The first X-Men Legends proved to be one of the greatest superhero RPG style games of all time. It was a little bit of Baldur’s Gate action fused with the Marvel universe and offered a unique experience that fans of the brand absolutely adored. The sequel offers up more of the same action with something that X-fans everywhere will absolutely love; the ability to team up with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and play as many characters who would be foes. When Apocalypse rises and threatens the world, the two teams join forces because “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

Stepping into the shoes of Magneto and company is surreal, especially when you consider that fact that in total, X-Men Legends 2 offers up sixteen total playable characters. Just like its predecessor, this game is a whirlwind tour of the Marvel license and is arguably one of the most quintessential to the comic geek. The only problem is that while the atmosphere may be better than ever, the gameplay is essentially the same as it was a year ago.

Gameplay:

In case you did happen to miss it, X-Men Legends is an action RPG series that is true to the very definition of the genre. There is a ton of dungeon exploration, enemies to defeat, items to find, and experience to gain. Unlike other dungeon crawlers though, you don’t have to do it alone, and this series gives you four playable characters from the X-Men universe. That’s really where most of the fun for this series comes from and now that Rise of Apocalypse adds the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to the playable roster, things get much more interesting.

Creating your dream team of X-Men is a hoot, but the real addiction comes once you start leveling them up and gaining more mutant abilities and power. Transforming your characters into powerhouse mutants can be a little tedious, but very rewarding. My advice is to pick who you enjoy using early on and playing as them throughout the game. That way everyone is on the same page in terms of power and you don’t have to worry about one of your favorites lagging behind.

If you have ever played Diablo or Baldur’s Gate, then you should expect a certain level of button mashing and tedium. Sure everybody has their own special powers and different attacks, but fighting basically boils down to constantly pressing the same attack button. The nice feature here though (just like in the first Legends game) is that you can change characters on the fly. The AI controls the rest of your team and you can issue some subtle commands, but for the most part you’ll be doing all of the work so it’s important that you are adept in controlling every character in your party.

Since there is an RPG element to Legends, then it should be fairly obvious that you’re going to be doing a lot of experience mongering. In the first game you could power up skills to a limited degree, but could also tinker with base stats and the like. The sequel is pretty much the same, though the skill set adjustment as been upped a tad. There is also a feature for leveling up automatically if you don’t feel like micromanaging your whole entourage.

There are countless enemies and boss fights aplenty, but a real draw for the comic geek in you will be the highly destructible environments. Your surroundings are littered with things that explode, walls that crumble and stuff to pick up and hurl. It’s great fun but even better when you can use mutant abilities like flying to reach new areas that other mutants may not be able to. Characters also keep up with you a little better in the sequel too so you don’t have to constantly have to switch to them or backtrack to see where they are. The camera system has also been improved, though it still sometimes pans out a little too far for my personal taste.

One of the newest attractions to the gameplay is undoubtedly the inclusion of multiplayer for those of you with buddies over or an online connection. Having the ability to team up with up to three other people is fantastic, but really the game offers its greatest experience to the single player. In the end there are many new improvements over the original Legends, but I can’t help but feel this game is just another chapter instead of a sequel. There are some nice touches and all, but nothing that moves the series forward very far. Well, aside from the multiplayer at least.

Graphics:

Cel-shaded comic characters look great from a distance, but upon closer inspection there is a distinct lack of detail. The Marvel universe is represented well with this style and every character model is easily identifiable to fans of the comics. The environments are pretty nondescript, though there are a few that are reminiscent of the first game or the comic book. Cut scenes that use the in game graphics leave a lot to be desired, but the ones that feature newly done and spiffy CGI will floor you. Overall, the game’s visuals are more effective than they are pretty, but it’s not ugly by any standard.

Audio:

Just like the graphics, the audio is effective but not all that impressive. Much of the music is atmospheric with very little emphasis on drama, but once the action picks up, so do the tunes. The sound effects are a mixed bag and so is the voice acting. It’s great having Patrick Stewart provide the voice for Professor X, and some of the other actors do a fine job, but there are some performances that are just appalling. The quality is very good even though the content is pretty hit or miss.

Conclusion:

Rise of Apocalypse is just about as addictive and enjoyable as an action RPG based on a comic book license can get. There is a lot to do and the gameplay will keep you coming back for more until you beat the game or if you just want to power up some mutants. There aren’t enough innovations to truly call this game a sequel, but it is faithful enough to the original that it warrants a serious look. The graphics and sound are of good quality, though there are some questionable moments with the content. If you played the first one or love the X-Men and Action RPGs then you owe it to yourself to play this game. Recommended