Hello Enthusiasts,
Today I will be reviewing the 2004 action role-playing game, X-Men Legends. This title was released on XBOX, GameCube, and PlayStation 2.
So many of you are probably familiar with the X-Men in one capacity or another, and the X-Men team in this game allows you to play as most of the characters you would want to use (as long as you're not looking to play an Angel). However, this game also includes one new member of the team, who is introduced at the beginning of the game. This mutant's name is Alison, but goes by the code-name Magma. She was actually part of the New Mutants comic book series on and off for years, but not traditionally part of the X-Men. She ends up being a focal point of the game, as it starts out with her powers revealing themselves and the Brotherhood of Mutants attempting to kidnap her for some sort of nefarious scheme. This is the starting point that allows the X-Men to begin their investigation into the Brotherhood's plans, and the rest of the game more-or-less follows that path.
This type of overhead, multi-character gameplay is a style that I really enjoy and wish more games would utilize. It's basic, but it's fun, and putting together a team of mutants that I want to use is more enjoyable than it should be. Can all of the X-Men's missions can be completed by Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Iceman? Because that seems to be how I think it would go. The system of leveling up isn't the very best, but it is solid. There is some real decision making in what to level up, because the enemies certainly get stronger as your team does, but having a variety of powers can be beneficial as well, so there is some strategy involved in selecting how to level up. The levels themselves are all pretty large, with several secrets throughout them. This means that there is a lot of opportunity to explore in hopes of discovering some new equipment, health, energy, or collectibles. Even without exploring around everywhere, this game is fairly long, and could take several long sessions of play just to get through the main story, I do recommend getting the collectibles though, especially the comic books, which have a decent amount of content from past X-Men adventures. However, getting those may not be something you're willing to do as you fight for your life, because this game can get difficult at times despite how easy it will seem at others. It's not an inconsistent difficulty, as the levels do progressively get more difficult, but there will certainly be spots that can be overwhelming. Final positive, the voice acting in the game is excellent, and there are some big-name voice actors involved. Patrick Stewart even came in to voice Professor X, which was great for the times, since this game was released after the second X-Men movie.
While there aren't a lot of complaints for this game, the negatives really distract from the game here. As much fun as the game is, it just looks absolutely terrible in terms of graphics. Not so much when you're actually playing or during the cinematic cut scenes, but in the small dialogue pieces that keep the graphics level from the in-game models are atrocious. Character's mouths don't move, some of them barely have faces, and they don't necessarily have fingers on their hands. It's bad in comparison to other games that came out at the same time even, so it is definitely not a product of the times, it just doesn't look like that's where any focus went during development. I don't really recall a lot of the conversations from these parts, because the character models are just so bad. Another negative to this game are the missions in the X-mansion. Granted, they do get a little more interesting as the game goes on, but every time you're in there it's a whole lot of searching through the mansion, looking for various characters to talk to, and it's pretty tedious. By the time you get back to the action, you are craving to walk out of that school. Also, the AI on your team can leave something to be desired, and I've even had characters walk off a ledge and die before, so you're in for a less enjoyable experience if you aren't utilizing the multiplayer option.
Overall, this is a fun game that I would recommend to a lot of folks, though not everyone. Superhero fans, retro gamers, and those who like this style of gaming will generally enjoy this, but the drawbacks to the game can be pretty off-putting. The game did well enough to get a sequel, which I may review in the future, but it doesn't hold up as well as some other titles from the same generation (or even the same year). Pick it up if you're interested, it is fun, but certainly not for everyone.
I give X-Men Legends a 6 out of 10.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
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