X Men Legends 2: Rise of the Apocalypse Review

Review Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable (PSP), PC and Nintendo GameCube

You're crazy if you aren't already bought out by the premise of this year's most anticipated co-operative game, X-Men Legends 2: Rise of the Apocalypse. Headlined by possibly the most infamous villain in the mutant universe, players will once again assume the roles of the legendary X-Men as they reluctantly join forces with the Brotherhood to combat the overwhelming forces of Apocalypse and attempt to rescue Magneto's son. Plus, X-Men Legends 2: Rise of the Apocalypse is available for just about any system you own. Your excuses are now officially void.

X-Men Legends 2: Rise of the Apocalypse

The story will progress through five chapters as you complete quests and defeat the Horsemen - one for every chapter leading up to the big guy himself. Expect a very easy learning curve, as the game focuses more on the beat-em-up aspect of gameplay while maintaining a light RPG element; a format very much similar to that of Baldur's Gate and the Champions of Norrath. amount of markers can also be found throughout the game to further help you acquire a better overall feel for the system mechanics. You'll learn relatively early in the game that you can perform powerful tag team combos with almost any two of the sixteen characters available. Also, Iceman's elemental abilities can create shortcuts or paths to easter eggs by firing an ice bridge across a canyon.

Depending on what the situation calls for, you may have to switch characters if you want to explore secret rooms and hidden chambers, but it's not necessary to beat the game. Whatever four characters you start with you can keep them in for the rest of the game without interruption. The game rewards you with added defense and stat bonuses for picking the right character and costume combination, so keep it balanced for best results.

The Good

The most notable improvement from the first game is that it requires teamwork to defeat enemies. Rather than just having everyone wail relentlessly on a bad guy until his/her life drains out, Activision has put in some effort to make fights more interesting.

One battle, in particular, takes place atop two floating blimps. Players will defend themselves from oncoming waves of paratroopers and attacks from the main boss while time bombs are being dropped on you. You'll then have to split your workload between keeping the enemies away and getting rid of the bombs that land in your perimeter, preferably by tossing them onto the other blimp.

Leveling is a lot more lenient now compared to the first game too so you can expect more time being put into beefing up your character. The Magma character's storyline that sorely cut into the multiplayer aspect of the first game has also been thrown out to make room for more interesting highlights, like kicking butt with three of your friends. But do not despair if your friends are too far away, as the game online's support feature that's been implemented takes care of that.

The new user-friendly save points are also a huge godsend, making it possible for players who die to start from the last saved point rather than start all over. The replay value has also been given some attention too as you can now access and collect new original artwork through comic books littered throughout the game or unlock characters like Iron Man and Professor Xavier.

The Bad

While the faults are few and far in between, the issue of uninspiring Multiplayer modes and frequent loading screens give enough cause for complaint and at least two Tylenol. Other than that, cosmetic flaws like the less-than-stellar voice acting (with the exception of Patrick Stewart and Lou Diamond Phillips) are hardly intrusive to the joys of linear gameplay.

Summary

Not since the nineties when coin-ops like X-Men: The Arcade Game and Alien vs. Predator were popular have I been this pleased. X-Men Legends 2: Rise of the Apocalypse is exactly the breath of fresh air that console titles have sorely needed for a while, especially with the lack of story-oriented Multiplayer games being released in the midst of the "World of Warcraft" clones, the "Counter-Strike" knock-offs and so forth.

It's not that they aren't any good, though. Matter of fact, it's quite the opposite. But nothing, and I mean nothing, can replace the experience of having just you and a couple buddies kick back and beat a seriously addicting game together. I'm already crossing my fingers for X-Men Legends 3..