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> Results: X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
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There are three complaints I have with the games released for the PSP since it's' launch. First, many feel like ports or remixes of console games with little consideration of what would be effective on the PSP. Second, many developers seem to assume that developing a game for ﾑpick up and play' consists of stripping out the main storyline and replacing it with short vignettes. Finally, too many developers have tried to add too much to a game, and the games are laden with huge load-times and slowdowns.
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is a console port that doesn't just address the stripped down complaint, it actually delivers more in the PSP version than either of the PC or console versions do. Unfortunately, there are slowdowns and long loads and system freezes that bring down this solid action game. The game is billed as a team-based action role playing game. Your team consists of four X-Men. You start with Storm, Magneto, Wolverine and Cyclops, but can change out members at any ﾑExtraction' station, where you can also save the game, return to the sanctuary, or travel to other activated portals. This excellent system encourages quick gaming sessions without sabotaging the much longer story. You can easily select which character is leading your group, and the rest of the team follows your lead, depending on a profile you modify to determine what role they will play when encountering battles.  As an action game, the focus is on the combat and that is where the game really shines. Each mutant has special abilities that all work well and never become useless. While Wolverine is best suited to melee combat, Cyclops excels at ranged devastation; there are also times when a specific mutant power is needed to solve a puzzle or advance the plot. The game is full of X-Men love. The voice acting is excellently done, captures the characters very well, and makes the game more immersive to even the casual fan. There is some role-playing in the game. Your characters gain experience to level up, getting attribute points to distribute, new skills and powers to learn and strengthen, and gear to wear. Role-playing games are a personal favorite genre, so I initially sought to micro-manage the characters' leveling up process by allocating each point, every power and equipping each new piece of gear. Quickly I felt like I was wasting time, and started automating auto-leveling on lesser-used characters. I found that the choices I made were similar to the automatic choices, so then I automated all choices and have not regretted the choice. This makes it more like an action game than a true role-playing game. The problems are mainly with system performance and the management of your team. You can set up profiles to determine how your team will behave, but regardless of what settings are chosen, the team tends to bunch around the leader, and will often ignore enemies who continue attacking the leader. This can be very frustrating, as you can lose significant amounts of health while your allies stand around waiting for your next move. The performance of the game can be exasperating at times. Every attempt to access a menu is met with many seconds of delays, and every one of the excessive amount of load screens crawl to completion. The game rewards perseverance and thoroughness because you can locate hidden items to unlock mini-missions and new playable characters. These ﾑcomic book missions' are short and sweetﾗabout fifteen minutes eachﾗbut they add something to the experience, and are unique to the PSP. Also adding to the experience is the multiplayer, which is co-operative play through the main game in either ﾑad hoc' (PSP to PSP network) or ﾑinfrastructure' (wireless internet) modes. The multiplayer mode shows how much human intelligence adds to the combat, but that is instantly ruined if you have three people who automate leveling up and one who micromanages, since the whole game pauses when the character screen is activated.  Putting the load times and issues aside, you are left with a compelling and interesting story-based action game that constantly drives you to play just a little more. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is lengthy and with tons of replayability based on twenty-four different playable characters and fun unlockable content. It is hampered by numerous slowdown and freeze-up issues, and the basic problems associated with squishing a full-console game to the PSP screen-size. If you are an X-Men fan with a PSP, you owe it to yourself to check this out. Otherwise it is a still a very good game, and the best action role-playing game in the current field of two. 
I completely agree with what Wayne Belton said in his review of the console version of this game. The T rating is earned through the cutscenes more than through the gameplay. The violence is not extreme, nor is it particularly graphic or gory. But the attitude from the opening carries through the whole gameﾗthis game is based more around the PG-13 movies than the Saturday morning cartoon, and the style is designated for a teenage audience.
This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "X-Men" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse |
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