I've always been a big fan of X-Men Legends II.
When I first played that game, I was blown away.
Partially because it's such a solid RPG, partially because it's a good X-Men game.
I'm telling you, prior to that one, I don't think I'd ever played a good X-Men game.
And that's a shame.
X-Men never got its Turtles In Time, you know?
Fortunately, it did get its Diablo.
It's X-Men Legends, for the PlayStation 2.
Actually, a Turtles Diablo would be nice, too.
But you know, the weird thing is...as much as I like X-Men Legends II?
This was actually the first time I'd played the first one.
It was sent to us by our pal Mark from Ontario, so a big thanks to him for sending it.
He actually sent us the second one, too.
I spent the whole day playing 'em both.
And after doing so, I'll say this...if the second game is Rogue, the first game is, like...it's
like Jean Grey, you know?
Definitely not as hot as Rogue, but...
Still, definitely, pretty hot.
And although the story doesn't have the novelty factor that the second one does, teaming up
good guys and bad guys...it's still pretty good.
The game starts off with the streets of New York being torn apart by mutants, and as it
turns out...it's all over a girl.
The Brotherhood is hunting her, and it's up to the X-Men to save her.
Specifically Wolverine, at the beginning.
But from there...the plot thickens, the roster expands, the carnage increases...
And Rogue remains.
Incredibly hot.
I'm telling you.
Forget you, Mystique.
Little Miss Daddy Ignored Me.
So if you've never played this one, or the second one...X-Men Legends is a really simple
concept.
Take a straightforward action RPG, like Diablo, or Baldur's Gate, or add your favorite action
RPG here...and add the X-Men.
There's nothing all that original about it, but that's fine.
It's something familiar, done with an X-Men twist.
And done really, really well, too.
It's a game of bashing and slashing and leveling up...mutants.
And that's awesome.
Like the second game, you have a four-man team to work with.
And you can assemble your team however you want.
You can throw in more physical mutants...like Wolverine, for example.
And then complement them with mutants who work with ranged attacks.
Or at least, that's the way I like to approach it.
But that's the cool thing.
You can experiment with lots of possible combinations, and you can change it up at any checkpoint
you come across.
And for me, messing around with those combinations and seeing which characters work the best
together...that's one of the most fun things about these games.
Of course, that's the same story as the second game.
And in fact, the two games are mostly identical.
Same gameplay, same dungeon-crawling design.
Where the two differ is in the polish.
The second one is just slightly better, and more refined.
You play this one, and you can tell it's the first one, so to speak.
But what I will say is...I did enjoy its environments more.
Less brown, less caves...it just feels a bit more diverse, visually.
Even the graphics aren't as good looking, from a technical perspective.
You know, as addictive as these games are...they're even more fun with a friend.
This is an outstanding multiplayer game, and you can play with up to four players.
But again, even when you're playing alone, it's just such an addictive game.
Especially powering up your characters.
Because it's such a constant process, with such clear and impressive results...it makes
you want to get that next level even more.
So this is a hard game to put down, no matter how many people are playing.
If I had to recommend one of these games, I'd definitely go with the sequel.
It's just more polished and refined.
And to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the mansion in this game.
It's like a base of operations, but...it's mostly just empty space with some NPCs you
can talk to.
Which means it's really just a walkable menu, which annoys me.
And I've never cared much for the sound, and music in these games...but that's sort of
nitpicking, to be honest.
On the whole, this is a solid action RPG.
It might be a little bit simple for hardcore RPG fans, but especially for X-Men fans...this
is a game you can spend an entire day with and not even realize it.
This and its sequel are highly recommended.
It's X-Men Legends, for the PlayStation 2.