X-Men Legends

""Hey bub, you shoulda called in sick today!!""

"Hey bub, you shoulda called in sick today!!"

Should be pretty obvious straight away that I'm a fan of Wolverine, and of comic books in general. But Wolverine, is definitely my favourite, so as a gamer, being able to play as Wolverine is a concept that always gets me excited. Unfortunately, poor Wolverine does not have a very good track record in recent games. X2: Wolverine's Revenge was a rushed "let's try squeeze some extra money with the movie coming out game" that was, put simply, awful. However, after buying the Spider-man 2 movie game, and seeing the ad for X-Men Legends, I suddenly had a glimmer of hope...
Without going in to too much detail for now, X-Men Legends is, in my opinion of course, one of the best games ever... let alone one of the best comic book games.

Story
X-Men Legends has a very good story, fitting for a game based on an awesome comic book saga. Though the premise of the game may be simplistic; the evil, mutant Brotherhood are becoming active again, you must stop them, and there are enough twists and sub plots as well as some truly epic cut scenes to keep the story exciting for the entire time one spends playing. Don't want to say anymore in case I spoil anything, just rest assured: the story is damn good.
Story: 9/10

Graphics
By the time I write this, this game is already several years old, so it stands to reason that by now graphics should be far superior. And for the most part they are, however Legends does have one "ace up its sleeve": it's awesome CG cut scenes. During certain portions of the game, a player is treated (yes treated) to a visual feast like no other; definitely something to look forward to while playing. On the other hand the game play graphics are not anything to brag about, but at the same time, they are not in any way horrible. There are definitely some nice effects mixed in though, textures such as fire are done amiably well. All in all it should be understood that if you're going to buy a 6th generation console game in the time of the 7th Gen. consoles, you shouldn't expect too much graphically... in which case X-Men Legends will deliver beyond almost anyone's expectations.
Graphics: 8/10

Sound
Again, this is an old game now, so you can't expect much from the sound but even so, it is fairly good. Some little things that show a fair amount of attention to detail, that really add to the game's effect. For example, in one mission you are on a sinking ship, and you can hear some ominous ship creaks as you prowl the hallways. Soundtrack itself is also quite good.
Sound: 7/10

Game Play
The game play for X-Men Legends is utterly fantastic. You have a heap of attack combos to play around with, as well as some awesome character based powers. The only small problem with it is that in most games A is the jump button, in this game its Y. Be warned: it may take a short while to adjust. :-)
Seriously though, the big gimmick of this game is the team factor. When you are sent out on missions, you pick a team of 4 x-men who you play as through the entire mission (unless they die >_>). Basically, the characters heads are shown in the bottom left of screen, arranged such that pressing the corresponding directional button on the d-pad allows you to switch to that character instantly, while the other 3 characters are controlled by the computer (except in multiplayer). So basically, as the game progresses you can evolve and put together the ultimate x-men team :-)
The only real let down is that despite this game seeming to be very friendly with co-op, seeing as you can have up to 4 people playing at once, it is in fact very much a 1 player game. There are some sequences that take place where only 1 character is controllable, leaving anyone else who is supposed to be playing fairly bored. So while it works excellently as a single player game, the whole "get a bunch of friends together and work like a real team of super heroes" aspect doesn't quite work.
Game Play: 9/10

Replay-ability
For single player, there is tons of replay-ability. There are plenty of areas to explore in-depth, plenty of items to find, and other quests to play, as well as just the sheer fun of playing through the amazing story arc again. As soon as I finished this game the first time, I went on to play it another 3 times before playing anything else. :-)
Replay-ability: 10/10

Difficulty
There are no difficulty options or settings; it's just play as is. But there's nothing wrong with that at all. The game is not the hardest ever, but it is challenging enough to keep it immensely enjoyable. The game starts off particularly hard mainly for the lack of health packs.
Difficulty: 8/10

Overall
X-Men Legends is, for lack of better word, a truly legendary game. Although it is intended for fans of the X-Men legacy, it really is a game for anyone. So go check it out! :-D
Overall: 8.5/10
Rounded up to 9/10 for GameFAQs purposes.

"You have your mission X-Men, be on your way..."

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/04/07

Game Release: X-Men: Legends (EU, 10/22/04)