X-Men: Next Dimension

"Mutant Academy graduates into the Next Dimension."

The X-Men: Mutant Academy games put the beloved X-Men in a pseudo-3-D environment. Though the character models were 3-D they fought on a 2 dimensional plane. The game were solid fighters and all the X-Men in them were well represented with their moves, combos and such. X-Men: Next Dimension takes the next step in the series, opening up the environment Dead or Alive style, allowing for interaction with the background, and use of objects as weapons. Team that feature with new characters, new moves for old characters and the new story mode, and the result is a solid fighter with great replay value.

Gameplay:
Though the environment has changed the gameplay is very much like Mutant Academy 2. There are some really simple combos in the game, just tapping punch 3 times can net you around 5 hits,and quick punch, punch, kick, punch combos are quite effective, especially against the computer. But true mastery of the game lies in discovering the more complex, powerful combos. Gambit's 52 Card Pickup alone can net around 64 hits! Team that up with a solid string and you see how much damage an experienced player can do. In the end, it's simple enough for new players to pick up and have fun with, yet deep enough for serious players to continue mastery of. The AI is fairly challenging, and the game is well balanced. Though some characters are stronger than others, there are no invincible characters here. I give gameplay a rock solid:
8 out of 10

Story:
Basically the story is Operation:Zero Tolerence redux. for those who haven't read that, Bastion is basically a robot who wants the eradication of mutants. He kidnaps Forge in order to improve the attack capabilities of the Sentinels by giving them Forge's Mutant Power Nullifier. The X-Men, and eventually the Brotherhood go to rescue Forge stop Bastion's plot. Not exactly an inventive plot, but the fact a fighting game bothers to have one at all is cool.
7 of 10

Graphics:
The graphics are definitely PS2 quality. Not as good as say, Virtua Fighter 4, but the quality is definitely high enough that you don't think they simply cleaned up graphics from the old games. The faces could use work, as some characters, most notably Gambit and Wolverine look butt ugly, but seeing as how you rarely see their faces, it of little concern. The true shining point of the graphics are the backgrounds. Smooth and interactive, they are definitely a key selling point for them game. depending on where you hit or throw someone, cool little cutscenes will show the damage you created on the arena. It is at times glitchy, like getting stuck in a wall, or being stuck in air. However, it hasn't happened to me enough to make me detract from the score. Just be warned it can happen.
8 of 10

Replay:
Tons of stuff to unlock, solid gameplay and the cool stages make replay a no brainer.
10 of 10

In closing, it's a great fighter. The true 3-D environment really makes this game shine. If you liked the old X-Men: Mutant Academy games, buy, don't rent this. you'll love it. If you hated those games, stay away. It's as simple as that.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/02, Updated 10/22/02