Electronic Gaming Monthly's Top 29 X-Men Games

X-Men: Mutant Academy (Game Boy Color)

#29

“X-Men is a perfect example of why game companies shouldn't even bother bringing out Game Boy Color versions of a proper home system title. Apparently, these games sell well even though we try to warn you about them. At best, this sorry excuse for a fighting game is the next generation of Tiger handhelds. There were times when I could smash on the buttons without even looking at the screen and win a fight – seriously.” (2 out of 10)

X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse (Game Boy Advance)

#28

“The best part about the X-Men comics, cartoons and movies is how pleasingly unrealistic the fighting is. If we had to watch Wolverine walk up and do the same five-hit combo on a dozen Sentinels in the new X-Men flick, the thing would tank worse than Waterworld. So, I can't get my heard around why anyone would enjoy making him do it in a video game. By the time I was fighting Magneto with my usual boring combo and the occasional air juggle, I would have killed for a puzzle, a kart racing level, an X-Men bake sale ... anything to break the tedium. Plus, the in-game dialogue has all the creativity and wit of a Fred Basset cartoon. Too bad, the game looks excellent.” (3 out of 10)

X-Men: Mutant Wars (Game Boy Color)

#27

“Remember those Marvel Superhero games Acclaim made way back when? You know, the ones that sucked? Well, X-Men: Mutant Wars is along those lines unfortunately, except published by Activision. Granted, it's not as repulsive as Fantastic Four or Ironman/XO Manowar, but it has some problems. First, while each level features different types of enemies and scenery, the basic concept remains the same. In its defense, each character has a number of moves, and there are plenty of X-Men stars, both heroes and villains. But chances are this game will still bore you to tears in just a couple of hours. It's too bad.” (3.5 out of 10)

X-Men: The Official Game (PS2, GCN, X360 & Xbox)

#26

“In case you thought movie licensed games were getting better, Activision has dropped its drawers to remind us that game companies can still produce these turds. X-Men is a vile pile of sloppy game design— crappy cameras, monotonous missions, and clunky controls riddle this experience. It's not particularly fun to play as any of the mutants, especially since the mission variety for each one caps off at zero -- every Wolverine level goes like this: Slash a slew of soldiers until you either 1) get bored and turn off the game, 2) get bored and return the game, or 3) get bored and eventually earn the “Mission Complete” screen. If you actually get to the third option, you're truly a hero.” (3.7 out of 10)

Wolverine: Adamantium Rage (Genesis)

#25

“First and foremost, what happened to the control? Wolverine is in serious need of a good dose of play control. The apparent lack of it can really test your skill, patience and the strength of your controller. I found out mine wasn't so durable. I'll say that the graphics are finely done, as are the music tracks, but the poor play control just totally overwhelms the positive aspects of the game. A poor game for a great superhero.” (4.25 out of 10)

X-Men: Mojo World (Game Gear)

#24

“I'm really fed up with dull, no-frills side-scrolling games like X-Men 3. This title demands no strategy – and even less thought; you just traipse around level after level and beat up badly animated bad guys while listening to annoying music. Sure, the levels are plenty big, but your character moves so slow he or she takes forever to get anywhere. Each X-Man can also use a special attack, which takes some of the monotony out of killing enemies. The sad thing is we'll probably see more games like this for Game Gear.” (4.5 out of 10)

X-Men vs. Street Fighter (PlayStation)

#23

“I'm a big fan of the Vs. series, but X-Men vs. Street Fighter on the PlayStation just doesn't cut it at all. It's bad enough they had to cut out the two-on-two tag play of the arcade, but what's worse is that the game suffers from INSANE amounts of slowdown. The extra modes are OK, and I actually prefer being able to cancel supers, but the slowdown just kills it all for me. Too bad Saturn's dead, Capcom fans ...” (4.6 out of 10)

X-Men: Children of the Atom (PlayStation)

#22

“Surprised! After months of delays, look what finally showed up on our doorstep. Well, much to my dismay, I wish I never opened the door. Probe managed to finish the work Capcom started, but the final product isn't even up to the standards of the PlayStation DarkStalkers, let along the recently released (and very nice) Marvel Super Heroes. Tons of slowdown, no Survival or Group battle Modes, and ... tons more slowdown. Save your pennies and wait for X-Men vs. Street Fighter EX.” (5 out of 10)

X2: Wolverine's Revenge (PlayStation 2)

#21

“It's a good thing I don't have adamantium claws myself – there's a good chance they'd have taken out a few controllers I as played Revenge. This game is tough ... but usually for the wrong reasons. I can't help feeling I would have had a much easier time getting through it if the shoddy control had received a little more attention. What's with making me awkwardly HOLD DOWN L2 to stay in stealth mode?! Also, while the game looks all right, the environments lack detail. Despite these shortcomings, I still had a genuinely good time playing as one of my favorite comic book heroes – but it's by no means a great game.” (5 out of 10)

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (PlayStation)

#20

“Judged on appearance alone, Mutant Academy 2 looks pretty sweet. The graphics are excellent, showcasing detailed character models, a surplus of impressive special effects and animated 3D backgrounds. What hasn't gained any ground is the gameplay. It's obvious that the developers researched many a fighting game while designing Mutant Academy 2, but despite being a touch more difficult than the first Mutant Academy, the A.I. is so completely non-existent that the old ‘whack one button and win' strategy still works wonders. Great stuff for X-Men fans, but utterly average.” (5 out of 10)

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (PS2, GCN & Xbox)

#19

“How does something like this even happen? Electronic Arts splurges on this awesome license, which brings together a gaggle of classic comic heroes and even a full slate of original characters, but the so-called story mode is a narrative-light, repetitive bashfest. Thanks to the detail-free graphics and a severe lack of gameplay ideas, this game runs out of steam after an hour or two. The fights may be intense, but they're also cheap as hell. Nemesis doesn't work well as a one-on-one fighter, either. It's so simplistic you can squeeze every drop of fun out of it in one evening. What a waste – and a disappointment for comic fans.” (5.3 out of 10)

Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (Game Gear)

#18

“Allowing you to play as several superheroes is a big plus with this one. The levels are huge, but the game is a little on the difficult side. This one will take several plays before mastering all the characters' moves.” (6 out of 10)

Wolverine: Adamantium Rage (Super NES)

#17

“Everyone's favorite X-Man fares pretty well on the Super NES. Wolverine has plenty of moves and lots of technique, and fans of the comic character will definitely want to check this one out. But in the end, it's routine action.” (6.2 out of 10)

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Xbox)

#16

“I generally prefer Street Fighters of the less insane variety, but Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is still an enjoyable, silly fighter. It offers a ton of vastly different playable characters – some easily exploitable. A few are relatively harmless, while others are simply laughable on a conceptual level. Embarrassing characters aside, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is still a 2D visual tour de force, bursting with vivacious color, stylish humor, and fluid animations. Ultimately, though, the mysterious lack of Xbox Live support makes this antiquated fighter feel irrelevant on Xbox. Been there, done that.” (6.3 out of 10)

X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy (Game Gear)

#15

“There are some unique options this time around, including the ability to pick from more X-Men as the game progresses. The graphics are very good, and the moves are easy enough to execute. A good sequel.” (6.4 out of 10)

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (PlayStation)

#14

“You know what we're going to say – it's the same thing we've said for the previous two PlayStation Vs. games. Not being able to tag your partner in non-crossover mode play is disappointing, period. It's even more annoying here, because you can't have a partner AND a third ‘special hero' in the normal game. On the plus side, the animation is impressive for a PlayStation sprite-based fighter. Super Cancels, as always, are a cool feature, though we would've preferred if they were an option you can turn on or off. If you can't get the Dreamcast version, this isn't a bad alternative.” (6.5 out of 10)

X-Men: Next Dimension (GameCube)

#13

“You'd expect Next Dimension to be a step up from the PlayStation Academy games, but it's actually more of a mutated shuffle sideways. It's not crap -- X-fans will enjoy the easy moves and massive environments, plus familiar heroes, villains, and locations. Even Professor X himself, Patrick Stewart, lends his voice. If you look below the surface, though, you'll find a merely passable fighting game. Too many characters play almost identically, and orchestrating movement with both the D-pad and analog creates crazy exploitable mistakes, like blocking while moving in for a throw. This one's for fans only.” (6.7 out of 10)

Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (Super NES)

#12

“First of all, the fact that you can't select the character you want hurts this cart greatly. Each character is designated a group of levels and you must complete them using only that specific character. Bummer! The graphics and tunes are OK, but the sounds get annoying (especially Spider sense). Nice try, but no banana.” (6.75 out of 10)

X-Men (Genesis)

#11

“The X-Men is a cool license, but this game manages only to capture the powers and skills of the best of the bunch, with little innovation along the way. The interaction is a bit jerky; for a comics-based title, there should've been more emphasis on fluidity. The game play is straightforward stuff replayed with different characters.” (6.75 out of 10)

X-Men 2: Clone Wars (Genesis)

#10

“X-Men 2: Clone Wars is pretty much the first Genesis X-Men game, except there are more characters to choose from, each with diversified attacks. Yet, the game suffers from generic sound effects and other sub-par elements (not to mention that goofy, mandatory introduction stage). Granted, there are several attacks and techniques to master, but the game never seems to come alive, despite a few cool (not to mention huge) bosses and challenging levels.” (6.8 out of 10)

X-Men: Mutant Academy (PlayStation)

#9

“After seeing the X-Men so many times in the Capcom Versus fighting games – looking just like their comic book selves in 2D with silky-smooth animation – they look pretty horrible here in semi-clunky polygons. There's enough characters, moves and special attacks to keep it fun against friends for a bit, but after extended play or against the CPU it gets dull. Nothing special, but if you're a fan who needs more after seeing the movies ten times, this'll work.” (6.8 out of 10)

Marvel Super Heroes (PlayStation)

#8

“Here's a game I've been very critical of, thanks to the tacky X-Men fighting engine. While many argue in its favor, I don't enjoy it nearly as much as the Street Fighter engine. So, when I see that parody of Street Fighter plagued with slowdown and fewer animations than in the arcade, I cannot support it whole-heartedly. Marvel Super Heroes is a good fighter, don't get me wrong. It's just that if comic characters weren't there, I'd be less apt to play it.” (7.1 out of 10)

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Xbox 360)

#7

“Can you name more than two dozen Marvel superheroes off the top of your head? Yeah, it's a lot ... more than enough for Activision to include all the big ones in Ultimate Alliance while still leaving space for some obscure favorites. Sweet Christmas, it even crammed Luke Cage in here. It's a big game. But ... it's still a beat ‘em up at heart. Yeah, you've got a ton of guys to play with, but they're still beating up wave after wave of identical Doombots. Nothing but truth, justice and the American way to keep you from simply finding a single attack or combo that works and just mashing it forever.” (7.3 out of 10)

X-Men Legends (PS2, GCN & Xbox)

#6

“After a poor solo adventure starring Wolverine, Legends helps bring Marvel's ‘gifted' students back to respectability. Comic book loyalists will dig the diverse cast, the beefy character customization options, and the ability to hunt down magneto while sharing the couch with three fellow X-heads. But there are a few abnormalities in this game's mutant DNA: dimwitted A.I. squad mates, enemies who pack a bit too hard of a punch early on, and a weak story. Still, it's worth checking out.” (7.5 out of 10)

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (PlayStation)

#5

“While I wasn't crazy about the Vs. fighting thing, it's starting to grow on me. Capcom is starting to nail 2D fighters on the PlayStation, and the action is almost perfect. Big characters like the Hulk and Blackheart don't play as well as the smaller guys, but it's acceptable. The Cross Over Mode finally allows true vs. action, like the arcade. The ending collection and hidden artwork are nice incentives for beating the game repeatedly.” (7.5 out of 10)

Marvel Super Heroes (Saturn)

#4

“I guess we're seeing the Saturn's 2D limit, cuz Marvel Super Heroes suffers from a bit of slowdown. It's not unplayable, just don't expect a perfect arcade translation. The game itself is actually quite fun. Don't let its flashy, cartoony exterior fool you – Marvel Super Heroes has a lot of moves, combos and juggles. You might not be able to tell from just looking at it, but Marvel Super Heroes actually requires a bit of technique.” (7.6 out of 10)

X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (Super NES)

#3

“For once, a game has done justice to one of my favorite comics. First things first, the gameplay is absolutely outstanding. Sure, there are Street Fighter moves, but who cares? This isn't another Final Fight. This game requires skill and timing. The graphics are good, but not great, and the music is sort of blah. However, X-Men is fun to play, and that's what really counts. X-Men is a decent side-scroller.” (7.75 out of 10)

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (Dreamcast)

#2

“If there's one thing that this really highlights, it's the fact that the Dreamcast joypad isn't suited for 2D fighters. It may be OK for Soul Calibur, but I had a really hard time playing this and had to switch to an arcade stick. That's quite an investment if this is the only fighter you want. As Capcom fighters go though ... this is pretty damn perfect, and it captures the arcade game wonderfully. Hours will disappear as you master it.” (7.9 out of 10)

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Dreamcast)

#1

“This game is something special. Despite the deluge of Street Fighter-related software Capcom has released up until now, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 stands out as state-of-the-art in fighting games. Combining a simpler control scheme, gorgeous hi-res 2D/3D backgrounds and super-fast gameplay, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 takes Capcom's “versus” series to a new level. If you dig on 2D fighters, this is the cream of the crop. A must-buy for 2D fighting fans.” (8.8 out of 10)