by Superhero games are on the rise in the market, and with DC Comics capitalizing on the upcoming release of one of its most popular heroes, Marvel Studios have thrown their hat in the ring with X-Men: Destiny. Its no easy task to carry the torch of one of the most recognized superhero franchises, and while the game tries to impress, the content simply does not do the name justice.
X-Men Destiny Release date: September 27, 2011
Story and Gameplay
We start off with a human-mutant peace rally, where the player is given the choice of controlling one of three characters. Each character has its own back story and personal motivations. You can also choose from a set of three basic powers and carve your own story within the X-Men universe. The characters and powers are all unique in their own respect and have a bit of replay value; whether you would actually want to dive back in is another story. The plot does not make sense half the time; however, Silicon Knights remain faithful to the source material. Characters from both X-Men and brotherhood of mutants drop in at frequent intervals, in fact the amount of cameos in the game starts to get annoying real quick. Though you are given the option of choosing sides and taking control of how the story progresses, it,s a far cry from the kind of influence you have over the plot in other similar games. Combat is a button-mashing affair that could have been great, had the game been given more time for development. There are standard and power-based attacks, and you will acquire new powers and moves through experience points and X-Genes. Enemies are repetitive and offer no real challenge. The occasional boss battles, however, will keep you on your toes.
Outside of combat, there is not much to do; other than scaling obstacles in the environment (highlighted via a glowing flash), and reaching the next checkpoint. The story and gameplay of X-Men: Destiny is satisfactory, so it will get only 5.5/10 in story and 5.8/10 in gameplay.
Visual and Audio
The game really suffers when it comes to visual presentation. Character modes are either good or horrendously bad, with plenty of frame rate dips and confusing environment. The overall effect makes you feel like you are playing a game that ought to have some out years ago on older hardware. Similarly, the audio is shaky, save some improvement in character portrayals. Visuals and audio of X-Men Destiny are not impressive, so it will get 5.7/10.
Conclusion
Ultimately, X-Men: Destiny tries to sell itself as a game that immerses you into the world of the comics, but the execution is highly marred with substandard work. To bad for Marvel, let,s see what DC comes up with next time.
