Now this is X-tremely good
Written: Sep 03 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Graphics,music,gameplay
Cons: character choice could have been better
The Bottom Line: Fans of platformers and the X-Men alike should look for this game, an underappreciated piece of Genesis platforming greatness
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| flash-hammer's Full Review: X-Men 2: Clone Wars for Sega Genesis |
One of the final Genesis games I bought (well technically the first, I had loads of Megadrive games, but this was my first US import so therefor first 'Genesis' game), X-Men 2 was a game I went into with pretty high expectations. My past experiences with Marvel Comic's mutants in videogame form had been mostly positive, Konami's awesome arcade game and Sega's own above average original X-Men for their 16-Bit console heavily outweighed the horrible Spider Man And the X-Men for the Snes and Sega.
Clone Wars, as I will refer to it from here on in, is a platform game not too dissimilar to it's prequel. The goal is to get to the end of level, fighting enemies and solving minor puzzles to get there, before often squaring off against a boss.
This game upped the ante in terms of playable characters, but sadly removed the feature of calling in helpers. But alas, playable here are Wolverine,Cyclops,Nightcrawler,Gambit,Psylocke and Beast. Also playable once you beat him early in the game is the X-Men's regular foe Magneto. Each character has their own strengths, weaknesses and mutant powers. From Nightcrawler being able to teleport to Psylocke's Psychic blade, they all have their uses.
The main plot of the game, is that the Cybernetic alien organism the Phalanx, it aims to take over the world, and is removing people and replacing them with identical clones at a rapid rate. Proffessor X catches wind of this, and also discovers that they have cloned and replaced all of Magneto's Acolyte followers, and they are trying to take over a sentinel factory. The X-Men will have to defeat enemies that they don't know if they are original or clones, or foes such as Exodus, Tusk and Apocalypse, as well as squaring off against the Phalanx Queen, and even clones of themselves...
Graphically, Clone Wars is leagues ahead of its prequel, which wasn't exactly bad looking to begin with. The sprites are larger and more detailed than the originals, and they also feature more animation. The stages also look great, with my favourite being the sentinel factory, complete with stationary robots behind, and the Phalanx ship, which has all the orangey-yellow bio-organic stuff that is impossible to describe unless you read the comic/saw the cartoon with the Phalanx.
I have to admit that the Savage Land level disappointed me though, the original game's version of the prehistoric lost world was full of atmosphere and really felt like a Jungle, here it is more alien in appearance.
The sound in the game is once again of a high calibre. The music in the game is really cool, with each stage having a suitable and catchy theme. The opening level, in Siberian wastelands, has a superbly bleak sounding music track to go with it. The sound effects can't be complained about either, apart from the explosions, which sound like they could have been accomplished on the NES.
Controls in the game are the same as in the first. A uses your mutant power, B attacks and C jumps. No response complaints, and they were easy enough to master and use in the first game, and are equally as useful here. Simple and effective.
While the basic gameplay of the first game has remained the same, a number of changes have been made from the first game. As I mentioned earlier, the assist characters have been removed, which is a shame, but not exactly a tragedy. Your mutant powers are no longer limited, which is a nice touch, and those that use projectiles, like Cyclops and Gambit, actually have a bar so you can see and charge up extra powerful shots. While Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Gambit have retained their powers from the original, albeit them given a makeover, Wolverine now has his claws permanently extended, and his power is a leaping slash. Psylocke has her psychic knife, which is devastating, but only harms organic creatures, and Beast hits the ground really hard, harming any enemies in the vicinity. It has to be said that the new characters' powers are pretty lame, but having more characters is a nice bonus.
In terms of sheer enjoyment, Clone Wars, is a true winner. It even surpasses my liking for Sega's first title. The levels are well designed and thought out, such as escaping the exploding Sentinel factory, the enemies fairly tough and well positioned, and the first game just generally improved on in almost every way. The 2 Player co-op mode is no longer a tacked on at the last minute option, its now a highly enjoyable way of playing. The game even includes the first, and to this date only, that I have encountered, games equivalent of a pre-credit sequence. The minute the cart is switched on, you start with a random character in Siberia. I just thought this was an awesome touch, and the fact no one has done it since makes it stand out even more. The game is also no longer horrifically hard, but just a nice difficulty to be challenging, without being hellish.
While I'm not going to pretend the game doesn't have it's faults, the lack of really cool boss characters being the primary one, I mean, with the awesome rogues gallery the X-Men have, why did we get such few and poor bosses. Even the characters that don't appear in the first game. Where are Sauron, Pyro, Silver Samurai and company?
The actual character choice could also have done with a bit of work, I mean wouldn't everyone have preferred Colossus to Beast and Storm to Psylocke?
But the character issues aside, Clone Wars has it where it counts, in the gameplay. I feel the full marks I give it is justified, because as far as 16-Bit platformers go, I can't say I have played that many better ones, and even then while they may be technically better, Clone Wars has them beat on simple enjoyment factor.
I really can only think of 2 platformers that have this beat for the simple factor of being sheer fun. Those are Sonic 2 and Earthworm Jim, two legendary games.
Summing up what is special about the game is incredibly hard, like it should be for all great games, an unidetifiable wave that can only be described as 'enjoyment factor'. Clone Wars is a game that looks good, sounds good and plays great. While some might say its my nostalgia towards the characters, that may be true. But even if you have no idea who the X-Men are, this game still has enough quality in it to still sustain a score of at least a high 4.
If you are a fan of 16-Bit games, and platformers, X-Men 2:Clone Wars is highly recommended to you, it's a great game, often discarded due to it being a licensed tie-in. If you are actually a fan of the X-Men, you really should own the game. It's definitely up there as one of their best gaming appearances, and in terms of X-Games on home systems, only Capcom's Children of the Atom game can claim to outclass it.
Related Reviews
X-Men for Sega Genesis
Recommended:
Yes
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flash-hammer
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