“The enemy of my enemy is my friend“. That’s the idea behind Activision and Ravensoft’s new Xbox game X-men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. The developers are once again teaming up with Marvel Comics to give fans a sequel to the best selling X-men title ever. In this new addition to the series our favorite heroes will be joining forces with their arch enemies the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The reason for this alliance is so they can defeat the most evil Marvel character of all time — Apocalypse.

From the looks of this game it should give fans everything they could want from a sequel. It will stick to the arcade style brawling that made the first one so much fun. Once again players will be able to choose their favorite mutants to form a four person fighting team. Gamers will also be able to choose villains such as Magneto and Juggernaut to fight along side their heroes. Each character will have their own unique powers to employ against enemies and obstacles in their path. Players can use their characters individually or take advantage of the team system to combine attacks for maximum damage. Giving the game’s RPG element gamers will be able to upgrade each character’s special ability with experience points earned during gameplay.

Players will also be able to equip their characters with items such as armor or power stimulants to make them more effective in combat. The story will be told by open ended missions that adds more RPG style to this game. Gamers will be turned loose on over 70 free roaming levels; each of these levels will have certain objectives that will need to be completed. How these missions are completed and in what order are up to player. Gamers will not be required to finish all objectives on one level before they move on to a different one though. Players will be able to revisit any level if they wish to complete any unfinished objectives.

The developer is using the Xbox Live Service to let gamers take this experience online. One feature will allow gamers to join friends’ single player game directly for Co-Op play. This will allow up to four players to work together through the story mode of the game. In addition there will also be a versus mode that will allow the use of favorite characters in a head-to-head battle.

What's This Game All About Anyhow? from the developer.

To defeat the greatest evil, the X-Men will join their greatest enemy. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse — sequel to the best-selling X-Men game ever — introduces the epic storyline of an uneasy alliance between the X-Men and the hated Brotherhood in a fight to reclaim Earth from Apocalypse’s grasp. Impressive gameplay enhancements include more than double the superpowers and customization capabilities, the debut of several new playable characters, over 100 diverse types of enemies, and a breathtaking range of exotic and real-world environments — from the Madri Temple to Egypt . For fans loyal or new, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse delivers a bigger, deeper and more epic action/RPG experience.

Gameplay Features - from the developer

  • From hated foes to united force: Experience the amazing saga of X-Men and Brotherhood rivals bonded by a common enemy. Create, customize and control a punishing team of 4 powerful Mutants, selecting from 16 playable characters — many playable for the first time. Choose from your favorite X-Men character — including Wolverine, Bishop, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Storm — and Brotherhood Mutants — such as Magneto, Toad and Juggernaut. Instantly switch between team members mid-fight to take full advantage of their unique abilities. Combine their powers for even more bruising combo attacks.

  • Unique superpowers and customization capabilities: Each of the 16 playable characters has 10 individualized superpowers at your command, including awesome fighting, melee or ranged attacks and devastating extreme powers. Instantly upgrade and customize your characters’ levels and powers on-the-fly with just the touch of a button so you never have to leave the action. Empower your character with a huge array of completely unique equipment items. Switch costumes between Ultimate, Astonishing and other styles.

  • Upgrade attributes such as Strike, Ability and Focus: Intense online and offline multiplayer action — X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse’s online multiplayer enables up to 4 players to engage in an exciting story-based co-op mode and enjoy exclusive online content. Both online and traditional offline multiplayer modes feature dynamic joining that lets your friends jump into the action at any time. 6 multiplayer skirmish modes offer head-to-head “versus” action, side-by-side battles against enemies and more.

  • Open-ended storyline and choices: Immerse yourself in an all new, flexible storyline with compelling gameplay and theatrical-quality FMV created by Academy Award nominee Blur Studios. Take advantage of over 70 free-roaming zones to regroup, begin new missions, complete unfinished missions, gather information and stock up on equipment. Get creative using your super powers to solve challenging puzzles. Every time you turn a corner, unexpected surprises keep you on the edge. In addition, new difficulty settings allow you to play at your skill level. As you improve, revisit levels using tougher difficulty settings for increased replayability.

  • Amazing array of enemies and environments: Demolish over 100 different types of enemies, from hordes of Apocalypse’s henchmen to Lady Deathstrike and Apocalypse’s 4 Horsemen. Fully destructible locales are more expansive, requiring even more exploration and containing many hidden items to uncover. Visit X-Men locales like the Weapon X facility and the Infinite Factory plus intriguing spots around the globe such as Egypt and the South Pole. Everywhere you go, discover hidden equipment and paths.

Game Media - Screenshots

X-men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse Xbox Screenshot
Colossus shows off his dance moves.

X-men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse Xbox Screenshot
The bigger they are the harder they fall.

Game Info and Resources

XBS Commentary - Our Thoughts

I can’t speak for anyone else but I’m looking forward to getting back into the action of this series. I’ve been an X-men fan all my life and I believe the first Legends game is the best one ever made. The simple controls for both your character and your team really let players cut loose and enjoy the game. My only complaint with the game was the bosses. They seemed to be extremely difficult to take on even with four mutants.

This sequel looks like it will give us even more of the great gameplay from the first one. What’s really got my attention in Rise of the Apocalypse is the addition of playable bad guys. The idea of putting Magneto and Wolverine together is icing on the cake for this game. While many players will probably get a kick out of the single player game I’m very curious about the online capabilities. I believe this will be the first title on the Xbox that will let players turn a single player game into Co-Op mode at any point. Overall I think this new X-men title will give comic fans and gamers a truly legendary experience.

Written by XBS Previewer Pure Ego.

Filed under: Previews

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