X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse [GC]

The online portion of the game features Story Mode and Skirmish. In Story mode, if you host a game and as long as they aren't three others already playing, other players can jump in and out at any time without hassle or disturbance. All you need to do is press the Start button to get going. The feature works well on all three systems (Xbox, PS2, PC), though it's generally a smoother experience on Xbox and PC than PS2 (which also adds in longer loading times).

Skirmish mode enables players with level 16 or over to play in pitched battles against one another, creating relatively similar powered characters to fight one another.

For the most part, however, the experience on all three systems is seamless and once you get playing, it's quick and instant. Aside from a few hiccups that are a part of any online experience, and a few framerate blurps when multiple enemies appear onscreen while you're pulling off super combos, the game holds steady.

Gamers jumping into a four-player split-screen offline game will also experience instant access and no technical problems. In both offline and online play, if a player leaves, they're replaced automatically. This holds true for every player except the host.

In Rise of Apocalypse, stat building was altered and improved for the sole purpose of playing online uninterrupted. Players can adjust their four major stat characteristics (body, focus, strike and speed) independently of their skills, which include the massive addition of twice as many super powers are before.

To keep games streamlined and focused on pure action, Activision also enables players to give the AI the ability to automatically upgrade both stats and skills and designate the best items to the most appropriate character. Very sweet indeed if you're in online and in a rush. Totally apocryphal if you're an RPG purist. But online or in a four-player offline game, it makes a lotof sense. You can easily change this option in the menu page, and it's a great option because no one will have to wait around for you to upgrade. It just happens and you go. For offline games, the option is still there so you can painstakingly adjust each area. The same goes for items, of which there is a huge amount.

Unfortunately, the biggest new addition, online play, is not supported in the GameCube version. Other than that exception, the GameCube version stands up to any of the others, but considering how significant an enhancement online is, the score for the Cube version was affected. On PC, GameSpy powers online connections, which run fine.

Graphics and Sound Unlike the first X-Men Legends, Rise of Apocalypse takes place in many different areas. You won't actually even go to the X-Mansion at all. (Small spoiler…It's blown up quickly before you get there.) Instead, your base camp changes from place to place. You'll start off in the desert areas of Genosha in chapter 1, whisk away to Avalon in the Savage Lands in Antarctica in chapter 2, travel to Canada and camp at Weapon X Facility, go to Egypt, and more. The result is each new environment has its own color palette and theme, giving this sequel a variety of backgrounds and sights to see.

The graphic style is still exactly the same as in the first game. You'll see what look like cell shaded characters moving fluidly around the environment, but the art style isn't cell shaded at all, it's "comic book" shaded. Meaning that Raven wanted to create a comic book-like affect, basic shading outlined in heavy black lines, while also creating super easy to animate and design characters with a fast framerate. This art style lends itself smartly to all systems, and you'll notice very little difference between the look on each system. Of course, the biggest difference is the Xbox version, which supports 720p, giving it extra sharp qualities.

What you'll notice is how each character runs and moves, exactly like they should. Toad, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine stand out as they hop, crawl, and hunker down, respectively.

The addition of more interactive environments creates more explorative giddiness. And the easier to access environments makes for a better overall ease of use. For the most part, the game backgrounds look very detailed, while the character design remains simple, and the breakable objects and special lighting effects used in the super powers remain the big highlights.

Sound-wise, the game offers a wealth of super voice talent. Patrick Stewart does an exceptional job as Xavier, while Juggernaut is done by John DiMaggio, and Forge is handled by Lou Diamond Phillips. The other cast members all do a stand-up job envisioning the over-the-top characters from the wild X-Men universe.

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