X-Men: Next Dimension

Armchair Empire (7.8 out of 10) (78%)

Blemishes aside, X-Men: Next Dimension is a good fighting game, made even better by the story mode that actually tells a story and does something different. X-Men and comic book fans won’t be disappointed, and if you’re into the fighting genre, it’s worth at least a rental.

Game Informer Magazine (7.75 out of 10) (78%)

X-Men fans have plenty to get excited about with this title. Not only is it the best in the series, by far, but it actually supports a decent combat system with a fairly balanced cast. Unfortunately, the graphics and animation aren’t much better than in the previous PS2 version, and the controller will take time to get used to. If Activision can improve the superficial aspects and make the combat deeper and more precise, this series can be a serious contender.

Game Shark (B) (75%)

If you love the X-Men, fighting and tight fitting clothes on women, this game is for you. Then again, if you love the X-Men, fighting and tight fitting clothes on men, this game is also for you. I guess this game is for everyone thirteen or older. Enjoy it and remember, Juggernaut may be slow, but he will tear you up if you can not move fast and jump a lot.

GameZone (7.3 out of 10) (73%)

One of the biggest problems with this version is the controller. It will cause much frustration when you are in the heat of battle, if it wasn't for the shrunken d-pad and awkward placement of the buttons, this would have been much more enjoyable game. If players are a fan of X-men games they will still get a kick out of this game. One thing that increases the replay value is the ability to unlock extra costume, and hidden characters, which will be a pleasant surprise to gamers. I highly suggest that you rent this game before you purchase it, to see if you like the fight style and playing it with the GameCube controller.

IGN (7 out of 10) (70%)

Back at the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo, a little known Activision project called X-Men appeared as a somewhat basic fighter reminiscent of Tekken. Of course, X-Men eventually became Mutant Academy, and ended up being a product that was not much better than the demo on display at E3 '98. A graphically impressive but limited fighting experience in a myriad of ways (can you say hyper-AI and corner traps boys and girls?), the PlayStation One effort was a sub par attempt at 3D mutant action.

GameSpot (6.4 out of 10) (64%)

A number of X-Men: Next Dimension's characters require unlocking, and various other extras--mostly alternate outfits for characters--can also be obtained from repeated play. Still, the problems with the fighting system will probably keep you from playing X-Men: Next Dimension extensively. It can be a fine game to play with casual gamer friends who are fans of the source material, but since a number of better fighting games starring the X-Men already exist, it's hard to get too excited about this one. In the end, even the most ardent X-Men fans should probably just rent Next Dimension rather than buy it.

64 Power / big.N / N Games (58 out of 100) (58%)

(PAL version)
Die schlechte Nachricht zuerst: Das Spiel wurde leider nicht auf wundersame Weise besser. Nun die Gute: Es wurde auch nicht wirklich schlechter. Die PAL-Anpassung hat der Titel gut verkraftet. Weit und breit sind keine schwarzen Balken zu sehen und auch ein Geschwindigkeitsverlust ist nicht festzustellen. Auf deutsche Texte musst du allerdings verzichten, was bei einem Beat‘em-Up nicht sonderlich tragisch sein sollte. Ansonsten krankt das Spiel an den bekannten Symptomen: schwammige Steuerung, schlecht ausbalancierte Charaktere und ein ärgerlich niedriger Polygoncount, der auf aktueller Hardware nichts zu suchen hat.

Game Revolution (C+) (58%)

Next Dimension features interactive environments, objects that can be used as projectiles by some characters, and opportunities to knock characters off buildings, into cars, etc. However, most of this only serves to enhance the drama; identifying usable projectiles isn't very intuitive, and the damage inflicted by knocking someone off a building is surprisingly negligible.

64 Power / big.N / N Games (58 out of 100) (58%)

X-Men: Next Dimension sucht seinen spielerischen Schwerpunkt in Comboangriffen. Zu dumm, dass die Steuerung dazu kaum zu gebrauchen ist. Ungenauigkeit garniert mit etwas Schwammigkeit sind der Tod einer jeden Schlagkombination. Was bleibt? Genau, wüstes Button-Gekloppe. Dazu kommt dass sieh die Charaktere sehr unausbalanciert geben. Einige der Kämpfer verfügen über Moves, die bei geschicktem Einsatz dem Gegner kaum eine Chance lassen. Zu guter Letzt ärgert die bescheidene Grafikleistung. Ein derart niedriger Polygoncount hat auf Konsolen vom Schlage GameCube, PS2 oder Xbox nichts mehr verloren - erst recht nicht in einen Beat‘em Up!

Gaming Target (5.4 out of 10) (54%)

X-Men: Next Dimension plays similar in some aspects to a 2D fighter where you basically just have to rush in and pummel the other character into the ground before losing. The core of X-Men, gameplay wise, centers on doing hand to hand combos to deal heavy amounts of damage. The combos themselves are very basic requiring just a couple of button taps to pull off. Most of them can be learned after a couple of two round matches with each of the 24 characters.

Jeuxvideo.com (10 out of 20) (50%)

Encore une fois, les X-Men ne parviennent pas à convaincre sur console. Manque de rythme, réalisation trop limite, on les préfère largement lorsqu'ils apparaissent en 2D dans des productions plus musclées.

GameSpy (41 out of 100) (41%)

X-Men: Next Dimension borrows inspiration from Dead of Alive 3's multiple arenas, but like everything else in the game it is a pale copy of the original. While it is true that you can knock an opponent into the next arena, it is impossible to move back into the prior one, even if it makes logical sense. For example, one level takes place inside the mansion. From the main room you can knock an opponent into Xavier's office. From Xavier's office you can see back out into the main room, yet you cannot run back out there. Very odd, indeed.

Nintendo Le Magazine Officiel (4 out of 10) (40%)

Malgré de bonnes idées (système de furie, mode Histoire, aires de combat reliées entre elles), ce titre ne s'adresse qu'aux fans de mutants, ceux qui adhérent à son message de tolérance envers les X-déchets ludiques.