X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
| X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse | |
|---|---|
| File:X-Men Legends 2 - cover.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Raven Software - PS2, GCN, Xbox, PSP Beenox Studios - PC Barking Lizards Technologies - N-Gage |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, GameCube, PS2, N-Gage, PSP, PC, Wireless, Mobile Phone |
| Release | Console & PC: September 20, 2005 N-Gage: October 31, 2005 PSP: October 18, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Action, RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is a follow up to X-Men Legends. It is an action role-playing game released in 2005 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, N-Gage, PSP, and GameCube video game consoles as well as the PC.
Story
Apocalypse has begun his war on humans and mutants, beginning with his invasion of the mutant-controlled nation of Genosha. Professor X and Magneto come to the realization that the only way to defeat this enemy that threatens all life on the planet is for their respective groups to join forces. The story begins with the X-Men and the Brotherhood launching a rescue mission to save Professor X, who has been captured by Apocalypse.
During the game, players will venture to Genosha, the Savage Land, Canada's Weapon X Facility, a bombed-out New York City with sewers crawling with Morlocks, and finally, Apocalypse's stronghold in Egypt. Apocalypse is searching for four mutants with "harmonic DNA" to take over the world. Apparently, Polaris, Quicksilver, Emma Frost, and Sabretooth fit the profile, and one by one, they are taken prisoner by Apocalypse, as are Beast & Angel. Things get worse when Destiny foresees a great treachery by one of the X-Men. In the end, the X-Men and Brotherhood have a massive showdown against Apocalypse and his Horsemen. Apocalypse's machine that will help him with his plans eventually malfunctions and the power of the X-Men and Brotherhood push Apocalypse in, trapping him there forever. Apocalypse's Four Horsemen are released from their hypnotization and the world is saved once more with the X-Men and Brotherhood back as enemies again. On the top of an Egyptian pyramid, Apocalypse's assistant, Mr. Sinister, whom it is implied sabotaged his machine, is seen laughing maniacally. Template:Spoilerend
New features
X-Men Legends II contains expanded versions of the gameplay features from the original X-Men Legends, with several notable additions:
- Online multiplayer modes.
- New characters are playable, including characters from the X-Men and the Brotherhood.
- New powers and abilities are available for all characters, and the player can switch between more than 4 mutant powers at once.
Several characters from the first X-Men Legends were dropped from the roster of playable characters in the sequel: Jubilee, Magma (despite her being the main character of the first game) and Psylocke do not appear in X-Men Legends II, and Beast and Emma Frost appear but are not playable. A boss from the first game, Avalanche, also did not get mentioned in this game.
Continuity
Despite the similarities with the comic book continuity, the continuity of the X-Men Legends games are in a continuity of their own. The story of X-Men Legends II is inspired by the Age of Apocalypse storyline from the Marvel Comics series to coincide with the 10th anniversary of that event. It is not, however, a direct adaptation of the storyline. The original Age of Apocalypse occurred as a result of Professor X having been killed by a time traveler prior to his forming of the X-Men; Apocalypse was awakened from hibernation by this event and proceeded to take over an unprepared world. Apocalypse's rule in the game comes about as a result of events in the present day, and is not dependent on Xavier's absence. Some of the events and many of the principal characters still exist in the game the same as they do in the Age of Apocalypse, but many others exist as they do in the normal Marvel Universe.
Notable differences in continuity include:
- Sugar Man, a character who originated in the Age of Apocalypse, says that Apocalypse helped him escape the Age of Apocalypse, but he references the Age of Apocalypse as having been a future timeline, whereas the original storyline took place in the present.
- Of Apocalypse's four Horsemen (Mister Sinister, Mikhail Rasputin, Holocaust and Abyss), all but Sinister are the same as they were in the Age of Apocalypse. Sinster was a horseman until he committed treason against Apocalyse and created Nate Grey. In the normal Marvel Universe, Holocaust is from the comic's Age of Apocalypse storyline, but now dead, Abyss is a much more heroic figure, Sinister has been an adversary of Apocalypse for years, (although he has worked with him in the past, with Apocalypse directly tied to Sinister's origin) and Mikhail is unaffiliated with Apocalypse.
- In the game, Beast and Angel are kidnapped by Apocalypse and unwillingly transformed into Dark Beast and Archangel, respectively. In the comics, Dark Beast is the Beast's evil counterpart from the Age of Apocalypse timeline, and Angel was willingly transformed after he lost his wings.
- In the game, the Scarlet Witch, Juggernaut and Pyro are all still members of the Brotherhood; in the comic book continuity, the former two are heroes and Pyro is dead (although Scarlet Witch briefly admits that she and Quicksilver stay with Magneto to try and balance his actions with justice). Banshee appears in the game, but was apparently killed in a comic book published shortly after the game was released.
- The X-Men's appearances and costumes are based on their Ultimate Marvel counterparts, with the exceptions of Juggernaut (whose costume is based on the traditional design) and Bishop, Sunfire and Pyro (who have no Ultimate counterpart as of date). However, costumes based on the classic, current and Age of Apocalypse versions of almost all characters are unlockable by progressing through the game.
- The Cerci, a race of insect enemies, are based on the Brood from the comics; they are referred to as such in the game's viewable concept art, and one type of Cerci is called a "Brood Queen". However, while the Brood are highly intelligent aliens, the Cerci are genetically engineered creatures with animal-like intelligence. As you fight the Cerci, some have a name with "Brood" in the title, as well.
The storyline also derives elements from the X-Men storyline "Apocalypse: The Twelve". In this storyline, as in the game, Apocalypse is searching for specific mutants to power the machine that will make him a god. However, in the game, there are four mutants rather than twelve, and they are wanted because they have "harmonic DNA". It is interesting to note that only Polaris from the original "Twelve" is in "The Four" who are used in the game. It is also interesting to note that the "The Four" are each of the four mutant genome types( feral, psionic, molecular, and elemental) in Mutant X.
Characters
Old and new characters return from X-Men Legends, while new faces and characters appear during some levels. Several dialogues in the game will have different text and slightly different dialogue options, depending on whether the speaker is a member of the X-Men or the Brotherhood.
| Playable Characters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlockable Characters | PSP Exclusives | PC Exclusives | N-Gage Exclusive |
| Villains | |||
| Non-Playable Characters | |||
Special Teams
The game offers several bonuses for choosing a special set of characters. Following teams offer rewards:
| Age of Apocalypse | Agile Warriors | Brotherhood of Evil | Bruiser Brigade |
|---|---|---|---|
+100% Attack rating |
+5% XP |
+5% XP |
20 Energy gained per KO |
| Dark Past | Double Date | Energy Corps | Family Affair |
5% damage inflicted |
20 Health gained per KO |
+5% damage |
+5% Health regeneration |
| Femme Fatale | Forces of Nature | Heavy Metal | New Avengers |
5% damage inflicted |
+10 to all resistances |
+10 to all stats |
+15% max Health |
| New X-Men | Old School | Raven Knights | Special Ops |
|
Any 4 combination of:
+15% max Health |
+15% max Energy |
+60% Tech Bit drops |
+5% damage |
Easter egg conversations
Having certain people in the team before a boss fight will also give an Easter egg of that team member and the boss having a dialogue before the regular text comes up.
Additionally, there are situations where meeting an NPC ally will trigger similar conversations.
Online & Multiplayer
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse brings up to 4 players either offline or online. Players who have purchased it on the Xbox can play online via Xbox Live. During Xbox Live play, however, only the "Danger Room" and "Campaign" modes can be played. Players must also have the unlocked the "Danger Room Disc" that they wish to play.
- N-Gage: Up to four players. Players will need to activate their bluetooth to connect and play.
- PSP: Up to four players.
Ratings
The game was well-received by critics. Metacritic, which aggregates review scores from multiple sources, scored it between 80 and 85 on a 100-point scale, with slight variation by platform. This is characterized as "Generally favorable reviews."
Voice cast
- Patrick Stewart — Professor X
- Grey DeLisle — Mystique
- Dwight Schultz — Garok, Living Monolith
- Dee Bradley Baker — Nightcrawler
- Peter Lurie — Sabretooth, Blob, Holocaust
- Cat Taber — Rogue
- Scott Holst — Havok
- Tara Strong — Blink
- Dawnn Lewis (as Dawn Lewis) — Storm
- Alan Shearman — Sebastian Shaw
- Dave Wittenberg — Angel
- Leigh-Allyn Baker — Jean Grey
- John DiMaggio — Juggernaut
- Daniel Riordan (as Dan Riordan) Mister Sinister, Stryfe
- James Sie — Sunfire
- Scott MacDonald — Gambit, Mikhail
- Alastair Duncan — Bastion
- James Arnold Taylor — Iceman, Sugarman
- Richard McGonagle — Apocalypse
- Richard Green (as Richard Greene) — Magneto
- John Kassir — Pyro, Sauron, Deadpool
- Kim Mai Guest — Lady Deathstrike, Kitty Pryde
- Quinton Flynn — Banshee, Abyss
- Keith Ferguson — Grizzly
- John Cygan — Iron Man, Ka-Zar
- Jennifer Hale — Scarlet Witch, Stepford Sisters
- Armin Shimerman (as Armin Shimmerman) — Toad, Zealot
- Khary Payton — Bishop, Nick Fury
- Steven Jay Blum (as Steve Blum) — Wolverine, Omega Red
- Lou Diamond Phillips — Forge
- Richard Doyle — Beast
- Josh Keaton — Cyclops
- Jane Carr — Moria McTaggert
- Marsha Clark — Heather Hudson, Destiny
- Jeannie Elias — Black Queen
- Masasa Moyo — Shanna
- Bobby Holliday — Emma Frost
- Jim Ward — Colossus, James Hudson
Additional voices provided by Dan Hay, Eric Biessman, Zachary Quarles (as Zachery Quarles), Kris Zimmerman, and Tom Kane
See also
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Also produced by Raven, featuring many Marvel superheroes.
- List of Computer Role-Playing Games
External links
- Official X-Men Legends II Website
- Activision's X-Men Legends II Webpage
- GameFAQs X-Men Legends II Cheat Codes & Secrets
- X-Men Legends II (PC) Hex Editing & Skinning Information
- X-Men Legends II at MobyGames
