| 100 |
Into Liquid Sky
With tons of items to collect, including unlockable characters, and some excellent co-op play, this game may be the best the X-Men have to offer this generation.
|
| 94 |
Cincinnati Enquirer
Also new, and welcome for those who don't favor the role-playing aspect, is the ability to ignore the character management with automated leveling up.
|
| 91 |
Gaming Age
There’s quite a bit of replay value involved, primarily when trying to get the three hidden characters unlocked.
|
| 90 |
MS Xbox World
Minor (and understandable) technical complaints aside, this is a gem of an Xbox game.
|
| 90 |
1UP
A terrific action-RPG that serves as an example of what a sequel ought to be. It's better than the original, absorbing and well balanced with enough challenge and variety to keep you busy for the 20-plus hours you'll need to get through it.
|
| 90 |
GamingTrend
A vast improvement over its predecessor, just by adding Live play and improving the character management system.
|
| 90 |
GameSpy
This time around, Raven Software beefed up things in just about every department and the result is a game that will wow fans of the first game and probably earn some converts to the series.
|
| 90 |
Pelit (Finland)
A great action-RPG. It has a very good selection of heroes and superpowers. The clunky inventory system needs improvement. [Nov 2005]
|
| 90 |
Kombo
When you have a formula that works, all you have to do is tweak it to make it better. That's exactly what RavenSoft did, and the results will not disappoint.
|
| 90 |
Game Informer
Pure fun that increases exponentially has you add more friends to the mix. [Nov 2005, p.138]
|
| 90 |
GamePro
A solid, riveting story combined with refined gameplay set this game firmly in the outstanding (or should that be "uncanny"?) category.
|
| 90 |
RPG Fan
The game can be completed rather quickly (in less than 20 hours), but there are tons of unlockables to keep you playing well past 40 hours, such as secret characters, a Hard Mode, and the option to start a new game with your cleared save data.
|
| 89 |
PGNx Media
X-Men Legends II isn’t a drastic improvement over the first game, but it is definitely an improvement and ultimately a fun game.
|
| 89 |
TeamXbox
Combined with a highly cinematic presentation supported by exciting gameplay and an innovative storyline that breaks new ground in the world of X-men, Activision’s X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is a must-have for anyone who tried the original game out and definitely something comic fans will want to check out.
|
| 89 |
Next Level Gaming
More characters? Check. New and better storyline? Check. Updates in gameplay? Well, half-check. Online play? Check, check, and MATE. Thank you Activision! You have finally given X-Men fans the game they were really waiting for!
|
| 89 |
GameZone
You don’t have to be a fan of the comic book to enjoy this unique and wonderfully addictive game that manages to cram in all the things you could ask for in an action RPG.
|
| 88 |
Game Chronicles
The cooperative online and local multiplayer modes are long overdue and a huge asset to making this game last well beyond the solo campaign. The cooperative campaign mode is so much fun that you might never even play it by yourself.
|
| 86 |
Xbox Evolved
The graphics are a little better then the original but I feel they are still behind in this generation’s graphics.
|
| 86 |
Gaming Horizon
The result – a fantastic action RPG that fans of the Marvel universe and non-fans alike should enjoy sinking their teeth into for more than a couple of hours.
|
| 85 |
BonusStage
The story mode alone took me around 25 hours to complete, so it’s not a game for those looking only for a quick experience.
|
| 85 |
Game Over Online
Legends II more than pays for its fifty-dollar price tag by delivering hours of mutant melee mania.
|
| 85 |
IGN
While the biggest and most obvious addition is the spectacular inclusion of four-player-cooperative online play, the doubled super powers, the playable evil mutants, the streamlined menus and more interactive environments make this sequel a worthy sequel in all respects.
|
| 85 |
Xbox World Australia
A solid sequel to a solid debut...it makes smart, incremental changes to the gameplay without messing with what made it work so well.
|
| 85 |
Xbox Solution
A blast to play and features a story that has more twists and turns then any I have played before.
|
| 84 |
Gamers' Temple
An enjoyable dungeon hack romp featuring everybody’s favorite mutants.
|
| 83 |
Worth Playing
Fetch-quests and sometimes tedious level-grinding aside, Raven Software has refined and polished their product to a shiny sheen, and you should reward them for it with your money.
|
| 83 |
Armchair Empire
It's just about everything a fan could want even if it's more popcorn than a "serious" RPG.
|
| 81 |
GameSpot
In most respects, the game doesn’t differ much from the first title in the series; but the novelty of teaming up the good guys and bad guys to go after the really bad guys is enough to make this game enjoyable in its own right.
|
| 80 |
Gamer 2.0
If you loved the original, or require the online play, feel free to pick up X-Men legends II; just don’t expect more than a continuation of the title you finished a year ago.
|
| 80 |
Gaming Illustrated
An absolute thrill to play with all the elements of both a top notch action and RPG title.
|
| 80 |
GamerFeed
It's so cool to rip things apart with Magneto and Juggernaut. It's beyond resistance.
|
| 80 |
Cheat Code Central
Raven did a lot of things right - they didn't mess with success and that will please a lot of fans who enjoyed their previous effort.
|
| 80 |
Eurogamer
It's a gaping chasm of Comic Book joy, filled to brimming with great characters, unlockables, collectibles and some top-notch mutant-oriented RPG action. It is, in short, one of the best comic book adaptations in quite some while.
|
| 80 |
WHAM! Gaming
There is an assortment of plot twists too that provide surprise after surprise as you continue forth. If nothing else, X-Men Legends 2 is a well-crafted and executed storyline that gets progressively intriguing the more time you spend playing it.
|
| 80 |
Thunderbolt
Role-playing fans are going to dig all the characters to level up and customize, comic book fans are going to go nuts over all the cameos and references, and action fans are going to be satisfied with all the different enemies they can kill.
|
| 80 |
G4 TV
Players who can't stand "Diablo" won't much like Legends, no matter their mutant fanaticism. But for everyone else, the mutant madness will be addictive and appealing.
|
| 80 |
Computer and Video Games
Never underestimate the power of a decent online co-operative mode, and developer Raven has duly obliged. It doesn't add a great deal in terms of how you play, but this is the sort of game that comes alive when played with friends. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]
|
| 80 |
Extreme Gamer
Teaming up the X-Men with the Brotherhood gives the player lots of choices while wrapping in the game around one of the best X-Men storylines of Apocalypse and his horesemen is awesome.
|
| 80 |
Gamenikki
Where it falls flat is in the delivery of the long-anticipated online play that should be the game's biggest selling point. If you've got enough buddies on Live or PS2 Online that you can get together a reliable carnage crew, go for it. You won't regret it.
|
| 80 |
Official Xbox Magazine
For such a worthy successor, it's online quirkiness is a Blob-sized disappiontment. [Holiday 2005, p.93]
|
| 80 |
GameCritics
A good game that will give gamers roughly twenty hours of offline entertainment and countless more online with friends. My biggest beef remains the fact that the game feels more like an expansion of last year's title as opposed to a new experience.
|
| 79 |
Jolt Online Gaming UK
Its simplicity is its strength, and its weakness – while traipsing around looking for annoyingly hidden items and backtracking is almost completely avoided, the limited direction of the game reduces its chances of holding your interest for long enough to play it all the way through.
|
| 79 |
Ferrago
Rise of the Apocalypse could suitably have been named 'X-Men Legends II: More of the Same +', for that's what it offers.
|
| 79 |
eToychest
In the end, how you receive this game will depend largely on how much weight you put on the X-Men franchise, because without it, Legends would be a very average brawler at best, and an overwrought, slightly clumsy bore at worst.
|
| 75 |
My Gamer
Even though the core experience is enjoyable, there are too many little annoyances and omissions that pile up together to bring it down.
|
| 74 |
Gamezilla!
Although the graphics and sound are not noticeably improved, that won’t affect the experience as Activison takes us back into the Xmen universe.
|
| 70 |
Sydney Morning Herald
Navigating the menus and many options can be seriously intimidating for the uninitiated, thanks to some complicated design features.
|
| 70 |
Total Video Games
Very much in the same vein as last year's effort, Legends II manages to make further improvements especially with the introduction of online functionality though it still fails to offer the level of immersion that perhaps shoudl be expected of an RPG title.
|
| 70 |
Gamestyle
All in all, an improvement over the original, but not a huge step forward by any means.
|
| 67 |
Game Revolution
There's not a great deal here that you haven't played before - like, last year - and we can't help but feel that this particular dungeon-crawl epic needs more updating and fewer characters. A little more, shall we say, mutation?
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