GameCube

X-Men: Legends

With surprises galore, I constantly felt myself giggling like an extremely geeky schoolgirl as new characters showed up and storylines unfolded before me. There’s an impressive melding of the different X-universes here, so that someone who has just seen the movies should feel comfortable, but someone who has read every X-Men issue since the ‘60s will be more than content. Almost all of the well-known characters make an appearance, and many of the lesser known allies and foes do as well. With over 20 hours of gameplay, and one of the most enjoyable cooperative multiplayer experiences I’ve had, I couldn’t recommend Legends more highly to fans and newbies alike.

Why is it that the X-Men, one of the most celebrated comic teams of all time, have never been properly represented in video games? Sure, there have been some decent 2D and 3D fighting games, but we've also had to wallow through dreck like X2: Wolverine's Revenge, a game that I thought would set the franchise back 10 years. It seemed like we would never see a title that accurately portrayed the lives of everyone's favorite muties, and their struggles against not only super-villains like Magneto, but bigotry and hatred as well. Just when I thought all was lost, X-Men Legends landed on my desk, and I'm happy to say that the franchise is finally getting the respect that it deserves.

Having first appeared in the pages of Marvel comics more than 40 years ago and recently starring in two highly successful movies, dozens of comic spin-offs, and video games on nearly every platform since the 8-bit NES, the X-Men have broken out of the geek-chic mold of the comics universe to become modern pop culture icons. But thanks to their new digital debut in the action/RPG genre with X-Men Legends, you've never seen Xavier's men (and women) quite like this before.

X-Men Legends is a great action RPG for X-Men fans and X-Men newbies alike, and should not be overlooked. Its blend of great storytelling, great combat, and attention to environmental detail are enough for anyone to get hooked on. True X-Men fans will appreciate the game’s sticking to the facts and staying true to the comic versions of each individual character. There’s tons of fun to be had in unlocking new mutant attacks and finding the perfect team combinations. If you have 3 friends with you, it is pretty easy to pick up, and both co-op and battle mode are fun. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

The X-Men enter a new genre. Raven Software has taken the X-Men from their fighting game norm into the complicated world of role playing games. The result is a surprisingly natural, action-RPG that remains fun to play through during its length.

I have played some really, really bad X-Men games in my life. There really have only been a couple of good X-Men games throughout the entire existence of home consoles and not a single good one this generation. It's been nothing but disappointment for X-fans for the past few years. Playing Activision's latest, X-Men Legends, is a lot like day 41 for Noah -- seeing the first ray of sunshine after a whole lot of darkness and downpour is thrilling. While not perfect, Legends does justice to the X-Men franchise and will almost certainly please fans. It's about damn time.

However, even with the technical snafus that sometimes plague Legends, this is still the best X-Men title ever produced. The Action/RPG elements are nicely integrated within an epic storyline with plenty of intrigue and a huge amount of gameplay that can take 20 hours or more to fully complete. Comic book fans will rejoice at having a title in their collection that finally does a renowned franchise justice.

When it comes to the world of video games, the mutant fighting force known as the X-Men are probably best known for their work in fighting games. More specifically, the X-Men are best known for their work in Capcom's fighting games, which turned the eye-beam-firing Cyclops into a Ryu-like fighter, complete with a dragon punch. While the X-Men have occasionally crept into other genres, the results are usually less than favorable. X-Men Legends, however, packs in a good number of different playable characters and great-looking graphics into an easy, but fairly lengthy adventure. It all combines to form a great action RPG with strong action and a well-told story.

X-Men Legends, at the very least, is an impressively well-made take on Gauntlet. If you're a fan of superhero comics, it's the best Gauntlet ever. Up until now, the folks at Raven Software had never made anything that wasn't a first-person shooter. Now they've made a pretty fiendishly complex four-player 3D action-RPG -- who'd have thought they had it in them?

Given a little patience, however, X-Men Legends will reward you with a good storyline and fun gameplay. Numerous collectables and hidden items lend a lot of replay potential, which you’ll also derive from focusing on the different mutant abilities available from the different X-Men. Though some issues do exist, they are minor, especially to the die-hard X-Men fans who long to have mutant powers of their own. Good ones, I mean.

X-Men Legends sera clairement un produit à destiner aux fans. Manquant de finition dans les coins avec une réalisation à l'arrache et souffrant de problème de clarté de son action, le titre de Raven a tout de même quelques arguments en sa faveur (nervosité, évolution des héros) pour assurer sa défense auprès d'un certain public.

X-Men : Legends est une bonne petite surprise. Contrairement à de trop nombreux titres qui se contentent de s'appuyer sur une licence connue, la production d'Activision confirme grâce à un gameplay alliant l'action, le multijoueur et une gestion de l'évolution des personnages qui s'avère assez prenante sur la longueur. Cela dit, on regrettera aussi quelques pépins techniques limitant un peu le plaisir de jeu comme des temps de chargement fréquents ralentissant les accès aux menus et cassant donc le rythme de l'action. Pas de quoi crier au scandale non plus, cela dit, et les vieux fans des mutants de Marvel pourront se procurer ce titre sans prendre trop de risques.