Oct 20 2005 X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse Review
PSP Game Review | Action
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Summary: Packed with features
Reviewed by LordByron
96
Never having played X-Men Legends, I wasn't sure what to expect from this game when I picked it up, but judging from what I've seen so far I should have.

The attention to detail, the quality of the voice-acting and the sheer number of playable characters (two of which do not appear in the console version) is uncanny. Not only are the graphics stunning, but they run at a smooth frame rate. No two characters sound the same, even if they are similar [e.g: Grizzly and Sabretooth]. As far as character selection goes, the opportunity to throw Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Magneto and Juggernaut (four characters out of ten or so available at the outset) together is enough to have me hooked.

The gameplay is simple, with buttons for normal and strong attacks, jumping and throwing. The d-pad, when pressed in conjunction with the L button allows you to swtich characters on-the-fly. There are other buttons to learn, but the presence of quick-tips makes learning them all simple. The RPG elements most resemble Diablo, but also have elements of Untold Legends thrown in (minus the item hoarding of both games).

For the sake of simplicity, I'm not going to catalog all the great features of this game. I'm just floored by the attention to detail (in terms of graphics and source material). My only gripe is load times. In reality, they aren't very long. But when you know waiting for that pause menu or character management screen is the only thing keeping you from smashing up soldiers with Colossus in Genosha, it seems twice as long. X-traordinary fun you shouldn't miss.

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Comments

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10/20/05 xaymaca2020
Great review. I'm torn between this and getting Shadow of the Collosus for the PS2 this week.
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10/20/05 yoyo_pete
Get shadow...I got the demo and it's amazing. Like jaw dropping "WOW!"..
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10/20/05 rkelez
shadow period.
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10/20/05 sklnathaniel
yeah shadow its amazing!
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10/20/05 LordByron
Haven't played Shadow, but I thought I'd update my impression of Legends. The load times aren't as long as I made them out to be. Teleporting around with Nightcrawler is a riot and as easy as two quick taps of the triangle button. You can also lift items and enemies and chuck 'em using the square button: nice! Nothing like tossing some tossing some poor sucker into a bottomless pit. The A.I. can level you up automatically and camera shifts are simple, utilizing the L and face buttons.

I just discovered that assembling the X-Men and Brotherhood into groups that appear in the comic books conveys a bonus to the entire team. For example, putting Jean Grey, Cyclops, Gambit and Rogue on a team will flash "Double Date!" on the screen and give a +20 hp per kill bonus. Similarly, combining Toad, Magneto, Juggernaut and Scarlet Witch will flash "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" on the screen and convey a +15% exp bonus. Neat!

Hope that's helpful. Someone else get this incredible game so I can start playing online -- as of last night there were no games on the East or West coast servers.
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10/20/05 Tbone60
Iam loving this game alot!! a must buy
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10/20/05 mrsid
Just picked it up last night. At first I didn't think the game was that deep...and then after an hour of experimentation I realized how complex this game was. In short you have the ability to tweak several aspects of each character from skills/abilities to gear. You just have to earn them of course. A big eye-opener for me was finishing the intro/tutorial level with only 2 of my party alive. Shortly after I learned that they were dead and gone forever! Restart! heheh. Actually using individual mutant powers is now providing a lot of tactical possibilities. I'm looking forward to playing every character to find out who suits whatever the hell my playing style is.

Lord Byron, thanks for the heads up on "classic" team-ups. I'll try that tonight!

Online I managed to find 1 game... in campaign mode. Going to unlock my Danger Room missions so hopefully I can play skirmish type battles online. If you see Shankar in one of the online lobbies, that's me!
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Recent Reviews: Hori Portable Pouch Style

10/20/05 LordByron
mrsid: sweet, I'll be the guy chaperoning my X-Men's "double date." Same name I have here.
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10/20/05 overachiever
Cool. Thanks for the good review. I love action RPG type games, but I think I'll hold off until Kingdom of Paradise. Plus, I really dont like X-men that much.
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10/21/05 Krops
SHADOW FOR SURE!!!! What where you thinking...
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Recent Reviews: XB Connect, The Con

10/21/05 Krops
Might give this game a try though look kinda cool... (charater die for real= NIIIIICCCCEEE)
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Recent Reviews: XB Connect, The Con

10/21/05 sieger
Are you sure they die? I don't have the PSP version but in the PC version you just go to an extraction point > Change Team. From there you can revive your dead team mate.
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Recent Reviews: iPSP, PSPWare for Windows

10/21/05 LordByron
sieger said: "Are you sure they die? I don't have the PSP version but in the PC version you just go to an extraction point > Change Team. From there you can revive your dead team mate."


Yep. I thought the same thing when I accidentally teleported Nightcrawler into a chasm. At the Xtraction point you can revive them for a cost. I'd love to play Shadow (and ICO), but alas I only have a PSP and a PSOne. Maybe I'll pick up a PSTwo after the next Playstation comes out.
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10/21/05 sieger
Yeah, do you know if it costs any skill points/experience points to revive the player?
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Recent Reviews: iPSP, PSPWare for Windows

10/21/05 LordByron
I think it's just 'tech bits.' It's an unlabeled number next to their portrait.
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