X-Men, Next Generation is an interesting bit of work, and a hard game to review: judged purely as a fighting game, it's merely serviceable, not really holding it's own against the other titles on the market. But when judged as a licensed game, it fares better, and those angered with the treatment the children of the atom have received from the gaming industry should not pass this one up.
While the game's graphics leave a bit to be desired, the presentation does adhere to the comic book audience, and the story mode actually has something resembling a story, rather than just a CG movie at the end of a bunch of random battles. As to modes, this isn't VF4, but the casual fighter fan who doesn't absolutely need a kumite or tag mode will find themselves satisfied.
But, you ask, how does it play? Well, that's the thing: while you do have a special meter, and it's not as shallow as say, Kabuki Warriors, those looking primarily for a deep and engaging fighting game would be better off going with Tekken, VF4, or even DOA3. But X-Men fans who are also fans of the genre should be pleased with the progress the license has made since the atrocious Mutant Academy.
-George
Company Line
Marvel's X-Men® Engage in All-New Adventures On The PlayStation®2 Computer Entertainment System,
XboxTM Video Game System from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCubeTM
London, UK– December 20, 2001 – Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) will take mutant phenomenon to new heights with X-Men®: Next DimensionTM on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. This high impact fighting game will create epic super hero battles across expansive 3D levels with the interactive debut of several popular X-Men characters.
"The popularity of the X-Men continues to grow with each incarnation of their mutant adventures, "said Larry Goldberg, executive vice president, Activision Worldwide Studios. "The advanced technology of these next gen systems will allow us to give gamers faster action, more varied and expansive environments and characters that look better than ever before."
X-Men: Next Dimension begins when Bastion, the leader of Operation: Zero Tolerance, and his legions of Prime-Sentinels have captured Forge as part of their mission to eradicate all mutants. The race is on as Forge's team mates set out to rescue their captured comrade before Bastion can coax secrets from him that are capable of destroying all mutant-kind. In order to do this, the X-Men must ally themselves with their greatest enemies, the Brotherhood of Mutants and their cunning leader, Magneto.
Taking its inspiration from comics and film, X-Men: Next Dimension is an unprecedented, epic super hero fighting game. The game creates cinematic, titanic battles between mutants and sentinels, complete with destructible multi-tiered levels and non-arena based fighting. Advanced fighting combos, aerial combat and 8-way movement add to the excitement by bringing the battles to life like never before. X-Men: Next Dimension is being developed by Paradox Development and is scheduled for release summer 2002.
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