By Web site Editor Admin

Hack n’ Slash dungeon crawlers seem to be a dime a dozen these days and frankly, if you’ve played one, you’ve played them all. You run around castles and dungeons, cut monsters, cast spells, pick up items, kill boss, rinse and repeat. They are all the same. So this begs the question: Why is X-Men Legends II so damned fun?

In X-Men Legends II you take control of a team of four mutants and you set out on missions to stop the nefarious Apocalypse from taking over the world. There are some requisite twists and turns along the way, as well as a few genuine surprises (unless you are a serious fan of the comic books). The story is certainly passable and even engaging at points, but falters from time to time as well.

Fortunately, the gameplay never falters. You are doing the same thing you do in every hack n’ slash, but there are some fundamental differences that add a lot more to this game than the more run of the mill games, like Champions Of Norrath. The most obvious difference is that this is an established and varied universe. Rather than fighting 20 thousand goblins and knights, you fight against alien insects, religious fanatics, giant robots, failed experiments and plenty of other unique enemies.

Secondly, the game has an established environment as well. Rather than crawling through the nondescript castles of every other hack n’ slash game out there, you battle elite soldiers on the fictional island of Genosha, then it’s off to a thawed out part of Alaska to battle dinosaurs and giant insects. It doesn’t always make sense how you get to point B from point A, but the varied environments really go a long way toward making you feel like you are making progress. The different environments are also just aesthetically pleasing. Playing a game like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance can grate on your eyes. You go from castle to castle, maybe the occasional burnt forest, but it’s all blacks, grays and browns. It’s great to see a game like this introduce more vibrant and lush areas.

Finally, this game is ahead of the pack because it’s the X-Men. Even better than that, they are teaming up with the bad guys! Who wants to use a generic barbarian when you can use Cyclops, or Colossus, or Magneto? This also opens up some interesting and fun powers that you don’t normally see in games like this. For instance, when you are fighting in the streets of New York, Magneto can use his power to slam a car on top of an opponent. Things like that are fun and are what make this game such a blast to play. There are about 100 other powers that will elicit a grin the first, or even the 100th time you invoke them.

The game also has a fantastic party system and allows you to swap out mutants at nearly any save point. You have 16 mutants at your disposal, not counting hidden ones and everyone gets experience, regardless of who’s in your party, so no one ever falls too far behind. Being able to swap out party members almost at will seems like a small thing, but it really adds a level of depth and keeps the proceedings from getting too monotonous. Playing as Nightcrawler, who teleports around with twin katana, is an entirely different experience from playing as Scarlet Witch, who is far better suited at ranged combat.

Make no mistake, this game is absolutely meant to be played with others. The more people you have to play with, the better time you’ll have. The single player mode is fun, but the AI can be touchy and being able to coordinate attacks and strategies with other players can’t be beat. Fortunately, Raven Software was thoughtful enough to include an online mode, so that you can hook up with three other people online and have a blast.

All in all, X-Men Legends II is a fantastic game. It brings a bit more to the genre, and it deftly avoids the trap most of these games fall into; letting things get stale. While the new environments and enemies add a lot to the game, the biggest draw is simply the fun factor. It just feels great to get three friends together and play. The multitude of characters and mutant skills will keep you from getting bored and the game remains fun and engaging straight to the end. If you are adamant against hack n’ slash games, this probably won’t change your mind, but if you ever spent any time in Diablo or just like the X-Men, there’s no way for you to turn this down.

Final Grade: B+

X-Men Legends II is an absolute blast and does a great job of keeping the player involved. (Image courtesy amazon.com)