On paper, the concept behind X-Men: Destiny sounds intriguing: to control the fate of a new mutant in the X-Men universe. Unfortunately, the game never really delivers. It feels like it was rushed to market, with a convoluted plot, boring new characters, previous-generation console style graphics and animation, and gameplay that amounts to button-mashing on the controller.
X-Men: Destiny (PS3)
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Silicon Knights
Release Date: September 27, 2011
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence)
Also available for XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
From Activision’s Press Release:
In the action-RPG X-Men: Destiny, you control the fate of a new mutant in the X-Men universe. Every choice has a consequence, as your destiny is determined through the decisions you make as you advance through the game. Play as one of three new characters in X-Men lore, each one of whom must come to terms with his or her unique background and powerful mutant identity while uncovering the truth behind an epic event that threatens to tear apart the tenuous peace between humanity and mutant kind. Evolve and customize your core mutant powers with an opportunity to earn and equip “X-genes” to expand and alter your power base. Choose which path to take in key moments that impact your story and how other characters respond to you. Fight alongside and against famous mutants from the X-Men comics, including Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost and more. Will you choose to follow the teachings of the X-Men to unite mutants and humans, or will you usher in a new age of mutant domination with Magneto's Brotherhood? YOU decide.
Set in San Francisco, the game opens during a peace rally in honor of the late Professor Charles Francis Xavier led by Mutant Response Division Chief Luis Reyes. When the rally is interrupted by a violent attack from an unknown force, the chosen player’s dormant mutant powers are awakened, and assists in defending citizens against the Purifiers. The player’s character (Aimi Yoshida, the daughter of mutants who smuggled her out of japan before thet were captured; Grant Alexander, a college freshman and jock who is mostly clueless regarding the mutant conflict; Adrian Luca, the son of Purifiers who was raised to hate mustants) is given several options during the game to choose sides, either with the X-Men or Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants. Along the way, you meet up with Cyclops, Mystique, Forge, Bastion, Wolverine, etc.
Oh, boy, where do I begin? X-Men: Destiny arrived last week for review, a week past street date, and I have played this game off and on since it arrived, and almost immediately, I found problems with the game. For one, the scenes of dialogue go on endlessly, breaking up any flow in the gameplay. Even worse, the animation is flat, and the details often soft, resembling games originally written for the PlayStation 2. Another problem is that these new characters are generic, bland, and boring. The powers they pick up along the way amount to mashing buttons on the controller continuously until all the opponents are dead. Challenges are few and far between, and never really difficult. If you must, rent the game first before buying.
X-Men: Destiny (PS3)
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Silicon Knights
Release Date: September 27, 2011
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence)
Also available for XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
From Activision’s Press Release:
In the action-RPG X-Men: Destiny, you control the fate of a new mutant in the X-Men universe. Every choice has a consequence, as your destiny is determined through the decisions you make as you advance through the game. Play as one of three new characters in X-Men lore, each one of whom must come to terms with his or her unique background and powerful mutant identity while uncovering the truth behind an epic event that threatens to tear apart the tenuous peace between humanity and mutant kind. Evolve and customize your core mutant powers with an opportunity to earn and equip “X-genes” to expand and alter your power base. Choose which path to take in key moments that impact your story and how other characters respond to you. Fight alongside and against famous mutants from the X-Men comics, including Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost and more. Will you choose to follow the teachings of the X-Men to unite mutants and humans, or will you usher in a new age of mutant domination with Magneto's Brotherhood? YOU decide.
Set in San Francisco, the game opens during a peace rally in honor of the late Professor Charles Francis Xavier led by Mutant Response Division Chief Luis Reyes. When the rally is interrupted by a violent attack from an unknown force, the chosen player’s dormant mutant powers are awakened, and assists in defending citizens against the Purifiers. The player’s character (Aimi Yoshida, the daughter of mutants who smuggled her out of japan before thet were captured; Grant Alexander, a college freshman and jock who is mostly clueless regarding the mutant conflict; Adrian Luca, the son of Purifiers who was raised to hate mustants) is given several options during the game to choose sides, either with the X-Men or Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants. Along the way, you meet up with Cyclops, Mystique, Forge, Bastion, Wolverine, etc.
Oh, boy, where do I begin? X-Men: Destiny arrived last week for review, a week past street date, and I have played this game off and on since it arrived, and almost immediately, I found problems with the game. For one, the scenes of dialogue go on endlessly, breaking up any flow in the gameplay. Even worse, the animation is flat, and the details often soft, resembling games originally written for the PlayStation 2. Another problem is that these new characters are generic, bland, and boring. The powers they pick up along the way amount to mashing buttons on the controller continuously until all the opponents are dead. Challenges are few and far between, and never really difficult. If you must, rent the game first before buying.
