New Look: X-Men: Mutant Academy

Activision stopped by the videogames.com offices today with X-Men: Mutant Academy, currently in development for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 (even though the company only had the PS one to show). We're happy to report that this is not the same game we took a look at two years ago - that project was completely scrapped, and instead the title has been put in the able hands of Paradox (developers of Wu-Tang). And now X-Men: Mutant Academy is shaping up to be the X-Men fighter we had all hoped it would be.

The game offers up 10 playable X-Men characters, including Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Gambit, Beast, Phoenix, Magneto, and Sabertooth. These characters will all sport their popular comic costumes, but other costume choices will be available, such as ones from the upcoming feature film. Each fighter will have a handful of moves, including projectile attacks (such as Cyclops' optic blast). We got to try a match between Wolverine and Cyclops, and the fighting action was pretty solid. Activision states that it is currently focusing on creating more aerial fighting between the characters.

X-Men: Mutant Academy for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 is currently on track for a June/July release in order to coincide with the release of the X-Men feature film. Look for a full preview on videogames.com shortly.