The potential for a good game was definitely there. Z Axis are the team behind this title and they're best known for Aggressive Inline. The previous X-Men titles have been surprisingly good, with X-Men Legends 2 being one of the best titles on the PSP last year. The game is best described as a prequel to the new movie and it fills in the blanks between the second movie and the third movie. The script has been written by Zak Pen and adapted from a comic. As well as this the game features the voices and the looks of Hugh Jackman, Alan Cumming, and Shawn Ashmore. Patrick Stewart even returns to voice Professor X. It's all sounding pretty good isn't it?
Looks impressive? It's a lie.
Unfortunately, this game is a class demonstration that high profile talent does not make a good game. The game is best described as a beat 'em up, where players take control of either Wolverine, Iceman or Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler isn't actually in the third movie and as you play through this title it is revealed why. Considering he is clearly the most entertaining person to control, we're not really complaining.
Each of the three characters have their own levels and a different moveset. The movesets are actually quite basic, so there isn't too much variation. Wolverine has his claws as well as a rage ability which lets him pull off some aggressive moves. Iceman rides on a surfboard and flys through the air whilst using his ice beam. Iceman can also regenerate health (as if the game wasn't easy enough). Nightcrawler's moves are limited, but still the highlight of the package. Nightcrawler can teleport into unaccessible areas as well as use the teleport move in combat.
The main problem with the gameplay is that it is just not a lot of fun. There is a lot of repetition and a lot of the time you'll just be pressing the same button over and over again. There are no cool combos to execute and the level design is flat and boring. The AI should have been a lot more difficult as well. If you do just wander around the levels pressing the same button you're likely to complete the level quite easily. The entire game provides just about no challenge, so you're never really tested. If you collect files that are hidden throughout the levels then you can unlock cerebro files for each character wihch will upgrade their mutant powers. The cerebro files end up being more of a gimmick, because you never really need to upgrade your mutants.
Iceman's levels are on rail levels, a little linear but sometimes inspiring.
We only learnt that the game would be coming to the Xbox 360 a few months ago, and it seems like X-Men: The Official Movie Game is just another quick transition to the Xbox 360. We encountered a few basic glitches in the game that indicate that the game wasn't really in development for that long at all. None of the glitches are major, but a few times throughout the title enemies would disappear then reappear in a different spot or parts of the game would slow, it's really disappointing and brings down the presentation of the game. If you want to unlock all the 1000 gamerscore points from the title then you will need to hunt down the cerebro files. The achievements feel like a bit of a cop out though. If you complete the training levels you will unlock three achievements worth a total of 0 points. If you unlock 950 points then the game gives you the final 50. If you're after an easy amount of points then King Kong would be a wiser investment.
Visually the game isn't all that impressive for an Xbox 360 title. The game looks like a standard Xbox game and the boring levels make the game look even worse. The cut scenes are presented in some hybrid comic live action way. It takes a bit to get used to the visuals. We actually would have preferred FMV or something that looked a little better. The game also has the usual Xbox 360 premium over the current generation versions. There is just about no reason to purchase the Xbox 360 version over any other version, if you simply must have this game (do you like punishment?) then don't go spending full price on it for a few basic upgrades and some achievement points; it's really not worth it. The voicework is impressive, but only because it features Hugh Jackman and company. The rest of the characters are voiced by sound-a-likes who actually do an okay job. Aside from this the soundtrack doesn't really stand out as being memorable or particularly poor.
The game does include quite a few unlockables but they really are quite pointless. The game includes some danger room missions as well as hidden costumes. If you play through the entire game it will take about six to eight hours, but you really need to have a lot of patience to go through it all. As well as this the game provides just about no challenge so most people shouldn't have a problem completing the title without a challenge at all.
The graphics aren't that good for an Xbox 360 game.
X-Men: The Official Movie Game is a below average title that has been rushed to the Xbox 360. The game features poor AI, no challenge, glitches, boring levels and a minimalistic moveset. The Xbox 360 version has suffered the worse because it is more expensive and not much effort has been put into the achievements at all. If you've got X-Men fever and just have to have an X-Men title then we suggest X-Men Legends II, because this game is just going to put you off movie-to-game adaptations for at least a few weeks until the next adaptation comes out..
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