X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse

One comic book franchise that has captivated many people thoughtout the years has been the X-Men. This franchise has spurred on at least two animated T.V. shows, games, cards, and various other items. Last year, X-Men Legends hit the gaming world and many people fell in love with this game instantly. Not only did you get to control some of the most powerful mutants known to mankind, but it also added a new RPG twist to the game. It was only a matter of time before a sequel would be produced and now that it is finally upon us is it as good as the original? Read on to find out!

During a routine exercise with Cerebro, Professors X detects some strange things going on in Egypt. He wasn’t able to go check it out due to his plans to attend the International Convention for Mutant Awareness, but he sends his trusted X-Men to find out the source of the problem. While the X-Men where down in Egypt they got a distress call from Beast saying that Professor X and Polaris have been kidnapped. Once they rescued Professor X, the X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood team up to defeat an evil that is worst then anything they can image, one of the very first mutants, Apocalypse.

If you have played the previous game, or any of the Baldur's Gate games, you will know exactly what to expect from this game. If this is your first time playing then here is a quick rundown of what you will do while you are playing it. Players will be sent on a variety of missions. Before they go into a mission they will have to choose which teammates they want to take with them; it is always good to take a mix of melee- and projectile-based mutants. After they finish that and are taken to their destination, they will have to fight hordes of enemies, using their special powers to do so in many cases. As you progress you will find upgrades that you can apply to each of the characters, including new powers. After you finish each level you will repeat the process.

Since this game has four players in each team that means that three of them will be controlled by the computer AI. Even though you might cringe at such a thing, the AI in this game is pretty good. Also if the character you choose is low on health, or you need to use a different character to get past a puzzle, all you have to do is just switch to the other character on the fly. Switching the characters is also good, especially when dividing up the upgrades you find hidden throughout the level so you don’t create one super character but neglect the others.

Picking your characters in this game is also something to be taken into consideration before each mission. Certain characters work better together than with others. If you pick the right combination you can get a boost in defense, offense, and other things. Other than that players will also get to switch costumes on each of the characters as well, so you are not constantly stuck with seeing the same costumes on all of the characters. While this is not a huge thing, it is really nice to see that the developers added in all of the extras to keep fans of the game happy.

What I really liked about this game is the co-op modes. You can take up to four people and have at it throughout the different missions that you can participate in during the single-player game. This makes the game a lot more challenging and fun, because now you will be stuck with the character you chose in the beginning of the game, plus now you and your friends can form some really nice strategies to defeat the enemies that you will have to face. This also really helps extend the game’s replay value tenfold.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is a really good looking game. Each of the characters that you will play as have their own distinct look and feel to them, and are highly detailed. What is really nice that you will get to play through a variety of different environments all throughout the entire game, and many places are easily recognizable if you have every read any of the comic books. Another thing that makes this game a lot of fun to play is all of the destructible elements that players will find all throughout the game. For instance in the beginning of the game you can throw barrels at the walls and chunks of the wall will explode and be destroyed. It is a nice visual touch to the game, especially since the X-Men comics are not known for their peaceful ways - hence they always leave a path of destructions when they are in the midst of a battle.

The thing that makes this game sound so good is the talented voice actors that portray each of the characters. Just like in the movies, Patrick Stewart reprises his role as Professor X, and he makes the Professor seemingly come alive. Other voice actors do the same for each of the characters that they portray. The music for this game is nice, but easily forgettable. The sound effects are the same as well; they are very generic from the different explosions to the footsteps you will hear as you go from place to place in the game.

If you have a broadband connection you will be able to play online with up to four people. In the online mode you will be able to play a co-op from the beginning of the game to the end, play in the Danger Room, and even skirmish modes. These modes play really well online and I rarely ever noticed any lag while playing online, and that is a really good thing.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is rated T for Teen. It requires up to 335 KB on your memory card and can play up to 1-4 players. To play online (with up to four people) you must have the Network card and broadband or dialup.

Gameplay: 8.6
If you have ever played Baldur's Gate then you will know what to expect from this game. Basically players will go from area to area, defeating enemies with their powers, and as the game progresses new powers will be available for the characters to use. I really liked that you can play with both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants; these two teams make for a great combination.

Graphics: 8.7
The wide variety of locations is much appreciated. The character models for this game look really good as well.

Sound: 8.8
The voiceovers are excellent for X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse . The music isn’t half bad either.

Difficulty: Medium
This game plays like your typical “dungeon crawl” (think Baldur's Gate). The farther you play the harder the enemies will become.

Concept: 8.7
I really liked how players will be able to play with a variety of characters in this game and get to use their superpowers as well. This game really helps bring the comic to life for some players.

Multiplayer: 8.9
The multiplayer for this game is really good. I never ran into any serious lag issues while playing online.

Overall: 9.1
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is a really great game for the PlayStation 2. If you love the X-Men comics or dungeon crawls then I highly suggest that you pick up this game because you will not regret it.