High: Great addition to the X-Men franchise, plausible story line.
Low: No great improvements over the other consoles versions.  Graphics, sound/audio could have taken better advantage of the Xbox 360's capabilities.



Wolverine and company arrive just in time for the movie. X-Men: The Official Game serves as a bridge between X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. The game picks up right after X2 and tells the story of Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Ice Man. You'll be able to play as these three characters as you progress toward the beginning of the third movie. Activision is coming off the success of the previous two X-Men Legends titles, but can X-Men deliver top-notch gameplay even though it's by another developer?

The story was given a lot of consideration for this title. It was co-written by X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Zak Penn and Chris Claremont, from the comics. As I mention above, the game tells the stories of Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Ice Man. You'll find out even more details from Wolverine's tragic past, find out the struggles that Ice Man deals with as he becomes a full-fledged X-Men, and discover why Nightcrawler is absent from the movie. Each of them is dealing with something different, but they'll help each other and other X-Men accomplish their goals.

The game is divided into a number of levels. Each of these levels will star one of the aforementioned X-Men. Occasionally, you'll be joined by other, A.I. controlled X-Men who provide some cover for you. For instance, you'll have to assist Colossus as Nightcrawler or have Storm cover you. The three characters are rather diverse. Wolverine is called in when brute force is all that is required to accomplish the mission. He is the strongest character with the ability to take on tens of enemies by himself. His trusty claws are aided by a fury attack which lets you regain health and become even more powerful for a short amount of time. You can also regain health by calling upon this power though you're immobile as this happens.

This isn't just Wolverine's game, though. Nightcrawler is called in when the opposition should be avoided. He's able to teleport quickly and has the ability of teleporting behind an enemy to attack them from behind. Ice Man fills in for missions when people need to cool off. He moves around in a big sheet of ice, can throw ice beams and create hailstorms while outrunning enemies. The maneuvering soon becomes second nature and is pretty cool to look at.

Aside from simply punching, ice gliding, and teleporting yourself through the levels, you'll have to collect some items to earn full completion on a level. Although 100% completion is not required, the closer you get the more mutations you're allowed at the end of the level. With these mutations, you can make your X-Men better. You can increase strength, health, or balance (needed for Ice Man) or decrease the amount of time needed to heal. Use of the Mutant Evolution System becomes vital as you move through the game.

The visuals are in line with the style of the movie. The three main characters are very detailed and authentic to their film counterparts. Wolverine is bigger than the others; Ice Man retains that young look, while Nightcrawler looks as weird as usual. The animation is solid, as well. Wolverine slices and slashes enemies with grace, Nightcrawler teleports with the help of some nifty particle effects, and Ice Man's gliding ice follows him and crumbles up realistically. The enemies look good, too, but a few character models repeat too often. This is most noticeable in the Wolverine bits when you're taking out a hundred enemies but are only seeing a handful of different characters.

The game is being released for an insane amount of platforms. The PS2 version holds up, though it lacks the sharper textures and fancy lighting of the Xbox or PC versions. The Gamecube version is somewhere in between. The game is being released for the Xbox 360, and though the lighting is somewhat more pronounced and the game is sharper overall, it doesn't look too different than the Xbox version. It's disappointing that Activision still isn't utilizing the power of the Xbox 360 months after launch.

The sound is packed and works very well with the game. You'll hear Wolverine's claws smashing into enemies, the smooth sound of Ice Man gliding through levels, and the hesitant sound of Nightcrawler teleporting. The background music fits the game's theme well. The voice acting is provided by the film's stars. Hugh Jackman provides the voice of Wolverine while Patrick Stewart provides the voice of the Professor. Alan Cumming and Shawn Ashmore play Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler and Bobby Drake/Iceman, respectively. The dialogue is solid.

X-Men: The Official Game manages to fit in well after the second movie. The story provides some clues regarding the third movie and gives fans the ability to get the full story. The gameplay is solid thanks to the variety provided by the three main characters. The presentation promises to live up to the film, as well. If you can't wait for X-Men: The Last Stand, the Official Game is as great a place as any to start.

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Reviewed By:EG Admin Reviewed On: Sat, 20 May 2006 11:43:05 Read:

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