Activision teamed up with Exakt and Paradox to bring GameCube owners the latest iteration of their X-Men fighting game franchise. Featuring over two dozen characters from the X-Men universe and a multitude of areas to battle it out in, Next Dimension plays much like previous games in the series. Controls are limited to two punches, two kicks, a throw button, and a counter button. There are a few new additions to the series, such as the ability to launch opponents into the air and follow up with an aerial combo. Aside from that, the game does feature a nice super-move system that allows you to manage your super meters by moving your charge to different levels, so that the player can quickly perform higher level supers, or multiple lower level supers, or hold it all back until they can unleash a devastating level four super move.

Another outstanding feature of the game is the absolute interactivity of the environments. Nearly every area connects to another seamlessly. For example, Psylocke could be fighting Havoc inside of a hallway in Xavier’s mansion, toss him through a door into Xavier’s office, from which she then sends him flying through the glass window onto the courtyard outside of the mansion. The following round, Havoc might throw Psylocke into the hangar below, where he then pummels her into the nearby elevator, which takes both fighters back up into the hallway they started in. Yet another favorite is the Sentinel Invasion area, where the fight takes place on the rooftop of a building under construction. If you situate two fighters at just the right position, and hit one at the right angle, you get to watch them fly across the street into the neon Exakt logo, where they get stuck, slowly peel off and plummet a very long way down onto a car below. All of this takes place while the offender watches over the corner of the original building smiling in smug satisfaction at the carnage he created. The battle then continues on the street below, among the aftermath of the Sentinels’ invasion.

Overall, there are twenty-four areas to fight in, as well as an equal number of fighters to choose from, seven of which need to be unlocked. On top of that, a large variety of costumes can be unlocked for all fighters, ranging from classic original designs to the new ones designed for the feature films. Unlike many fighters that just force you to play through the same Arcade Mode multiple times to unlock all the secrets, Next Dimension offers a nice touch of variety by requiring the player to go through all the modes in the game to unlock everything. Of course the now requisite standard supplements to the Arcade Mode are here, such as Survival and Time Attack, but with this latest iteration of the franchise, Exakt and Activision have managed to breathe some new life into the standard fighter by offering up a Story Mode.

The Story Mode in X-Men: Next Dimension takes you through the struggle of the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants against the reborn Bastion. The story moves along through the use of various FMV cutscenes interspersed with actual fights. Between said story sequences, the player is either forced into using a certain character or choosing between a small collection of characters to battle with and further move the story along. While the story itself is very linear, and certain parts (such as the timed fights against Sentinels) can be a bit frustrating, the overall execution is good and provides for a solid addition to the standard fighting game setup.

Visually, the game is very much a mixed bag. The backdrops can be quite interesting and varied, and while not necessarily incredibly detailed, they do the job quite nicely by providing familiar locales for fans of the series. The character models on the other hand leave quite a bit to be desired, as they all are very blocky. On the plus side, the animations are all done quite well, and the frame-rate never stutters a bit. Much like the graphics, the sound has both its relative highs and lows. The voice acting is well done on the whole, especially during the FMV story sequences, but the in-game samples are limited to one-liners that repeat endlessly and get stale extremely quickly. The sound effects and music are done quite well though, as they all just seem to fit, for lack of a better word.

All things considered, Next Dimension offers quite a bit for a fighting game, but unfortunately where the game falls flat is in the basic fundamentals of what makes any game good, fighter or not. One major tenet of every good fighting game is that the roster of playable characters must be properly balanced. In the hands of a good player, any one character can beat any other. One match against the likes of Cyclops or Dark Phoenix will quickly show you that this principle was quite overlooked in the development process of this game. Another major fault is the sheer amount of bugs in the game. Small, seemingly insignificant bugs are quite common, such as the ability of various mutants to be thrown through objects instead of against them. Large, game-breaking bugs aren’t completely uncommon either though. For instance, more than once, I’ve personally had Wolverine just disappear. On another occasion, Nightcrawler performed his

"Dimensional Rage" super, wherein he transports his opponent to another dimension for a few moments, only to get stuck there for the remainder of the match, necessitating a reset of the game.

Ultimately, X-Men: Next Dimension is the perfect example of a game that the developers put a lot of thought into, but unfortunately all the time put into the extras came at the cost of solidifying the core of the game itself.