GAME REVIEW 'X-Men Legends' should please fans

The better you fight, the more powers you unlock.
By JAMES HART
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
"X-Men Legends," Activision's new role-playing game, should please "X-Men" fans who've wanted a video game that lives up to the comic book's extensive mythology.
The new game lets players pick from 15 X-Men for four-man teams, and even more characters make cameos. Play with friends or alone; the game's AI can run the other characters. Players can also toggle between heroes during fights, to take advantage of specific skills.
The story itself is a big, sprawling thing. Gamers start off battling the Brotherhood of Mutants and, by the end, will have seen Muir Island, Magneto, Juggernaut, the Astral Plane and more. The creators have squeezed in every last bit of lore.
There's a lot to like about the game play. It looks and sounds great when you let off an optic blast as Cyclops or call down lightning as Storm. One word of advice: Choosing who is on the four-man team can be crucial. At a few points, only Iceman and Jean Grey can get you where you need to go.
The better you fight, the more points you earn, which unlocks better, scarier powers.
The graphics get a little buggy during melees but are otherwise solid. So is the sound. (There are some weird surprises among the voice talent. The cast includes Ed Asner, Lou Diamond Phillips and Danica McKellar, who had played Winnie Cooper in "The Wonder Years.")
Newest character
Between missions the game puts players in the role of Magma, the newest X-Man, as she roams around the X-Mansion and learns the team's history. A lot of that will be dull for longtime fans, but it's good for people just discovering the characters.
The main adventure is worth at least a rental, but the extra touches make the game stand out.
Players get the chance to jump into a series of "flashback missions" from the team's history. In one you're the X-Men when Jack Kirby drew them in the 1960s, and the Juggernaut is tearing the mansion apart looking for Professor Xavier. There are a slew of "Danger Room" training scenarios, too.
And look for a trivia game that will challenge even fans who've been reading the comic books for years. If you know who Mortimer Toynbee is, you should do OK.
X"X-Men: Legends," for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, is rated T for teens.