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X-Men Legends II Review November 10, 2005 Jakub Wojnarowicz |
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Summary: X-Men Legends II brings the beat-em-up RPG franchise to the PC and makes quite a few changes to the character powers. Can it live up to the original? Read on, Macduff!
 Overview | Page:: ( 1 / 5 ) |
For starters, the player is no longer limited to using X-Men. This time around, the X-Men and the Brotherhood have teamed up to fight the growing menace of Apocalypse. The cast of characters isn’t entirely complete; certain prominent characters on both teams are unavailable for various reasons. No doubt in cases such as the Blob’s, this was due to the lack of powers that could be imagined – and for others like Mystique it is likely because her abilities aren’t that applicable to the game environment. Other characters are unavailable for plot reasons. The PC version also has a couple extras like Pyro and Sabretooth, and all platforms have unlockable characters like Deadpool and Iron Man.
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The main differences lie in how powers are structured. No longer are abilities carbon copies of each other with just different names tagged on. Raven Software has now varied things up with different types of mutant power attacks – varying in power, how they do damage, the area and direction. There are also more passive and boost abilities that replicate defensive and group powers of the character in question, ranging from boosts to certain attacks to group buffs to increase attack ratings. For all this, there are still many powers that are very similar if not identical across mutants – we merely have more variety, enough so that Juggernaut plays quite differently from Colossus.
With these characters and their mutant powers, the player is unleashed upon level after level filled to the brim with enemies. The maximum view range of the screen is barely enough to cover smaller rooms, but this view range is also what activates enemy AI and every room has something or something to smash. It’s a little like Diablo in that respect, but even more claustrophobic – if that’s possible. The presence of three other friendly characters on the screen certainly adds to the crowded feeling. Combine this with the sheer amount of destructible objects, items to throw and of course the mutant power special effects and you end up with a very crowded, chaotic game environment.
Nominal tasks are presented to the player as an excuse to walk through maps that aren’t particularly realistic, and slay all who face him. Usually, you’re smashing something that is important to Apocalypse, though of course along the way you often have mini-tasks to pick up keys or hit switches. It’s really not much more involved than the red keycard paradigm from the old Doom games, but when it comes to giving you a reason to solve problems with the help of Mr. Smashy, we can’t say we’re very particular.
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The number of powers and the presence of three AI- or friend-controlled allies adds a certain amount of spice to the formula that would otherwise be missing. Of course, the ability to play your favorite heroes and villains from the X-Men universe certainly helps, especially with the excellent voice work. The writing isn’t particularly impressive or involved – this isn’t a BioWare RPG – but for an action RPG it’s sufficient.
| Interface X | Page:: ( 2 / 5 ) |
Graphically, there’s no comparison. Between the washed-out, low-res images on a TV and a nice, crisp 1600x1200 display on a monitor, only the most slavishly loyal Sony or Microsoft fanboy could prefer the console versions to the PC. In fact, given a decent-sized monitor, the weirdness of playing on your PC with a gamepad goes away almost immediately.
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Even on the consoles though, there’s a bit too much menu-hopping for our tastes. This is especially noticeable early on when the levels accrue with alarming rapidity; going in and changing stats and powers manually can be a real chore. It’s possible to let the AI doing it but it generally doesn’t distribute the points like we liked. Fortunately, the player can pay Forge or Beast to reset character and power points, though this gets exponentially more expensive each time you do it.
What never quite goes away is the need to manage the inventory. Later on, with the level gains being spaced out to more decent intervals, the player’s primary reason for fiddling with the menus is to equip new items and sell or drop the rest. The game AI is really not that great at equipping your characters, it seems rather random actually. To be fair, the effectiveness of most items is limited relative to the core strength of the character, but there are exceptions. The only truly remarkable upgrades are damage boosts to melee attacks on a tank that has focused a lot of points on the striking stat to increase his damage multiplier. Otherwise the items are usually not that impressive, even if they’re “rare” or specifically designed for that character.
The raw amount of destruction in the game is not to be underestimated. Characters can pick up objects and throw them, smash through certain walls, pick up enemies and your stronger characters can even pick up Wolverine and throw him at someone. That last bit is mostly for gags, but it’s still a damned cool trick if you actually hit your target.
Above all, it’s the cacophony of sounds – from an announcer yelling “SUPER COMBO!” as two mutant power attacks hit an enemy at the same time, to the regular explosions, optic blasts, massive punches and slashing claw sounds. Like Diablo, it’s mindless but ultimately satisfying in its own way – always working towards that better attack next level, or hoping to get a good item. There aren’t many tactical challenges to strain the brain, but at higher difficulties, management of health and mana potions as well as super powers is vital. Certain character types are also a must in the party, but Nightcrawler in particular. While most of your party’s super attacks are radial in nature and affect everyone equally or attack one opponent at a time, Nightcrawler’s Master of Chaos attack can repeatedly hit the same target if there are no other enemies in his radius, making him perfect for knocking out bosses.
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Boss characters are interspersed across the various maps. Most, like Grizzly, Sauron, or Omega Red are minor. The major bosses are are Apocalypse and his Horsemen, and they are at the end of every act. Unlike the minor bosses, these fights always have a trick or hook to make them more difficult and intricate. Major bosses also tend to enjoy the support of minor minions. Generally the fights are well done and even the ones that are very frustrating at first end up having a trick to them.
| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 3 / 5 ) |
Pros
Gameplay
It’s four-person Diablo with X-Men characters and a more diverse selection of abilities than the original. Sure, the items aren’t as cool, but they’re X-Men!
Sound and Graphics
Though not top-tier quality, which is no surprise given the console origins, the sound and graphics work together to give an almost hypnotic experience of chaos.
Replayability
This sounds very odd for a linear game, but min/maxing your characters and messing with party combinations (certain teams of four get special bonuses!), combined with the highly addictive gameplay can make a second or third time through pleasant.
Cons
Length
X-Men Legends 2 isn’t short, per se, but we could certainly use a bit more of it.
PC controls
The standard PC control setup isn’t all that intuitive and we don’t see it getting any easier unless you get a gamepad.
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| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 4 / 5 ) |
Surprisingly enjoyable is the PC version, which works best with a large monitor and gamepad but can also be played on the keyboard. The extra characters really don’t amount to much and, if given the choice, we’d play the console version just because it’s easier to do it with a friend, whether on the same box or online. Most of the challenge may be in timing the super combos correctly, but there’s an elegant simplicity to the gameplay which endures throughout.
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| Gallery | Page:: ( 5 / 5 ) |