Customer Reviews

X-men: Next Dimension

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bottom line....This game is really, really, DAMN good. It's not Tekken or Soul Calibur, but it's a strong game. The graphics are fantastic. The move list is incredibly long. And it's incredibly challenging. And there are plenty of characters to keep any gamer happy. The main flaw..the controls. It has to be the WIERDEST control set-up in history. Very odd indeed. However, this only because of the new gameplay in this game. The control needs to be set-up like it is. It's just not your normal 6 button fighting set-up (or Tekken's 4 button set-up). This game tried to take control to a whole new level. And it does. It just completely throws you off and is very difficult to adjust to. After playing this game for a couple days, it's fine. The controls don't bug me at all. You just have to get used it. But you will HATE it at first...and even get a little frustrated (I was sooo close to returning it). But the game is definitely worth it to work through that frustration. It's a hella fun. And I can't imagine having the controls any other way. Before this game, I hated the Mutant Acadamy games. However, If you like the X-Men, you will thoroughly enjoy this game. This is the best use of the characters that I have ever seen. If anything, give it a rent. However, expect to put a few Hours in (yes..Hours) to learn the controls.

Oh...Hidden Characters: Bishop (beat arcade mode w/ Gambit), The Blob (beat arcade mode w/ Bishop), Dark Phoenix (beat arcade mode w/ Phoenix) & Pyslocke (beat arcade mode w/ Betsy.....I don't know what the difference is either between Betsy & Pyslocke, even though they're technically the same person. Havn't got her yet.). X-Box has a extra character....Pyro.

This is an excellent rendition of the X-Men characters. They each look very original.Their moves and "supers" (special use of powers to beat or greatly damage an opponent) are excellent. The 3-D environments are beautiful and the fact that there's a story to follow is a plus.

I must say though, I am somewhat disappointed to read some of the reviews and the criticisms offered. I feel that too much emphasis is placed on the very minor flaws of the game without really taking in consideration all that the game really offers.

Some mention the fact that there are too many moves to master for each character and that somehow this is not an appealing feature of the game.I tend to disagree with this because there are easy fighting combos that can be learned rather quickly to have fun. If you're the type of person that likes to fully master a character than this game provides that as well.

Playing in "Story Mode" to unlock secret characters is fun and although the story stays the same you can always skip it. Then again this is a plus that can only be built on for a future game. I haven't seen this combination in other games, so it is definitely good in my book.

It was also mentioned that playing Prime Sentinel A is hard in "Easy Mode" as opposed to other characters--then again, he's not supposed to be easy, he's a robot with mutagenic disabling powers, what else could you expect.

Another one of the goodies that this game offers is the playing in "Practice Mode". Here you can learn all the moves or any particular move of any character.

So far this game has a great replay value for me and my 4 year old son. Whether you're an X-Men fan or not you will appreciate the great graphics and characterization of this game. At least rent it and you definitely will not be disappointed. If you buy it, you have made an excellent investment for hours of fun.

I like the X-men. I like fighting games. So, one would naturally think that this game would be a perfect combination right? Well, almost. While I have been a fan of the X-men fighting games from Activision and Paradox since the PSOne version, something seems to be wrong with this title. The plethora of characters is great, and the moves are awesome as well. I am certainly pleased with the interactive backgrounds and fighting arenas. The added "story" mode was also a nice touch. Yet despite all these additions, this game still cant live up to the greatness that was X-men: Mutant Academy 2 on the PSOne.
I suppose the most glaring problem with this game is the AI. The computer will kill you everytime. Some characters are deceptively easy to defeat, and others are almost impossible to conquer. The next problem lies with the fact that the game is incredible shallow. The options menu has a list of "assets" or unlockable items within the game. They range from extra costumes, extra characters, and FMV sequences. The main objective that must be accomplished in order to unlock these things is to "fight in story mode and win." The only problem is that the "story" mode is the same EVERY TIME that you play through it. The exact same. Nothing changes. Shallow and poorly though out, but still fun, at least the 1st time through.
Despite this games obvious and glaring flaws, it is still a solid fighter with complex moves and a trove of characters to play. I would suggest that most people rent this title. Those people who purchase this title should not expect dissapointment, but rather should view it as a work-in-progress and hope that the 2nd offering will be like the previous games. X-men Mutant Academy for the PSOne was sub-par. Then came X-men Mutant Academy 2...and it was awesome. Perhaps so with X-men Next Dimension...perhaps X-men Next Dimension 2 with return and rescue the ailing first outing for the PS2.

One would not say I am good at video games. Usually, my character stands around looking mildly befuddled until they are shot/beheaded/blown-up/kicked by the other players. However, I am a glutton for punishment and love fighting games dispite my lack of ability. Being a huge X-Men fan and having a younger brother who recently bought a PS2, I rushed to Blockbuster on my Thanksgiving Break to rent "X-Men:Next Dimension".
I loved it. The huge selection of characters gave me a chance to play my favourites from the comics- Gambit, Magneto and Nightcrawler. It was a little tricky when we first started, using the "button-mashing" play style, but once we took a little time to look at the moves menu, even I, the video-game challanged, managed to seriously kick my video-game addict brother's butt. Perhaps for the impatient, taking time to learn the special moves might be dull and frustrating, but I think the sheer satisfaction of successfully whipping out a "52 Card Pick Up" or an "Electro-Magnetic Concussion" to defeat one's opponent is definatly worth the effort.

Having actually played to game for a while now...I must say that this game could have been something really great. Now now...it is good, but somethings get in the way of greatness. The game basically looks like the Mutant Academy series, only this time it is truly "3-D", the arenas rotate and move like a whirling dervish gone mad. The sheer list of starting playable characters is gigantic (17 all told, including the new Lady Deathstrike) and the choice of levels is cool too. The graphics are good (I've got the Gamecube version), and the animation is amazingly smooth and supple. So what's wrong? I'll tell you...the control are wacked. They don't feel right and rely on the small direction pad. Anyone with big fingers better hack them off about half way down. The control stick can be used to move the character left and right, but if you try to jump or squat, you'll move in a circle around the opponent. This can make it hard to get out of the way in time. The smarter thing to do would have been use the C-stick to move in circles...but who am I? Also the game can be insanely varied no matter what difficulty you have set. You could face a character, have no problem, then move on and get your [...] whooped by a CPU on easy. That takes the fun out of it. Okay...so if you were totally into Mutant Academy, pick this baby up. Otherwise rent it and check it out that way.

Finally, after purchasing a dozen games, this is the game that has made picking up my PlayStation 2 (er... for my son) worth it. Every player has their strengths and weaknesses and it is fun to explore each character. I've (um, I mean we've) put many, many hours into this game and don't see us getting tired of it anytime soon.

For an X-Men Fighting game, this is one of the best. It is fun and has great replay value. I love the story mode feature, you follow a story like watching a movie or reading the comics. But, it can get a little annoying because you can't save your progress and fighting the same fights time and time agian gets old. But overall I love this feature and wish more games would have it.

My biggest gripe would be some of the characters. For the most part a good job was done in choosing the characters for the game, but I have always disliked the idea of X-Men with guns, so finding out that Forge was a character erked me. Then I realized Mystique also carried a gun. Then to my horror I found out Bishop was a secret character! Maybe some people like Bishop, but I could live without him. I would love to see Colossus, Iceman, Archangel, Shadowcat or Dazzler in a game. I would also like more action/adventure and less X fighting games.

All in all the Playstation version is fantastic. The difficulty starts getting a bit easy though after learning the controls and a few basic combos. My biggest gripe is the villain and unlockiable characters. Bastion is a stupid villain. From X-men's long history you'd think they could do a few better like the Shadow King or Apocalypse, but no, just a droid with lasers, whoop-de-doo. Sentinel A is cool, but Dark Phoenix and Psylocke are just rehashed versions of Betsy and regular Phoenix, I think they just got lazy. When the hell will they get the X-men I really want, Collosus, Iceman, and Archangel, three of the origionals have yet to make it to a quality X-men fighting game.

this game is really good except for the xtremely long loading time between matches. there was enough time for me to get a few sodas and come back and i didn't miss a thing.

In terms of accuracy, atmosphere and character representation, 'X-Men: Next Dimension' on the PS 2 is an absolute winner. In terms of gameplay, however, it suffers from one or two major flaws that keep the game from becoming an instant classic.

There are so many wonderful characters here, it's almost impossible to know where to begin. There are several different versions of Jean Grey, Wolverine and Psylocke, as well as the favourites - Cyclops, Beast, Magneto, Storm etc. - and a number of less-well known, but beautifully realised secondary characters from the comic books, like Forge, Juggernaut, Havok and Nightcrawler. Each character is visually faithful to their Marvel counterpart, and the voice-acting is, happily, top-notch.

The backgrounds, too, are lush and complicaed, with miltiple levels and different areas in each stage adding hugely to the gameplay. The music is a little muffled, but who cares?

Graphically, there are one or two small flaws. The characters were never going to be as smooth or as detailed as those from the big-league fighters, like Tekken and Soul Calibur. They're still good, though - nice and big with colourful costumes and fluid movements. Polygon pop-up is a small flaw, too - it's there, but it's not bad. The effects are beautiful - in particular, when a character executes an overdrive move - and the game moves at an excellent speed.

The main problem with Next Dimension is the horrific difficulty level. It is a game meant specificfally for 2-player mode, and both of those players need to be X-Men fans in order to fully appreciate the depth and scope of the game. In 1-player mode, anything past 2 stars of difficulty is nigh-on impossible and since you unlock the myriad special features by completing the game, it might put some less-enthusiastic players off.

That said, 'X-Men Next Dimension' is still a solid, enjoyable fighter, and if you're a fan, you'll adore it.