X-Men Legends is an action role-playing video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles in 2004. Barking Lizards Technologies developed the N-Gage port of the game, which was released in early 2005. Players can play as one of fifteen X-Men characters, with the ability to switch between four computer- or human-controlled characters at any time.
X-Men Legends follows Alison Crestmere, a young mutant who has the ability to summon and control volcanic activity. As Alison is taught to control her powers at the X-Mansion, the X-Men are sent on several missions. Eventually the X-Men learn of Magneto's plan to cover the Earth in darkness from his base on Asteroid M.
X-Men Legends received generally positive reviews from critics. The Xbox version was the best received, garnering aggregate scores of 83% and 82/100 on the review aggregating websites GameRankings and Metacritic respectively. Reviewers praised Raven's variation on cel-shaded graphics. Due to the success of the game a sequel was made, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.
Gameplay
X-Men Legends is an action role-playing game. Players choose a team of up to four characters from a larger group of X-Men. As players proceed through the game, additional X-Men are unlocked. On the console versions, up to four players can play in the cooperative campaign, with the ability to add or remove players at any time. Cooperative play features a refined combat system and the ability to interact with non-player characters. The game also features a skirmish mode, which allows players to fight against each other or against waves of computer-controlled enemies.
As characters gain experience points, players can upgrade their four main powers and other abilities unique to that character. Items found during gameplay can also be equipped to further enhance a character's abilities. Characters can combine attacks to create a combo, in which two or more players use their mutant powers on a single enemy at the same time. The characters' special abilities can be used to create a "Super Combo" when combined with an "Xtreme Power" which become available at level 15.
The X-Mansion serves as a hub that the team returns to after each mission. While at the mansion, one player controls Alison Crestmere as she explores and learns about herself and the other X-Men. Here players can also view loading screen art, cinematics, and comic book covers acquired during gameplay. Biographies of the X-Men and their enemies can be accessed on computers located in the mansion. Players can participate in an X-Men trivia game, which rewards experience points for correct answers. Additionally, players can access the Danger Room's computer to play challenge missions unlocked during gameplay.
The players have two vendors available to them: Forge, who sells equipment and the Morlock Healer, who provides health and energy packs as well as training disks for use in the Danger Room. Forge becomes available after Alison contacts him accidentally from the X-Mansion, and Healer can be accessed following the third mission.
The N-Gage version of X-Men Legends contains most of the features found on the console versions. However, the game is played from an isometric point of view. Characters are two-dimensional sprites based on their three-dimensional console counterparts, and levels are redesigned to meet the limitations of the isometric point of view. Cutscenes were reused from the console versions, but are rendered at a much lower frame rate. Players can link with other N-Gage systems for four-player cooperative gameplay using GSM cellular technology.
Plot X-Men Legends is not set in any particular Marvel Comics universe. It is played from the perspective of a teenage girl named Alison Crestmere, a mutant with the ability to control volcanic activity. At the start of the game, Alison is abducted by the Genetic Research and Security Organization (GRSO). Alison: Somebody help me! I'm not a mutant! I swear I'm not! As GRSO soldiers take her away, Mystique arrives with Blob and takes Alison from the soldiers. Mystique: Blob, grab the girl and get out of here! She is in turn rescued from Mystique and Blob by the X-Men Wolverine and Cyclops, who take her to the Xavier Institute to explore her powers. Jean Grey: Good work, guys. Now get Alison to the X-Jet. I'll meet you there.
As Alison trains, the X-Men investigate an Alaskan research facility being attacked by the Brotherhood of Mutants, then rescue Gambit from the Morlocks. Player Character: We'll have you out of there in a second, Gambit Gambit: No worries. Ol' Gambit done already picked the lock.
They then try to stop the Brotherhood from rescuing Magneto from captivity aboard the U.S.S. Arbiter, a submersible aircraft carrier. Mystique is able to penetrate the defenses and free Magneto, and the ensuing damage caused by the Brotherhood leaves the X-Men to rescue several Arbiter crew members. Player Character: We have to save the Arbiter crew! Jean, can you use your telekinetic powers to hold the ship together?
With Alison's training complete, she takes the codename Magma. Alison: Do I get a cool code name? Wolverine: How about Pebbles? ... Alison: Mmm, those are good suggestions but I had a name in mind already. How about Magma? The X-Men travel to Russia to help Colossus prevent the Brotherhood from obtaining weapons-grade plutonium from a nuclear power plant. Colossus: Because of Magneto's attack the reactor is close to critical mass. If I drop this regulator there will be a nuclear explosion. After the team defends the X-Mansion from GRSO infiltrators, Cyclops goes alone to investigate the old Weapon X facility in Canada, where Wolverine had been experimented on before joining the X-Men. There, Cyclops meets his younger brother, Havok. Havok reveals that he has joined the Brotherhood and was involved in the attack on the nuclear power plant. Havok: I've joined the Brotherhood. Wolverine, who arrives at the facility on his own, stops the brothers from fighting each other. Together, they work to rescue the mutants that are held captive at the facility. Wolverine: Because little Alex here is right. They used to experiment on mutants at this place. Really nasty stuff. And if someone got the bright idea to start things up again...
After accomplishing these missions, the team discovers that Colossus's sister, Illyana, is in a coma from a psychic hold placed on her by the Shadow King. The Shadow King reveals that he is aiding the leader of the anti-mutant movement, General William Kincaid. Professor X, Emma Frost, and Jean Grey enter the Astral Plane to save Illyana. They succeed, but Xavier is captured by the Shadow King in the process. Professor Xavier: What do you intend to do now? Shadow King: I should have thought it obvious, Xavier. I will have my revenge.
After Xavier's capture, the X-Men learn that General Kincaid is building upgraded variants of the mutant-hunting Sentinels. Magneto travels to his base on Asteroid M, where he reveals his plan to cover the Earth in asteroids to darken the surface. Havok tries to fight back but is imprisoned. The X-Men must prioritize their resources on three separate missions: rescuing mutants from Sentinels in New York, stopping Juggernaut's rampage on Muir Island, and protecting the Morlocks from a GRSO invasion. Afterwards, the X-Men free Xavier, who defeats the Shadow King in a psychic battle. Shadow King: What!? You've escaped? No matter. Now you will die, Xavier.
The X-Men travel to Asteroid M, where they rescue Havok and defeat Magneto in a final battle. After an attack by Sentinels, the X-Men discover that the asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. In the control room of the asteroid, they fight the General Kincaid as he pilots Master Mold, a larger and more powerful prototype Sentinel. After defeating General Kincaid, the X-Men locate the Gravitron, the control mechanism of the asteroid. The Brotherhood's initial plan was to use Magma to control the device if Magneto couldn't be rescued due to her ability to manipulate rocks in a similar fashion to magnetism. Magma uses her powers to steer the asteroid back into space. Wolverine: Kid, the Gravitron was built for Magneto. It could kill ya. Magma: That's a chance I'll have to take.
The X-Men's victory on Asteroid M is watched by Apocalypse, who makes his upcoming plot from his base. Apocalypse : Enjoy your small victory, Xavier. For the Age of Apocalypse is nigh!
In the game's epilogue, a television news anchor reports that Magneto is still at large and that General Kincaid has been arrested for crimes against humanity. The game ends with the President of the United States thanking the X-Men for their service.
Playable characters
Beast Colossus Cyclops Emma Frost Gambit Iceman Jean Grey Jubilee Magma Nightcrawler Professor X Psylocke Rogue Storm Wolverine
Development
X-Men Legends was announced in a press release by Activision on April 23, 2003. The game is Raven Software's first console title; after a number of successful titles for personal computers, it wanted to expand into the console market. The company developed the three console versions simultaneously, and used Vicarious Visions' Alchemy engine as a base for the game. After deciding to make an "X-Men RPG", staff began brainstorming story, gameplay and design ideas. Raven wanted to feature a team-based dynamic, something it felt was absent in previous X-Men games. The original concept featured turned-based gameplay, similar to a Final Fantasy game. However, the team concluded that players would prefer more action that allowed control of the character's super powers. The genre switch proved problematic to maintaining the team aspect of gameplay.
The group experimented with several gameplay models, and opted for one that allowed players to freely switch characters. The final product mimics isometric dungeon crawling video games. Raven designed gameplay with strategy in mind; each character's abilities allow different interactions with the environment and other characters. For example, a physically strong character like Colossus can break walls but is unable to reach certain areas that require the ability to fly, and Iceman is able to freeze enemies so that other characters can easily defeat them. Staff hoped that the differences would force players to switch characters regularly during missions. Extraction points, specific locations that players can switch characters, were added to allow players to continue without a game over in the event one or more team member was defeated. Raven included flash back missions as an homage to the franchise and based some on specific comic book issues. Originally a single-player game, Raven eventually incorporated simultaneous co-operative gameplay. The developers chose to not create an online multi-player mode, stating that the gameplay was "designed around localized encounters".
The game's story was penned by a group of former Marvel writers known as Man of Action, consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle, with Stan Lee consulting. Man of Action chose the character Magma as their lead because she was an "appropriately blank slate as a character". Man of Action also stated that the script for X-Men Legends was in excess of five hundred pages. The writers created a story that would allow for players to change their active team throughout the game and not affect the overall flow of the story.