X-Men: Legends

Written by D'Marcus Beatty  on April 21, 2004

First Impressions: Marvel's Merry Mutant Make RPG Mayhem

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The X-Men are probably one of the hottest comic book franchises out now. Not quite as recognizable as maybe Spiderman, Superman, or Batman, the X-Men are still making themselves known through their successful movies, cartoons, books, and toys. Activision is seeking to further the X-Men exposure, taking their team dynamic and building the long-awaited RPG around their universe.

For those uninitiated, the X-Men are a new minority, called mutants, which are humans born with special powers or abilities. The mutations run the gamut from psychic abilities to superhuman strength to disfigurations, such as being born with canine features. The world fears mutants, since their assorted powers makes them dangerous, and unlike the more loved and accepted heroes such as the Fantastic Four or the Avengers, the X-Men face mistrust and hatred regularly, even as they try to serve and save the same people that vilify them. This makes the comic refreshing and interesting as they try to tackle such issues as racism and genocide. These innovative concepts, alongside the fact that the X-Men are just generally appealing and well-rounded characters, have been the reason that the X-Men have stayed on the top of the charts for years.

X-Men: Legends will bring the newly revamped Ultimate X-Men to all consoles at the end of this year in an RPG format suited to their world. Legends will offer the ability to choose from a roster of fifteen characters, including favorites such as the ever-popular and enigmatic Wolverine, the sexy Marvel Girl, the beautiful Storm, or the super-strong Colossus. Gamers will be able to form a team of up to four characters and take them on assorted missions, which will bring teamwork into play. For example, the combination of Wolverine and Colossus opens the possibility for the "fastball special", a famous attack where Colossus launches the feral Wolverine into a pack of foes.

The team size changes between two and four man teams, and allows the gamer to switch between their favorite mutants on the fly. The computer controls the other characters for you, although players do have the multiplayer option of allowing friends to join in the game and control the other characters.

As the characters progress through the game, they earn experience points which can be used to power up different attributes and to strengthen the characters' mutant abilities. Gamers will be able to power up their strength, speed, body, or mind, or use the experience points to evolve their specific mutants' power. There is also a bit of strategy involved in choosing your team before each mission, as you may choose a small, sneaky character like Wolverine for missions that require stealth, or Colossus for a missions that need strength and power.

The game already looks great, with a cel-shaded look that is perfect for translating the comic characters to the video game medium. Each character is instantly recognizable and well animated.