More X-Men action RPG fun! Now with playable Brotherhood!
To begin, if you played X-Men Legends, you know what 2 will be like. If not, XML is an action RPG played from an isometric angle, exactly like PC Diablo 1 & 2, consoles Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath, except it stars the X-Men in the, obv, X-Men universe. Story wise, the 2 games take stories and such from the comics, but not literally as the Legends is its own universe. XML1 starred the X-Men as they stopped Magneto from covering the Earth with asteroids and stuff. XML2 picks up a short while after the end of 1. After the battle on Asteroid M, Apocalypse sets in motion a plan to take over the world. At the center is capturing 4 specific mutants, 2 of which get nabbed in a promo comic book given away with purchase of XML2. Apocalypse attacks Magneto's land of Genosha, and takes Quicksilver prisoner. The Apoc busts in on Prof Xavier and Polaris. Apoc nabs Polaris and takes Xavier to add insult to injury. This is where the game begins. The X-Men are out to rescue their leader, and they have some help from unlikely sources which leads to a great opening cutscene, where the X-Men and the Brotherhood rescue Xavier and agree to help each other defeat Apocalypse.
This partnership takes the combined forces thru 5 different acts and 5 different homebases, alot like Diablo 2. From Genosha to the Savage Lands to Canada to New York City to Egypt, the X-Men and Brotherhood work together to bring Apocalypse down and save the planet. Along the way, you run into lots of other important people who help you out, like Blink, Destiny, Banshee, Alpha Flight, Angel, Nick Fury, even Sebastian Shaw. It expands on the universe started in XML1. The playable roster remains the same amount, tho a few leave and new arrive. The roster features:
X-Men - Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Jean Gray, Rogue, Colossus, Bishop, Iceman, Gambit
Brotherhood/Other - Magneto, Juggernaut, Scarlet Witch, Toad, Sunfire
Unlockable - Iron Man, Prof X, Deadpool
Out from XML1 - Beast (NPC), Emma Frost (NPC), Magma, Jubilee, Psylocke
PC Exclusive - Pyro, Sabretooth
PSP Exclusive - Dark Phoenix, Cable, Cannonball, X-Man
A well rounded roster, tho a few choices are questionable, like why Cable is only on PSP, shouldn't he be a standard character; Sabretooth not on standard roster; Mystique not playable?; Iron Man?; etc.
The playables do have alot of abilities and spells at their disposal, about 3x as many per char. Instead of 2 powers and 1 boost, now about 6-7 powers and 2-3 boosts. Instead of 1 extreme power/ultimate, now 2. About same number of passive stuff, maybe 1 or 2 more. What does this all mean, more customizing of characters compared to the first game. You can customize Storm to wind or lightning, Nightcrawler to teleport or blade attacks, Toad to tongue attacks or others, etc. Plus you can get little bonuses depending on the 4 characters you're using, like +5% xp, or energy, or +attack rating, +stats, etc. Its all an expansion of the first game.
Playing thru the game is still in the same manner, hack-n-slashing thru levels, fighting bosses, solving a puzzle or two, this time its a tad more open-ended in that you can return to areas previously visited, you can return to the homebase at any time via the extraction points. What I'm getting at is that XML2 is even more of what made XML1 great. The only misstep in XML2 is the way it tells the story. The story is still told via ingame in-level conversations and such as well as the mission briefings. However, the mision briefings are entirely optional now. Its almost pointless to watch, almost b/c the briefings are the only place you get to see the amusing exchanges between the X-Men and Brotherhood, and the info you'd get from the briefings, you're told ingame. XML1 told its story alot better b/c the mission briefings furthered the story and were used to begin new missions. However, its not that big a deal.
Graphically, lots very similar to XML1, as the environments are realistic with a bit of cel-shading to add the comic book feel. Now you can change skins whenever you want as opposed to unlocking them, so you can put the X-Men into their comic book suits, or Apocalypse skins, or just leave them in their Legends attire. Not matter the skin, each character looks awesome and animates just like they would if real, even melee fighting animations.
Nothing extraordinary from the sound department. Usual breaking stuff, fighting guys, spell casting type stuff which is done just fine. The music is fine, nothing that'll drive ya crazy. The voice acting is once again done well representing each character.
Prolly the biggest upgrade from XML1 is the online play, as you can now play thru the story online with other people, as well as play some of the skirmishes and stuff too. Haven't tried online yet, I just want to finish the game first.
A worthy sequel to a great game. X-Men Legends 2 ups everything the first game did well, and adds some more as well. Definitely worth playing if you liked XML1, worth playing if you're interested in it, definitely worth playing if you love comics, and absolutely worth playing if you meet those requirements.