Activision and Paradox Development (the team behind Thrill Kill and Wu-Tang) jump on the X-bandwagon just in time for the movie’s release with their own fighting game, X-Men: Mutant Academy. A good-looking fighter, X-Men is also blessed with a different kind of combo system that takes some practice, and tons of cool extras that you have to play to unlock.
Good Looking Mutants
In X-Men: Mutant Academy you play as one of six superheroes (Cyclops, Wolverine,
Gambit, Storm, Beast, Phoenix) or four villains (Mystique, Toad, Sabretooth, or
Magneto) in a showdown to see who’s the best one-on-one brawler around. You
slug through each contest using special attacks, dramatic throws, and powerful
combinations. There are actually three levels of special moves, each with a
varying degree of difficulty. As you fight, your power bars begin to fill, and
in order to successfully execute each super move, you have to switch between the
bars. This means that there is lots of thumb-mashing, finger-twisting,
sometimes-frustrating complex movements.
But learning the moves is worth it when you see the beautiful display of special move fireworks. Spectacular straight-from-the-comics explosions, lasers, tornadoes, and more inundate your eyes with colors and flashy fighting-style glamour. There are also some of the best backgrounds ever, including the Sentinels destroying New York as you play. This, and the extra costume changes (comic book and movie-style) make X-Men one of the most true-to-form comic book fighting games in a while.
Sound and Fury
The sounds are top notch, with just the right mix of voice, music, and special
effects. You clearly hear every saying, and your ears will cringe from the
speaker-rattling explosions and teeth-jarring gunfire. The semi-techno
soundtrack is forgettable, but never interrupts the action. The only annoying
voice is the modulated voice of Professor X in the training room. After fifty or
so lessons, you’ll be imitating his voice without realizing it.
All in all, X-Men: Mutant Academy is a good outing, but it doesn’t rank as the best 2D/3D X-Men game out there (Marvel vs Capcom 2 does). It is definitely a fan favorite, and novice fighters will love the automatic combos and multiple hit madness, but seasoned fighting vets will be annoyed by the game’s cheap AI and limited depth. Mutant Academy needed just a little more schooling to be perfect.