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X-Men: The Official Game

by Michael Cole - April 6, 2006, 1:48 am EDT
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PGC spends some time with the upcoming X-Men console game.

I recently had a chance to play a near-final build of X-Men: The Official Game on the GameCube at an Activision event in San Francisco. Unlike the recent X-Men Legends RPG games, XMtOG follows the more traditional platformer-and-brawler superhero formula established in the 8 and 16-bit days. While the unfinished GameCube version I played has some rough spots, it looks like the game will be a respectable addition to the X-Men franchise.

Although the game's release coincides with the third X-Men movie, XMtOG takes place between the second and third X-Men films. Besides giving Activision more freedom over the game's structure, this plot decision allows Nightcrawler (who is not in the upcoming movie) to be one of the three playable characters. Levels are character specific and mission based; players will switch between Wolverine, Ice Man and Nightcrawler stages to progress through the game. The characters also have customizable attributes: players earn and (re)distribute points to evolve or devolve genes for strength, accuracy, etc.

Nightcrawler seemed to be the crowd favorite, with the most fully developed levels and maneuvers. His introductory level resembles a small portion of Prince of Persia, where the mutant uses his acrobatic skills to jump (A) over chasms, swing on poles, and teleport to nearby, predetermined locations (R). He can also hack computers and disable devices such as bombs (B). The mutant handles well, and a blue highlighting effect on the target region mitigates the potential disorientation of teleportation. Nightcrawler's combat is fairly intuitive: B and Y punch and kick, while L switches targets. The shady hero can also teleport behind enemies for a surprise attack with X and heal himself with Z (during which time he cannot move). Nightcrawler's combat is quick and fluid, but his acrobatic abilities are his greatest assets, and hopefully his levels will focus on those elements.

After all, Wolverine is the resident brawler of the series. His action takes place in boss battles and areas with a mostly-fixed camera, which assumes a wide angle outside of boss battles and a dynamically adjusting position in 1-on-1 battles (like those in arcade fighting games). The clawed hero controls not unlike Nightcrawler in battle, sans teleportation abilities. He can perform quick jabs (B), heavy attacks (Y) and knock back attacks (X). He can also jump (A), block (R), and evade with a roll (control stick + B). Simple combinations provide for roundhouse and head butt attacks. Wolverine slowly regenerates light damage (designated with a thick health bar) at a fixed rate. If the light damage meter is depleted Wolverine sustains heavy damage (designated with a thin health bar underneath the light damage bar), which can be thought of as a maximum health bar. Outside of battle players can heal both light and heavy damage with Z. During boss battles Wolverine will also charge his fury meter. Once full, L initiates a brief fury mode in which the hero has enhanced speed and performs special moves. The system is simple, but it keeps combat approachable and engaging, especially during boss battles. Wolverine's introductory level is fairly straightforward, focusing on familiarizing the player with his attacks more than level design—it will be interesting to see how later levels keep the gameplay fresh over longer sessions.

The third character, Ice Man, "flies" on a sheet of ice he constructs under his feet, and naturally plays very differently from the other two mutants. Ice Man can accelerate (A), brake (R), and perform a 180 reverse (Z). Players can glance backwards by tapping the C stick and attack with either an Ice Beam (B) or Hail Storm (Y), an ice missile which hones in on an enemy if the player locks onto a target (L). The player may also briefly protect himself with an Ice Shield (X), which is useful when traveling through dangerous areas.

Like other air-based shooting games, Ice Man's levels come in two flavors: free-roaming and linear. The training area involves flying through rings and shooting down enemies, while the second free-roaming level I tried is a boss battle against a fire-breathing dragon destroying a nuclear power plant. In the GameCube demo these levels were moderately detailed with scenery such as power lines, trees, and the Statue of Liberty, but they were largely aesthetic, save for items Ice Man must protect from the dragon's breath. Also, while important things such as enemies are easily visible, lesser items such as trees and telephone poles sometimes appear roughly half-way from the horizon in the current build. These levels also suffer from similarly distracting-but-manageable frame rate drops.

More entertaining is a linear Ice Man level, in which he must navigate narrow tunnels with spinning metal and electrical gates in an escape sequence slightly reminiscent of Star Wars. At certain points, Ice Man has to perform tasks such as freezing cracks in coolant tanks or freezing and destroying cables to unlock a door. This structured level was more polished, demanding far more agility and providing clearer direction. It remains to be seen whether the game exploits the full extent of Ice Man's powers, revealed in the comic's more recent years.

XMtOG includes some nice graphical touches, such as sparks, rain and smoke, as well as rag doll physics, courtesy of the Havok engine. The textures on the GC build seem a little blurrier than on the PS2 version at times, but the composite video connection could have been the culprit.

X-Men: The Official Game looks promising—especially Nightcrawler's sections—and hopefully the final game will capitalize on the heroes' many talents. X-Men fans will probably want to check it out on GameCube or any of the numerous target platforms.

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Genre Action
Developer Hypnos
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: X-Men: The Official Game
Release May 16, 2006
PublisherActivision
RatingTeen
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