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X-Men Legends was among the finest X-Men games ever made. After success on the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube, the game has recently made its way to the N-Gage. So how does the N-Gage version compare to the console version?
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X-Men Legends is based in the Ultimate X-Men Universe, and focuses on a young girl named Alison Crestmere. In the world of X-Men, mutants are hated and feared, so once it becomes known that Allison is a mutant, it seems like everyone is after her! The Brotherhood of Mutants interferes, and tries to take Allison away. But why? The X-Men step in and rescue her, and you’ll begin on a mission to track down the Brotherhood of Mutants to unravel their plan. Throughout this adventure you’ll come across hordes of familiar X-Men characters, from Wolverine and Cyclops, to Magneto and the Sentinels. The game has a very comic book-like storyline to it, so fans of the X-Men are sure to love it!
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Gameplay in the N-gage version of X-Men Legends is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the console version. You’ll fight in a team of four X-Men, and can choose to play multiplayer through bluetooth with friends or have AI control your comrades. Playing with friends is sure to prove the most fun, but you can manage the AI settings so that the characters will behave how you want them to. At its core, X-Men Legends is a classic hack and slash, but there’s a lot more to it than that. There is a rather vast number of X-Men to choose from, including Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, Magma, Cyclops, Gambit and more! Each X-Man has unique abilities and skills that coincide with their mutant powers. For example, Rogue has invulnerability and Cyclops can fire optic blasts. The small variety in abilities, though, and the lack of combos proved to be a major disappointment.
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As characters kill enemies, you’ll gain experience points that you can use to upgrade various stats, from body (HP) to intelligence. You’ll also gain ability points that you can distribute among your abilities to power them up. Each X-Man has an HP and EP bar that you’ll need to pay attention to. The HP is pretty self-explanatory for any RPG fan, and the EP serves as your mutant power. If your HP falls to 0, you’re dead, and can only be revived by smelling salts. Your EP, on the other hand, is restored automatically over time. To aid the X-Men on their mission there is a wide variety of items, from restoration items to equipment.
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Graphically, the game looks great. It visually looks very comic book-like, so fans will feel right at home. The characters are very detailed, and the environments are largely interactive. Characters move very smoothly and perform some cool looking moves. There are even some decent FMV cinematics in the game. The N-Gage version of X-Men Legends eliminates many of the camera problems witnessed in the console version. Yet, with all the detail put into the look of this game, the load times are very brief. Woohoo! One issue with the game is that when there are a lot of enemies on screen it can be a bit difficult to distinguish who is who because of the small size of each character and the screen.
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The game’s sound is a bit muffled, but still does its job. There are even actual voices in the game, each of which is pretty good quality. Aside from that you’ll hear random battle sounds, such as grunts and punches.
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The biggest problem with most N-Gage games that I’ve played are the controls, and that’s no different in X-Men Legends. Character movement isn’t the most precise, so it’ll take some getting used to. It becomes even worse when you’re in a battle and can’t get your character to line up an attack right. Also, you have to scroll through hordes of menus to get pretty much anything done. Being an RPG, this is pretty much acceptable, but not so much in a multiplayer action RPG. Opening menus every time you need to heal your HP (which will probably be often) really seems to slow down the experience. Hot keys were desperately needed. Other than those few gripes, though, the controls are simple and easy to use. The 5 key is your main attack, while the 7 key uses your mutant powers, and holding down 8 allows you to switch characters. Pretty much everything else is done through menus.
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Despite a few problems, X-Men Legends for the N-Gage is an action-packed experience that gamers won’t want to miss out on. It’s arguably even better than the console version. This is one of the better games on the N-Gage, and a definite purchase for RPG fans.
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