X-Men: Legends Review

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X-Men: Legends

Review by Old RoosterMarch 2005

“Alone, You Are Mighty. Together, You Are Legends” —Professor Charles Xavier

X-Men: Legends is an action/RPG (with a strong emphasis on “action”), set in the X-Men comic universe, that offers an entertaining, if not compelling, game experience.  Although not a particular fan of the comics, I found this outing of Xavier’s gang a good deal of varied fun. Devotees of the series and films will absolutely have to have this very well-produced game.

Legends comes to us from Raven Software, a developer that rarely, if ever, misses with its products. They first came to my attention with the outstanding Heretic II, one of the very best third-person PC action games, and one that demonstrated how to employ successfully a following, over-the-shoulder camera—a skill that had been largely fumbled by developers until that time.  In succeeding years, Raven has given us the Star Trek: Elite Force series, Jedi Outcast and Academy, and the Soldier of Fortune shooters. So it’s not surprising that this talented group from Wisconsin used their long, cold winters so inventively and with such a sense of high regard for the subject matter. Clearly, they enjoyed not only creating but also playing Legends!

“The Growing Mutant Menace” —News Release

Something bad is happening in the City. It may involve the government and clearly involves the dreaded Brotherhood. The opening cinematic dramatically and colorfully offers the almost abduction of an “innocent” young girl—Alison (later to be known as Magma)—by the Sentinels. This is interrupted by Mystique and the Blob, with Wolverine trying to get in on the act, but unsuccessfully. The first part of the game, largely a tutorial level, consists of Wolverine tracking the Blob and Alison through the streets of the City.

X-Men: Legends starts simply, with you in control of one character, but very soon introduces Cyclops as your associate. Indeed, during the course of the game, you can play 15 different disciples of Xavier, each with distinctive skills and “talents.”  The adventure will take you through 25 levels—from City streets to sewers, forests, the Xavier Institute, even an asteroid.

The game plays in much the same vein as Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. In many respects, it’s a beat-’em-up, with dozens of enemies; yet it also offers leveling and the ability to increase the skills of your heroes through experience. Interestingly, your entire entourage benefits from, for example, the success of Wolverine, reflecting increases in health, defensive skills, attack level.

“Hurry, I Need Help over Here” —Wolverine

The “hook,” or primary distinction, of Legends is the ability to employ a team of up to four heroes. This can be done by a single player, who manages one at a time, with the A.I. controlling the other three (sometimes not too effectively). Just hit the “call allies” button, and they’ll come running (maybe). Or at any point after Wolverine’s friends come into the game, my son can plug his controller into the Cube, and we each can manage a character of our choice. Well, it wouldn’t have to be my son; it could be yours, or a friend, spouse or neighbor mutant.

Once a selection of Super Heroes has been unlocked (not far into the game), you can create your distinctive team at any Xtraction Point, which also doubles as a save point. Thankfully, these are sprinkled fairly liberally throughout the game. Once you’re well into the adventure, you can visit Xavier’s Mansion for training, sparring and skirmishing; talk to fellow X-Men, tour the grounds.  There are some unlockables, including classic comic covers and flashbacks, which may bring a tear to the eye of dedicated fans.

If you can manage to hold down two buttons at a time, and your Super Heroes have leveled up a bit (not too hard to manage), the fighting fun really excels, with three ranges of Mutant Power capped off by Xtreme Power. To give examples: Wolverine begins with a Brutal Slash, moves through the skills of Eviscerate and Claw Frenzy, all the way to Unstoppable Rage at level 25. Iceman starts with Freeze Blast, then moves on to Ice Spikes and the ultimate Ice Forge. Rogue, a delightful Mississippi belle, begins with Southern Strike, then on to Bullet Proof and Invulnerability. You get the idea: each of the 15 has a distinctive “quality” with increases that are fitting for his or her peculiar orientation. You’ll also enjoy the Propeller Lash of Beast, the Taunt of Jubilee, the Kinetic Mastery of Gambit, and, of course, the Optic Rage of Cyclops.

Although it is likely possible to complete the missions with only two Super Heroes, especially if they are Wolverine plus Iceman or Cyclops, the real entertainment comes with mixing and matching, even replaying.

A fine heads-up display (HUD) is presented, with clear indicators of health, energy, and experience, the level indicator of your currently selected Hero, location(s) of enemies, even an invaluable automap.

“Mind If I Cut In?” —Wolverine

As you might imagine, coming at the bad guys with multiple forms of attack is typically very effective and always fun to watch. Once your team is selected and in operation, it’s easy to switch among them, directing Iceman, for example, to do a little freezing, thereby allowing time for Wolverine to do his thing. This works even better, of course, with two or more players.

All is not perfect with gameplay mechanics. Primary problems lie, ironically, given the developer’s heritage, with the camera. Put simply, you can sometimes get locked in a corner, sometimes have problems proceeding in narrow places, sometimes not see what’s coming at you. This is only occasional, and a minor, not major concern.  Another difficulty comes with teammate A.I. They’re not always fully reliable, will not always come when called, will not always target what they’re supposed to, will sometimes wander off. Again, this is only an occasional glitch.

For the most part, even the scenery is destructible, and you’ll find some bonuses in trash cans, as well as having fun knocking down walls. Which brings us to the graphics. They’re terrific. Cel shading of the characters is used against very colorful backgrounds presented in a three-quarters, top-down view. I always amazed at how well the Cube can do, and this is certainly an example of the Cube at its best. Further, the display of powers is beautifully done, with no discernable slowdown in gameplay, even during the most hectic of melee fighting.

And, of course, I can’t leave out Patrick Stewart. Not only does he provide his distinctive voice to Xavier, but also the script is very well done, in classic comic book fashion, with many of the kind of comments Wolverine made just above.

Teaming Up

X-Men: Legends is a varied and entertaining romp through an involving storyline in the X-Men universe. Fans of the comics and films will find this well-done game a must-have. For others, like me, it’s still a good deal of shallow fun if you enjoy fighting with multiple kinds of weapons.

The game is more action than RPG, but it does offer RPG-like skill building. Graphics are outstanding, as are voice acting, the script and the variety present in level design. The primary appeal of Legends comes with the creation and implementation of Super Hero teams, managed through either A.I. or a fellow player. This mix-and-match feature, with up to 15 Mutants, offers multiple paths to problem solving, creative ways to freeze, burn, cut and otherwise foil your foes, and a good deal of potential replayability.

Finally, there are a number of extras and unlockables within the game that X-Men fans, particularly, will find meaningful. In that regard, and partly because I got stuck a couple of times early on, I purchased and would strongly suggest the Brady Games strategy guide. It not only goes well beyond the manual with Hero descriptions, but also provides a detailed walkthrough and locations of extras you might have missed your first time through.

All in all, this is a highly recommendable game, and Raven is to be commended for yet another work of gaming art.

What I Liked Most About X-Men: Legends

  • Up to 15 playable and interchangeable characters;
  • An entertaining story, well-told in comic book fashion;
  • Outstanding graphics, both Heroes and settings;
  • Excellent voice acting, particularly from Patrick Stewart;
  • The ability to introduce another player any time in the game.

Concerns I Had About the Game

  • Sidekick A.I. and pathfinding a sometimes problem;
  • Camera angles occasionally a concern. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Raven Software Publisher: ActivisionRelease Date: September 2004

Available for: Game CubeXboxPlayStation 2 

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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