X-Men: Legends Preview

“This is the first time that players get to customize a team of X-Men in an epic RPG,” stated Blaine Christine, producer of the Xbox release by Activision and Raven Software. “It’s a super-heroic epic adventure.”

X-Men: Legends is the name of the title and the game has tried to take the grandiose themes of the comic books and introduced it into team-based RPG action with a team of four X-Men taking on the Brotherhood of Mutants.

The Brotherhood is after a girl named Allyson, a mutant who falls under the care of the X-Men and Professor Xavier (voiced by Patrick Stewart).  As players progress through the game they will gain new super powers. There are 15 playable characters and part of the charm of the game is to use the mission load screen and the extraction points to put together the right team to battle the villains the game the game throws at you.

“The game is all about teamplay,” Christine said, “so we constantly try to enforce that dynamic.”

Each X-Man has four stats – strike, agility, body and focus) – as well an AI dynamic. You can set them to an aggressive attacking style and they will auto target and attack nearby enemies, for example. Each member of the X-Men has four super powers and a variety of other passive powers. You can upgrade equipment and the game does have a monetary system in it. The game does have a robust stat system which allows for some customization of the characters.

One of the interesting elements of this title is that there are multiple paths through the levels. If you encounter a sealed door, one option may be to have Cyclops try to cut a hole through the wall. Or you could have Nightcrawler teleport through to the other side, pop around and dispose of the enemies and then trip the switch to open the door.

One nice feature is that the multiplayer aspect allows another player to join even in the midst of a single-player adventure. All that is required is for the second player to plug in a joystick and they are immediately given control of two of the four-member teams. There is also a four-player skirmish mode.

And should you require the talents of a particular member of the X-Men for a mission, expect Professor X to “strongly” recommend you take along that member.

As for the environments … “You’ll see many, many locations that fans are familiar with during the course of our adventure.”

Not only will you see a wide range of the X-Men, but key members of the Brotherhood are also involved, including the ominous Blob, and some surprising bosses.

The look of the game is somewhat akin to Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, but the environments, special effects and characters will thoroughly distinguish this title.

For those who are fans of the Marvel comics, for those who are fans of team-based RPGs, X-Men: Legends is a dynamic action/adventure title you will want to check out.