that particular genre because the game just doesn’t appeal to me. It’s always a difficult task being fair (to say the least) – but fortunately for me this isn’t one of those times. An action role playing game (RPG) based on the X-Men license is right up my alley. This is why you can fully expect that my review score for X-Men Legends will undoubtedly be as high as this game could probably get in most peoples eyes.
Games based on comic properties haven’t exactly had the best of histories, so any time you see one that doesn’t automatically stink you become ecstatic. Relying on the license to sell the game itself, far too often is the way companies approach creating these sorts of titles. I’m happy to say Activision didn’t go that route. X-Men Legends lets you play as virtually any of the comic characters from the franchise that you’d ever want to play as; is long (and I mean long), and packs it all into a great looking game with an equally impressive story.
The story takes place through the eyes of an up and coming mutant Alison Crestmere. Think of what the original X-Men movie did with Rogue, because it’s that sort of story arc in the game. This new mutant is code named Magma, and your time in the Xavier mansion will take place through her eyes, and ears. Much like the original movie, Wolverine is left to try and save the young lass at the beginning of the game, and much like the movie he fails at first attempt. So the story begins with you alone (as Wolverine), trying to get young Magma back from the Brotherhood of Mutants (again, just like in the movie).
I have to hand it to Activision: the story element of X-Men Legends is definitely its strongest point. You completely get a sense of ever expanding danger as the story goes from trying to save one young woman, to eventually fighting an all out war for the world (on three fronts no less).
The gameplay itself is mostly action oriented, but it does have RPG style leveling up. Besides the beginning of the game that has you only using Wolverine, you’ll be able to select 3 teammates to accompany you on most missions. All the big time players of the X-universe are present: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Gambit, Beast, Colossus, Iceman, and on and on. If you think you should be able to play as them, more than likely the character has been included in the game.
At first play X-Men Legends feels a lot like a button masher. You’ve only got two attack buttons which can be pressed in many different ways to form combos. There are four types of combos in the game. The first is a long chain, which allows you to hit your enemy up to six times. There are also shorter combos that knock enemies into the air, stun them, or simply knock them down. As you progress through the game you’ll definitely want to learn the combos, because when your screen is filled with about 10 enemies you don’t want to spend a lot of time beating up on just one of them. That tactic will certainly work in the beginning of the game, but you might want to heed the advice of the in game suggestions, and actually learn how to use combos. The way you do battle is action oriented, with the game throwing countless bad guys at you. To balance out the constant action, Activision has placed health potions all over the levels, which quite frankly can make the game far too easy in some instances. Minor complaint, but those of you with ‘skillz’ will plow through levels and enemies like they weren’t even there. Regardless of that, each mission you take on will be long. Be prepared to have to sit down and play for hours during some missions. There will be no quick gameplay sessions here (when it comes to completing the main story at least). Activision gives you the opportunity to walk around the X-Mansion, which is a big change of pace that allows you to talk to X-Men, get flash back sequences you can actually play through, and lets you play in the Danger Room.
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One thing that I absolutely love, and thank Activision for including, is that all your characters share the experience you gain in battle. With such a huge cast of playable characters if you had to spend time leveling each one up individually (remember that you can only use four at a time), you’d be sick of X-Men Legends in no time flat. Experience is gained not only through beating enemies, but also by completing objectives, and the nice thing is you gain experience from almost everything you do in the game – from short flashback sequences to your time in the Danger Room. As you gain levels you’ll unlock more dangerous attacks, and be able to sculpt your X-Man as you see fit. Besides allocating experience to uncovering new attacks you can specify which of the four traits you’d like to add your experience to: Strike, Agility, Body and Focus (each one affecting your typical RPG statistics).
The way you build up your characters has a lot to do with weather you’ll be playing this title solo, or with friends. The multiplayer aspect of the game tailors itself to creating more of an action oriented character, which is predominantly used for melee attacking. No one really wants to stand back away from the action using special abilities while their friends are beating the snot out of the bad guys. If you’re playing by yourself however, it’s a completely different story: You’ll definitely want to build your teammates up to use their Xtreme powers. You’d be surprised how quickly you can dispatch enemies if Iceman freezes them solid, and then you (as Wolverine) cut ‘em to shreds. Even if you don’t play with friends you’ll always have access to play as every member of your party by simply switching between them. When you’re not controlling your fellow party members in single player, you can tell the AI to do a few basic things with them: You can set its aggression levels; when they should auto heal themselves, and which special ability they should use when you call them for back up. Calling for back up at the press of a button enables you to time powerful combos. As stated in the Iceman example, if you call for backup, you’re AI teammates will unleash one of their Xtreme moves, which will simultaneously allow you to do the same, combining your powers to lay a hurtin’ on the bad guys.
Graphics wise the game is cell shaded for the characters (which is a technique that makes models look hand drawn, when they’re actually 3D), and fully 3D for the environments. The environments are heavily influenced by the X-Men movies – the Xavier Institute is almost a perfect representation of what you saw in the films, and the X-Jet is the same. The characters however are not drawn to look like they came from the movies, but are actually more in tune with how they look in the “Ultimate X-Men” series of comics. It’s an interesting look that is pulled off with pretty good success. Sometimes the cell shaded characters look badly out of place with the environments, but most of the time that hand drawn look just makes them stick out nicely. The game has been released on all three next gen platforms, and as such the usual breakdown occurs. The PS2 version is the least good looking, followed by the Gamecube, and the Xbox (whose visuals are only slightly better than the GC’s).
Controls for the game are handled very well, and regardless of which system you buy it for your gaming experience will be tight thanks to the responsive controls. The only time you may have issues is with the AI. Sometimes your teammates block doorways and get in your way at the most inopportune times. That’s hardly a control issue, but don’t be surprised if you have to do some crafty maneuvering to get yourself out a spot the AI has blocked you into.
As far as the sound goes, all I have to say is: Patrick Stewart. He has graciously donated (for a price I’m sure), his voice talent for the game playing his movie altar ego Professor Charles Xavier. I must say, the voice acting is top notch in X-Men Legends, and it’ll actually pull you deeper into the game’s story. The only thing that sticks out is that in some instances you’ll find your controlled characters speaking only in text while the AI responds to you with voice acting. I’m sure this is because it would have taken a great deal of work to have all the actors record the same lines. A minor grievance, but I truly believe this could have been one of the best acted voice games of all time if they had taken the time to record the voices for all characters during the same parts of the game. As it is, the voice-work is already great, but just not timeless.
Activision has done something that rarely happens: created a game based on a comic book license that will appeal to both casual gamers and to hardcore fans alike. X-Men Legends was an absolute blast for me to play, and gives me great hope for the future of the X-license. If Activision can just go a little further with this franchise, I truly believe they’ll create one of the best games around.
X-Men Legends is a must own for the fans, and definitely worth at least a rental from casual gamers. Be warned though, with its sprawling story, if you get hooked on this game be prepared to play it for a while – it’s a long title that will definitely make you feel like you got your money’s worth. X-Men Legends may be just a little too easy, but it’s one of the best comic stories ever put into a game, and would be worthy of a feature film treatment.
