X-Men Next

X-Men: The Official Game has gone from newly announced mystery title to being fully playable seemingly overnight. Fans of the X-Men comics and movies are already excited at the prospect of seeing their favorite mutants in a new game, and a next-generation one at that.

It's now time to answer some of the burning questions. Is it a role-playing-game or an action title? Which characters will be involved? Will it offer a group dynamic or a solo experience? What is the storyline? While not every mystery is solved, a couple hours of solid gameplay have given me the opportunity to shed significant light on this title.

Has Wolverine met his match?

Character Focused
Though the X-Men are unquestionably an ensemble group, the new game takes a more focused approach to the characters. Instead of offering group-based gameplay that tries to offer a little bit of everything, this new title will focus specifically on Iceman, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler, with each level specific to one of the three.

This allows for much more specific character-based gameplay. Instead of generic challenges that can be solved by nearly anyone, each level is fraught with individual dangers that are tailor-made to one character.

The story takes us beyond the grief-filled
ending of X-Men United to the blockbuster
beginnings of the new film.

Fret not, X-Men fans; acclaimed X-Men scribe Chris Claremont has penned the story, and you can be sure that while the gameplay focuses on just three of the characters, the story—which bridges the events of X-Men 2: X-Men United with the new X-Men: The Final Stand film—involves many of your favorite mutant heroes, and answers many of the questions fans have been scratching their heads over since the end of the second movie.

Character Gameplay
With the focus on three heroes, the gameplay is incredibly unique and specific to the strengths of each hero. Wolverine focuses on sheer action, using his rage, healing factor, and adamantium claws and skeleton to bash, stab, toss, and slice his way through waves of enemies and distinctive boss encounters.

Iceman is slip-sliding away.

On the other hand, Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, offers more aerial long-range gameplay. He shoots along on slick looking ice-slides that can turn on a dime, increase to high velocity, or slow to a near stop, as he navigates the skies, utilizing gameplay techniques more often used in dogfighting flight games than superhero titles.

The Nightcrawler levels offer a mix of platform challenges as he "BAMF!" teleports from location to location, as well as melee combat; while similar to Wolverine, Nightcrawler takes a decidedly more stealthy approach. Teleport behind enemies with special surprise attacks and use a much more acrobatic approach to combat.

Mutant Evolution
While not primarily labeled as a role-playing game, this new X-Men title is heavy on the customization. Each successfully completed level offers you the opportunity to fiddle with the genetic structure of your hero, providing all sorts of extra boosts in ability.

His day job is a welder.

Whether it's hiking up Wolverine's healing factor, lengthening the effectiveness of Iceman's attacks, or increasing the base damage of Nightcrawler's attacks, each character has several different categories of abilities to power up as you progress through the game.

With a story that takes us beyond the grief-filled ending of X-Men United to the blockbuster beginnings of the new film, and gameplay that allows levels and challenges specific to three of our favorite mutant super-heroes, there's a lot to look forward to as this game approaches release on Xbox and Xbox 360. Look for more details on Xbox.com as this title approaches its summer release.

Article by Alex McLain