X-Men Legends
Throughout all these years, X-Men has always remained my favorite Marvel franchise. I loved the comics, I avidly watched the cartoons, and I was blown away by the two feature films. So, when I saw that the game was going for the low asking price of twenty bucks, it was no surprise that I finally decided to purchase it. What I got was a game definitely worth the small price I paid, and in fact, worth even more.

Graphics:

The graphics within the game fall into two different categories: in-game graphics and cutscene graphics. The in-game graphics have a unique look to them, where certain things (such as the characters) are cel-shaded and others are not. While playing the game, everything runs fluidly and the characters/environments look good. At a closer look, you can clearly see that character models aren’t exactly the most detailed, and a majority of character faces are very non-descript. As for the cutscene graphics, you won’t see any cel-shading here. The graphical power used in the cutscenes are some of the best I’ve seen on the Nintendo Gamecube, but when compared to heavy hitting titles like Resident Evil 4, they just don’t compare. Don’t get me wrong though, the graphics used during the cutscenes are excellent, and they wonderfully tell the pivotal story moments in the game.

Sound and Music:

The sound and music definitely varies in quality depending on what part of the game you’re in. When playing the game and fighting enemies, the music tends to be simple and lame generic music. During cutscenes, the music tends to be a little bit more epic, but as with the in-game music, there isn’t anything really memorable here. As for the voice acting, I genuinely liked most of it. With the exception of a few character voices that made me want to shoot a small puppy, the voice actors tended to do a pretty good job in capturing the personalities of each character. The game’s sound effects were also nicely done, and as we all know, it never gets old hearing Wolverine’s claws come out.

Storyline:

The storyline of X-Men Legends follows multiple different pathways. In the opening of the game, the X-Men rescue a young girl named Allison Crestmere from the hands of the Brotherhood of Mutants. The girl, who has the ability to control rock and magma, decides to stay at the X-Mansion and eventually becomes an X-Man. This is where the story starts to pick up a bit. There are basically two main villains in the game: Magneto and General Kincaid. Magneto, as we all know, believes that mutants are superior to humans and should be in control of the planet. General Kincaid believes that mutants are a threat to the human race and that they must all be destroyed. Throughout the game, the X-Men go on different missions that either involve tracking down Magneto and the Brotherhood or investigating into what General Kincaid is doing behind closed doors. Both of these different storyline pathways converge in the final level on Asteroid M, where you decide the fate of Magneto and the dubious General Kincaid. The epic story was penned by a group of comic creators who know the X-Men universe very well, and it is most definitely worthy of the X-Men name.

Gameplay:

The gameplay mechanics of X-Men Legends are basically that of RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Champions of Norrath. You’ll go from area to area fighting off baddies with a customizable group of four X-Men. Everything takes place in real time, and you’ll do combat with the A and B buttons. Each character also has a set of four special moves that they are able to do, although some have to be unlocked by reaching a certain level. These special moves require the use of energy, which you can either manually heal or just wait for it to regenerate. Like any other RPG, you gain experience points from defeating enemies and eventually level up. Once leveled up, you can use the newly gained points to increase any aspect of your characters that you wish. There is also an auto-increase feature that allows the game to automatically increase a certain aspect. For more balanced characters, the auto-increase feature is definitely the way to go. You’ll also be able to find, and eventually buy, special items that you can equip to help increase specific aspects of your characters. There are also a small amount of puzzles in the game, if you can even consider them that. These “puzzles” are more like obstacles that you have to overcome using a certain X-Man. For example, say you have to get from one side of a cliff to another. On the side you are on, there will be a little X icon, indicating you need a certain X-Man to continue. Well, the solution would be to get Iceman and create an ice-bridge to cross the ravine. In fact, you’ll have to create ice-bridges a lot, which is why I ended up making Iceman a permanent part of my team. Now then, onto the X-Men themselves. Though you only start off with a few characters to begin with, by the end of the game you’ll have to ability to choose from around fifteen different X-Men to play as. Only four X-Men are allowed on your team at once, and you won’t be able to change your group until you’ve reached another save point. Even if you don’t use a certain character, they still level up, but just slower than those who you do use. Due to this, I tended to use the same four characters as a permanent team, only switching them out when I needed someone else to get past an obstacle. For the most part, the game progressed smoothly. My only real complaint was that, every once in awhile, you’d have to wander the X-Mansion as Allison. These missions were there basically to help progress the story along, and I don’t think the game would work without them, but they do become a hassle after awhile. Also, as an added bonus, the game is multiplayer. At any point in time, your friends can just press start on their controller and join into the game. Up to three friends can join, which would mean your entire team is human controlled. An entirely human controlled team would be great too, because the computer AI isn’t that intelligent. Your teammates will stand in your way often, and it definitely gets annoying after happening for the thousandth time. Other than a few AI problems and lame X-Mansion levels, the gameplay definitely succeeds.

Controls:

The control setup in X-Men Legends is actually very easy to get used to. A and B serve as your primary and secondary attacks, and you’ll be able to pull of stronger moves if you can figure out which combinations to press those two buttons in. Your character has the ability to jump with the Y button, and if you’re playing single player, you can switch between the X-Men on your team at any time by pressing in their direction on the D-pad. Special moves can be pulled off by holding down the R button, and then pressing either A, B, Y, or X, depending on which move you want to use. Last but not least, the Z button is used for healing your characters, or if you hold down X and then press Z, you’ll heal your energy. The control setup is pretty basic, and within the first ten minutes of the game you’ll already know the ins and outs of it.

Replayability:

In terms of replay, X-Men Legends is mediocre at best. The initial game will last at least 20-30 hours, but once you’ve completed it, there really isn’t much to do. The game saves at the final boss, so you aren’t given the ability to go back and hunt down any small unlockables (such as comic books and concept art) that you missed along the way. Once you beat the game, you unlock special costumes for certain characters, but these costumes are only accessible if you start a new game. The costumes themselves don’t serve any purpose, and are just there for amusement alone. The game also has a special danger room area that you can fight against enemies or your friends with. While this does serve as a small amount of extra replay value, it’s highly doubtful that this sparring mode will hold your interest for too long. The best way to get more enjoyment out of the game is to simply play through it again. It was a blast going through the game the first time, and if you can get a few friends to join in with you, it’ll be a blast the second or third time as well.

Overall, X-Men Legends is one of the best comic book games ever made. It’s very faithful to the source material, the gameplay mechanics are excellent, and the story should please any fan of the X-Men universe. With the exception of a few small flaws, X-Men Legends is a very solid gaming experience that is definitely worth your time and money.
Graphics: 8.0/10
Sound and Music: 8.0/10
Storyline: 9.5/10
Gameplay: 9.0/10
Controls: 9.5/10
Replayability: 7.5/10
9.0
Out of 10
Out of 10