X-Men: The Official Movie Game First Look

Activision has been having a good run as of late with its series of games based on Marvel's uncanny X-Men. 2004's X-Men Legends seemed to finally find the right structure to please both gamers and fans of the comic, who have suffered through some bipolar ups and downs over the past two decades. The promising first effort was followed up by last year's X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, which built on the solid foundation of its predecessor. One element missing from the Legends series has been ties to the successful film franchise, which boosted the mighty mutants' popularity in the first place. Activision and Northern California-based developer Z-Axis are aiming to more closely synch up with the film series in the tentatively named X-Men: The Official Movie Game, an original title--independent from the Legends continuity--that is steeped in the lore surrounding the films. The game is being positioned as a bridge between the stellar X2 movie and its upcoming sequel, X-men: The Last Stand. We were treated to a demo of a work-in-progress version of the PlayStation 2 game recently, and we had a chance to see what to expect from the upcoming multiplatform game.

For those keeping score, the X-Men were not having their best day at the end of X2. Although the day had been won and saw both William Stryker's and Magneto's evil plans thwarted, the team had paid a terrible price. Jean Grey, one of the founding members of the X-Men, had sacrificed herself to protect the team. The Last Stand will find the team trying to cope with their loss, all the while dealing with both the apparent return of Jean Grey and a mysterious "cure" for mutants, forcing the team to rethink their allegiances. The game begins a few weeks after the end of X2, and it takes you through some of the events that set up the major conflicts in The Last Stand. As a result, the team of X-Men found in the game will differ from the one you'll see in The Last Stand movie--that is, Jean Grey won't be around, but Nightcrawler, who won't be appearing in the movie, will be. In fact, the game will explain just why Mr. Wagner is MIA in the new film.

The game finds the team returning to the Alkali Lake compound, which served as William Stryker's base of operations and housed the replica of Professor Xavier's telepathy-enhancing machine, Cerebro. Following Stryker's defeat, a team of X-Men is dispatched to retrieve equipment from the dupe Cerebro. Unfortunately, the team discovers that forces from HYDRA (an organization dedicated to global conquest, which should be familiar to comic readers) have decided to do some looting, which sets up the first of many conflicts you'll face in the game. Though specific details of the rest of the story are being kept under wraps, reps from Z-Axis did note that the narrative was crafted from an original story from venerable X-comic scribe Chris Claremont and X-movie scribe Zak Penn.

The tale will play out over the course of 28 single-player levels, which are broken up into three acts comprising various chapters. You'll go through the adventure using one of three members of the team--Wolverine, Nightcrawler, or Iceman. We were disappointed to see that our choice in characters was so limited, especially in the wake of the Legends franchise's wealth of choices, but the Z-Axis reps noted that it was a conscious decision made to let them focus on creating levels tailored to each of the hero's unique powers. Our demo offered us a brief look at how this customization is going to be accomplished. The first hero to be shown was Wolverine, whose level took place inside the Alkali Lake base and pitted him against HYDRA soldiers. Given the X-Man's facility in kicking butt, the soldiers have no choice but to make use of death traps to stop him. The gameplay obviously played to Wolverine's strengths as a brawler, providing him with ample opportunity to show off his melee abilities and his famous claws. The segment also showed off his rage meter, which fills as you attack or take damage. Once the meter is maxed out, you'll have access to powered-up moves and a heal-over-time ability.

The Nightcrawler demo was geared toward showing off the blue-skinned hero's acrobatic and teleportation prowess in a stealth-oriented level, which has you assisting non-player-character Colossus as he makes his way through another area of the Alkali base. The reps pointed out that melee combat would be difficult for the lithe and agile hero and that taking on multiple enemies would be extremely tough. We'll give the Z-Axis crew a "pass" for this faux pas, since as anyone who reads the X books or saw X2 can tell you, Mr. Wagner, while not the butt-kicker Wolverine is, does just fine for himself when the time comes to throw down. In the context of the game, this approach works fine, with the demo showing off how you'll use the environment like a massive jungle gym and swing your way to different areas.

When swinging isn't an option, you can use his trusty line-of-site teleportation power. When you need to keep a low profile, you can fade into the shadows and become nearly invisible to your foes, provided you're standing still. Another highlight is the ability to temporarily stick to walls--but you won't be able to make like Spider-Man and stick to them for extended periods of time. The feature that has us most excited, though, is the ability to use Nightcrawler's teleportation during a battle. While it doesn't look like you'll be able to perform the cool, multiple-teleport attacks seen in the comic, Z-Axis is working to let players perform one of Nightcrawler's signature attacks from the movie: teleporting around a foe quickly, landing a punch every time he materializes.

The Iceman level offered a totally different kind of gameplay experience from the Wolverine and Nightcrawler levels. The outdoor level finds Iceman attempting to defend a nuclear reactor from a fiery serpent and an old comrade, all while riding a slide made of ice. The slide mechanic will serve as the basis for all of the Iceman levels, and it puts him in constant motion, maneuvering around large environments and making use of his assorted ice attacks. In the demo, we saw that he could fire a basic ice beam, which came in handy for extinguishing fires; shoot ice-based projectiles, which is very handy for dealing with fiery targets; and create an ice shield, which he could use to protect himself or ram into things with.

The three demos showed some promise, but they have a way to go before we're completely sold on the game. We extracted a little bit more info out of the Z-Axis reps about the mechanics of the game and were left cautiously optimistic about the game's structure. Though you'll have some freedom in choosing the hero you wish to play as, at certain points you'll be required to play as a specific character. Also, a "mutant evolution" system will let you earn points, which can be used to upgrade different aspects of your hero. From the sounds of it, the system may be similar to the World of Warcraft talent point system, since you'll be able to upgrade specific aspects of the characters. For example, you'll be able to extend the duration of Wolverine's rage enhancements or the amount of time Nightcrawler can teleport around an enemy. Lastly, the game will feature a variety of different unlockables for you to check out.

The game's presentation is still very much a work in progress, but it looked good for where it was. The visuals are coming together pretty well, with the trio of heroes maintaining the look of their silver-screen counterparts. At the moment, Wolverine and Nightcrawler are looking the sharpest. Iceman still has a way to go, but due to the nature of his levels, he doesn't have to look exactly like his movie counterpart. The three environments we saw were a modest sampling of the locales you'll be heading to over the course of your adventure. The Alkali Lake base, last seen in X2, had a suitably distressed look, which fit the setting of the Nightcrawler and Wolverine levels. The expansive Iceman level, set around the exterior of a nuclear reactor, offered a generous amount of open space, which suits Iceman's gameplay. The other key element of the experience is the effects used to convey the team's unique abilities. Wolverine's effects are some of the most challenging to get across to players, given their physical nature.

That said, we do like where Z-Axis is going with the filter effects for Wolvie's rage and his interaction with the environment. Nightcrawler fares nearly as well, but we're not sold on the teleportation effect just yet. We do appreciate his fading into shadows, though. Iceman is in many ways the best realized of the three characters in the game, thanks to the smart use of effects for his powers. The ice slide looks sharp and mimics the look from the comics and cartoons. The same holds true for Iceman's assorted ice-based attacks, which are represented by beams; solid, shieldlike constructs; and projectiles. The final piece of the puzzle is the cinematics, which will aid in moving the story along. It appears that the The Last Stand game will take two approaches in telling its story. The first is the tried-and-true in-game cinematics, which will use the game's graphics engine as they play out during the course of the adventure. The second will be a more artsy assortment of partially animated still imagery, and it features a fully voiced-over script, which Z-Axis hopes will help make the cutscenes come across as an animated graphic novel.

The audio in the work-in-progress build was still pretty rough, but we got a quick fill-in on what the team is aiming for. Basically, the game will use some of the same songs that are in the film, but it will have its own unique tunes as well. More importantly, the gang at Z-Axis is eagerly working to create sound effects, especially for the signature moments, such as the "snikt!" of Wolverine's extending claws or the "bamf!" of displaced air as Nightcrawler teleports, which players and comic fans can equally appreciate. Activision and Z-Axis are also working to secure as much talent from the film as possible to voice the game's cast and to give it that extra layer of authenticity.

Based on what we've seen, the The Last Stand game is looking like it should appeal to fans of both the film and the comics if its gameplay delivers. Though having only three X-Men to play as isn't the worst thing in the world, we're curious to see how the game will be balanced between the three characters. We're disappointed at the game's lack of multiplayer options and hope that the single-player game will be able to offer a deep enough experience to keep players hooked. Still, the game's modest ambitions may wind up working out perfectly for the experience it's aiming for--a bridge to the upcoming film. We'll be keeping an eye on X-Men: The Official Movie Game as its May release on the GameCube, PC, PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360 nears. Look for more in the coming weeks.