Metacritic Games

X-Men Legends (Xbox)

X-Men: Legends is the first game to capture the complete essence of the X-Men by allowing players to control multiple characters that fight together as a team. The game blends the best parts of the movies, comic books in a fantastic new adventure that allows the you to develop your specialized powers as you succeed through your missions. Penned by Man of Action, a studio of comic industry veterans, X-Men: Legends begins with the rescue of a young mutant and takes players through an engrossing plot that could unite mutant-kind, yet destroy the human race in the process. Along the way, players will be able to assemble their ideal X-Men crew from over 15 of the most popular characters from the last 40 years, including Wolverine™, Cyclops™, Storm™, Nightcrawler™, Colossus™, Gambit™ and Beast™, to name a few. However, before players load-up their squad with heavy hitters, they will have to take their foes' abilities into consideration as certain situations may benefit from the abilities of specific X-Men. While Cyclops' optic blasts and Colossus' immense strength are great for clearing a path through hordes of enemies, players can opt to bring Wolverine and Nightcrawler along on a stealth intensive mission to help circumvent detection devices. Once the action begins, players can take control of any member of their squad and even execute multi-character combinations such as the famous Wolverine/Colossus Fastball Special. As they progress through the game, characters will gain experience points that players can use to upgrade the X-Men's abilities and even learn new fighting styles. [Activision]

Activision
Third-Person Action, Role-Playing Game
Players: 4
T (Teen)
Developer: Raven Software
Released September 21, 2004

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

82 / 100

Critic Reviews

95 Electric Playground
One of the best comic games to come along in years … and it's certainly the best X-Men game I've ever played.
93 XGP Gaming
If you are looking for a game with some intense yet simple action while at the same time mixing in a deep story and other fleshed out RPG elements, then look no further than X-Men Legends.
93 GameZone
With great action-RPG elements, awesome multiplayer support and a meticulous faithfulness to the comics, this is the best X-Men game ever.
92 Xequted
It is fast-paced, long, challenging, and beautiful to look at. The minor flaws with it are easily overlooked when one considers the whole package and realizes that this is probably the best X-Men game to appear on a console in the past ten years or so.
91 Into Liquid Sky
With X-Men Legends, fans of the series will finally get a next-gen action RPG worth their time and effort. As an action RPG without the license, X-Men Legends is still a great effort, worth your time and notice.
91 Warcry
Do you have a buddy that wants to play with ya, also? Simple and easy to get him in. You don't have to have him restart with a gimpy character. You can just have him plug in his controller and join in with you, then just unplug it when he is done. This rocked.
91 Cinescape
The beat ‘em up is a genre that has quietly faded to the side and hasn’t had many revolutions on the consoles in recent years. X-Men: Legends takes that style of gameplay, adds a ton of depth to it, four-player support and quite frankly is one of the best X-Men games I’ve ever played.
90 Game Chronicles
The fast button-pounding gameplay mixed with the strategy of stat-building and item-management makes this game fit in everyone’s favorite category. Group this with a fantastic storyline, good voice acting and the addition of several multiplayer modes and you’ve got one of the best comic book games ever made.
90 Stuff
The best game set in the X-Men universe yet.
90 GameSpy
The thing that immediately struck me when playing the game was the amazing amount of minutiae that's been included for eagle-eyed fans.
90 XboxAddict
The battle between Cyclops and Havok is just, crazy fun.
90 DarkStation
The combat in the game is very entertaining and combine that with a very solid storyline and you have a game that will make any X-Men fan very happy.
90 GameSpot AU
It comes with a small array of multiplayer modes and a highly compelling main multiplayer quest -- and these things are always more fun with extra human players -- and it's a title with solid longevity.
90 Game Informer
With over 20 hours of gameplay, and one of the most enjoyable cooperative multiplayer experiences I've had, I couldn't recommend Legends more highly to fans and newbies alike. [Nov 2004, p.144]
90 GamePro
Stellar cell-shaded graphics, excellent voice acting (with Patrick Stewart reprising his cinematic role as Professor X), and multiplayer mayhem that make Legends look and feel like the A-list game that it is.
90 ActionTrip
Comic book fans will love the attention to detail that has been paid to their long-time mutant heroes. Gamers will love the action, graphics, the RPG elements of customizing their team and the ability to sit down and fight bad guys with your friends.
90 Cheat Code Central
The "RPG" elements in this game refer to the leveling up of your mutant heroes. Rest assured you won't have to spend countless hours going on useless quests to find the magic vinegar and water to clear the smell out of town hall and nonsense like that.
90 AtomicGamer
X-Men Legends brings plenty of new features and fun to the action-RPG genre with AI buddies to fight beside, good four-player cooperative action, and plenty of new powers and extras to dig through.
88 WHAM! Gaming
May be just a little too easy, but it’s one of the best comic stories ever put into a game, and would be worthy of a feature film treatment.
87 VGPub
If you enjoy quick action in your games, you’ll get a lot out of this one, especially when you get into the danger room missions, and get a chance to experiment more and more with exciting techniques and attacks.
87 Loaded Inc
It's the nicely balanced elements of an RPG that helps X-Men Legends put the "mind" back into mindless beat 'em ups.
87 Armchair Empire
The sheer number of playable X-Men is amazing.
87 Next Level Gaming
The action-RPG element really gave Raven Soft the ability to expand on the characters and give you more control than you've ever had with them.
86 Xbox World Australia
It manages to provide not only an extremely satisfying hack’n’slash experience, but also a solid story and non-combat component that adds a little depth to the usual shallow, button-mashing gameplay.
85 TeamXbox
Stands out because of a great gameplay setup that mixes a very strong combat system with the ability to level up characters during the game. While some of the game’s action may become quite repetitive, it’s also quite addictive.
85 eToychest
There are some AI issues, and the multiplayer component seems like it was tacked on as an afterthought, but, as a total package, Legends delivers. It is as true to the source material as any game could hope to be, and as a long-time fan of the X-Men, I am more than pleased.
85 Worth Playing
If Raven Software had just put some more polish on the graphics, found some better voice actors, ramped up the difficulty at the end and put it online, this could have been a contender for RPG of the year.
85 Kombo
The gameplay is fast, furious and addicting... unfortunately it can also get repetitive.
85 Gaming Nexus
It’s going to take the average gamer about 20 hours to complete the game. I finished it in a little under 18 hours but that’s because I skipped some of the optional Danger Room missions. If you’re an X-men fan, than this is a must-own.
85 Xbox Evolved
Despite some less-than-stellar A.I. and a simple combat system, the game does enough right to keep most people interested until completion, and it combines a pretty decent length with plenty of variety and unlockables to offer a bit of replay value in the process.
85 PGNx Media
A surprisingly natural, action-RPG that remains fun to play through during its length.
84 IGN
The fighting is simple, addictive, and enjoyable throughout the long adventure. It's nice to see the X-Men get their due with a game that truly showcases what has made the comics great for three decades.
83 Game Over Online
Even with the technical snafus that sometimes plague Legends, this is still the best X-Men title ever produced. The Action/RPG elements are nicely integrated within an epic storyline with plenty of intrigue and a huge amount of gameplay that can take 20 hours or more to fully complete.
83 Gaming Age
What probably makes this game so interesting as an action game though is the ability to play up to four players cooperatively. Even better is how seamless they make this experience.
82 Inside Gamer Online
Defeating swarms of countless bad guys is one of gaming's oldest and purest joys. X-Men Legends is a prime example of a game that taps into the fun to be had in that, offering a wonderful variety of characters who possess a wonderful variety of powers you can use to battle your enemies.
82 GameBiz
If you’re an X-Men fan then by all means, drop everything and get this game right now without thinking twice. It’s the game you’ve searching for your whole life.
82 GameSpot
Packs in a good number of different playable characters and great-looking graphics into an easy, but fairly lengthy adventure. It all combines to form a great action RPG with strong action and a well-told story.
82 Official Xbox Magazine
Some innovations (like the group combo system) work well, while others don't (the out-of-place cel-shaded characters). As an addictive substance, Legends is pure X-tasy. [Dec 2004, p.94]
81 GamingTrend
In short, this is a much better multiplayer game than a single player one.
81 RPG Fan
Although it's certainly not genre busting in any way, it provides Action-RPG fans something better to play than the subpar "Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel." Anyone who is a fan of either the X-Men or Action-RPGs will find a fun, 15-hour game with X-Men Legends.
80 Computer and Video Games
Suit up for one of the best superhero romps on Xbox, believers. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]
80 Adrenaline Vault
Ultimately, it’s better to think of Legends as a deep action title more so than an RPG or dungeon crawler, and in this respect, you can’t go wrong.
80 1UP
If an absolutely brilliant story, finely detailed characterization, and faultless attention to canonical detail are what you're after, then, X-Men Legends is not what you're looking for. If you want a good game, though, and an especially good game to play with a couch full of superhero fans, this is the game to get.
80 Yahoo! Games
Legends is a compelling game for those who aren't fans of the license, but it's an absolute must-have for X-Men followers; the bigger the fan, the more you need this game.
80 Sydney Morning Herald
Single-player is fun, but the game truly shines with four people in the mix. It's a little easier, but there's still about 20 hours of co-operative campaigning to be had.
80 Gaming Illustrated
If you can get over the uninspiring graphics, you can definitely enjoy some really fun gameplay and a nice new type of game for the Marvel comic universe.
80 Xbox Nation Magazine
This is fan service - and competitive gaming - done right. [Dec 2004, p.84]
80 TotalGames.net
There have been many games in the past that have taken the "Baldur's Gate" gameplay as source material and, frankly, fudged the deal. But Legends succeeds because it treats both the "Baldur's Gate" gameplay and the X-Men licence with respect
80 Extreme Gamer
The AI really has some flaws and overall the representation of Legends being an RPG is misleading. Aside from these flaws X-Men: Legends has loads of replayablilty, customization and super awesome cast of X-Men and villains.
80 MS Xbox World
A good few hours can be spent on just walking around the mansion, just checking out the character bios by logging onto the terminals. All in all great fun.
79 Da Gameboyz
It's definitely better than your average hack n' slash game but the wonky AI will probably frustrate you to no end.
78 Gaming Target
The combination of a deep character building role playing game with fast arcade action can make it hard to put down the controller.
78 DailyGame
Good for fans, but action-RPG gamers probably already have a better game in hand.
75 Game Revolution
Given a little patience, however, X-Men Legends will reward you with a good storyline and fun gameplay.
75 Electronic Gaming Monthly
Despite recycled levels, repetitive enemies, chaotic combat, and unbalanced characters, just controlling four X-Men and using their powers is usually enough to make up for Legends' flaws. [Holiday 2004, p.100]
70 Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Play solo, as we reckon most people will most of the time, and you will find your three AI buddies, while eager, do have a habit of getting killed more quickly than when you're controlling them. It's not a game wrecker but that sliver of mistrust in your buddies' abilities can intrude on your fun in the heat of battle. [Xbox World]
70 Total Video Games
The game does have quite an ‘old-school’ feel to it that some may not like, but it’s a definite foundation for the franchise to develop over time.
70 GamerFeed
It's also cool that Legends' features over 20 hours of gameplay, but its length is also one of its weaknesses, because over time it just gets boring beating up enemies.
70 Eurogamer
Legends has features coming out of its ears - in keeping with the general mutant theme - but you'll need to be a RPG/mutant/comic fan to truly care. That's no bad thing, but this is pretty niche, if sometimes highly enjoyable and surprisingly complex stuff, with some niggling glitches.
67 Play Magazine
There's no denying that the level of interaction in here is humbling. [Nov 2004, p.54]
60 G4 TV
The overhead camera feels constrained. We simply want an isometric view to get a better perspective.
60 games(TM)
It’s far from perfect, but Marvel fans have been served well, and those who like their Gauntlet served with extra statistics will have a game they can place just behind the last Dark Alliance. [Dec 2004, p.109]
20 Gamer.tv
How is it possible to make a tedious game about the adventures of heroic mutants with super powers?

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