X-Men Legends

"A Cooperative RPG Legend"

This is the first X-Men game I have played, and I believe I picked a great one to start with. X-Men Legends is a very fun, and well done game. There are a few flaws here and there, but every game has them. An 8/10 is too vague, so let's take a look at the different ingredients that make up this fine game...

Story: 8/10
You probably know the basic foundation of everything X-men: Professor X and his X-Men defend humans from Magneto and his mutant army, The Brotherhood. This game is based on that, only The Brotherhood has come up with a new way to start a human-mutant war. Some missions are focused on one or two characters, giving you a more in depth personal story. Another fun addition is the ability to play flashbacks of previous battles. It doesn't relate to the main story, but it does give some history. That's not all of it of course, it's just an idea of what to expect.

Graphics: 7/10
This is not the games strong point either. Most of the in-game graphics are ugly. Imagine dirty clay colored with yellows, reds, and shades of brown with a face stamped on their head. Fortunately, you play from a birds-eye view, and aren't normally close enough to see the mess clearly. I gave it a 7 and not a 5, because the cut scenes are done well, and have a good shine to them.

Sound/Music: 7/10
The sound is decent. While playing, you can punch, kick, and throw things, and those sounds are done fine. On the other side, the voices in the game are very repetitive. For example: When you change characters, the one you selected will respond with one of three different phrases, like "Got it," or "Okay." That got to me after a few hours. The enemies are also lacking a vocabulary. You'll here, "Get them," or "Join us or die," before every new wave of enemies. The game's music is easier on the ears than the voices. When you get into battle, the loud, metal music will drown out the other noise.

Game play: 10/10
What I believe to be the most important aspect of a game, is what the game has mastered. There are fifteen characters by the game's end to choose from. The basic mission routine is: Go from here to there, while destroying this and that, maybe rescue some hostages, and beat up the bad guys. It is a little linear, with not much freedom, but that doesn't take away from the fun. During 90% of the game, you select a team of four X-men that can be controlled by pressing the correspond direction on the D-pad. Each X-Men has three unique mutant powers. Two are offensive, and the other is a shield or stat booster. The game does a great job of giving each X-Men their own edge and importance in battle. For example, you could have someone spin an enemy into the wall with their mind, another send a tornado down line of soldiers, and then a third cast a shield on you. While fighting off enemies, you'll gain levels and experience points. These are spent on stats and ability upgrades. As you level up higher, you'll unlock better upgrades. Some characters have constant health recovery, metal-welding blasts, attacks that can build bridges, even enhanced lifting strength. You could beat a level by only throwing cars. To top if off, you can play cooperatively with three other people. You don't need good graphics or sound to make this game great.

Replay ability: 9/10
There are hundreds of combinations for your abilities. Go all out offense, or take a defensive approach. Didn't like that one move? You can focus on a different one the next time through. If you missed some of the items scattered around the game, get them the next time.

Rent or buy?
I don't regret my purchase at all, but I do have people to play co-op with. However, if after reading this you still have some doubts about playing it at all, please give it a chance and rent it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/05