Whether you're new to the arcade scene or are a veteran of the cabinet gaming world you've likely heard of the X-Men Arcade game. It's one of those few that everyone has heard about, but not everyone has played due to the limited quantities of the cabinet and it's age. X-Men ranks up there with the best beat 'em up arcades out there including The Simpsons and Turtles in Time. So when it was ported to the Xbox Live Arcade, I jumped at the chance to own this title.
I remember back in the day playing this game and just marveling at the fact that it had such a large screen and six players could be on it at the same time. Nowadays that's not so impressive, which means I'm no longer awe-struck simply by the game's look and feel, but since the core mechanics are still here in full force the game still has that arcade edge to it that you just can't get out of console titles. The objective is to rescue the professor by moving right and beating the living shit out of everything that's in your way. Your main enemy is Sentinels, but along the way you meet lizard men, man-eating plants, and other strange-looking robots. Of course there's also a cast of bosses plucked right from Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants.
The bosses can be a bit of a problem; they're either too easy or too powerful based upon your difficulty choice, there seems to be no middle ground. Also, the fact that your mutant powers take away your life after you use up your items is another annoyance, especially when you're down to the wire fighting the Blob, but it's a trademark of the beat 'em up so I don't have much of a problem with the special attacks.
The levels are really diverse and nicely detailed with Sentinels bursting through the walls at random intervals. On the Xbox Live version, the game is really sharp and everything looks great on a graphical level, but I'm disappointed that the only extras included were the Japanese version of the game and difficulties. Why were there no extra costumes or new characters?
Regardless of X-Men's lack of special features and the issues that I've experienced with the difficulty, I still love to play this with a group of friends. In my opinion, this is a must-buy on the Xbox Live Arcade, especially at the low price. 800 Microsoft Points is nothing to hear Magneto tell you to, "Welcome to die!"
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| What a beast. |
The bosses can be a bit of a problem; they're either too easy or too powerful based upon your difficulty choice, there seems to be no middle ground. Also, the fact that your mutant powers take away your life after you use up your items is another annoyance, especially when you're down to the wire fighting the Blob, but it's a trademark of the beat 'em up so I don't have much of a problem with the special attacks.
The levels are really diverse and nicely detailed with Sentinels bursting through the walls at random intervals. On the Xbox Live version, the game is really sharp and everything looks great on a graphical level, but I'm disappointed that the only extras included were the Japanese version of the game and difficulties. Why were there no extra costumes or new characters?
Regardless of X-Men's lack of special features and the issues that I've experienced with the difficulty, I still love to play this with a group of friends. In my opinion, this is a must-buy on the Xbox Live Arcade, especially at the low price. 800 Microsoft Points is nothing to hear Magneto tell you to, "Welcome to die!"
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