The graphics are very nice but can be a little blurry when you're zoomed out from the action. You'll be able to distinctly tell each character apart and see what special move they're using. The game is fluid and there isn't too much slowdown, even when there's a lot going on. The explosions are well done and the atmosphere of the game is dark. Mission briefings take the role of cinematic's, and not only look visually impressive but offer a lot of insight to the tension between the X-men and the Brotherhood. The menu looks good however the text is too small. You'll find yourself squinting when trying to read your objectives or character stats. The environment is semi-destructible which is great fun as you pick up things to throw at enemies, or decide that rather than using the door the wall looks like a better option.

The sound on X-men II is superb. Each character has in-game dialogue which they'll use when despatching an enemy or are in need of some help. Attack sounds are typical of what you'd expect a comic book based game to be and whilst offering nothing innovative they do the job. When you interact with other characters you'll get their voices explaining what's been going on. You'll have the option of asking different questions to elicit different information from each character as well.

This game is very easy to pick up and play. You can jump straight into the action (in fact that's what happens) without any prior experience and start bashing away at Apocalypse's forces. The characters move fluidly and their attacks are smooth. The levels are quite large and offer room to explore and find hidden items. The menu's and character selection screens are easy to navigate, however my feeling so far has been that aside from increasing where your stats go and what special skills you develop, the items you pick up such as bands and cloaks seem rather generic and you wont even realise whether you're wearing something with a special power or not.



You control one character in a party of 4 and decide where to take your group. The others will follow you, but have the option to have their aggression level set at different rates, so for example Wolverine will automatically go charging after enemies regardless of where everyone else is. This can be annoying (as you'll then have to go rescue him), but is also a good touch as it adds a certain amount of AI and realness to the game. Switching between the characters in the party is simple, and you'll want to do this when making use of their special abilities. Magneto can build bridges for you over certain spots whilst Storm will put out fires. At 'extraction' points you'll have the opportunity to change your team members around and with 19 characters available you'll have plenty of different combo's open to you.

There are 3 difficulty levels to choose from which will keep you busy. The levels themselves are pretty straightforward, you walk around till you find what you need. There doesn't seem to be a lot of puzzles in the game which can make it seem a little too linear. However in saying that the more things you interact with, the more you will learn about Apocalypse and his plot. The ‘bosses' prove to be the main obstacles, often they're massive and have their own special attacks which they're not afraid to use. Some of the minions will run away when confronted which I find both funny and annoying. There's nothing worse than chasing someone several screens backwards to hit them.



One thing which is annoying is the load times. Whilst not as long as Untold Legends, they are still quite noticeable. Even pressing the start button to bring up the submenu takes a few seconds. The load times for PSP games seem to be an issue for a lot of developers and I hope they work it out soon.

X-Men II is an addictive game. Its simple interface and engrossing plot offer a lot of enjoyment as you bash your way through the world. The levels are large, with lots of hidden goodies such as comic book art and danger room disc's to keep you at it for hours on end. There are a lot of unlockable features and mini games such as X-Men trivia or the Danger Room (where you learn new skills) to keep you playing.

X-Men II: Rise of Apocalypse is one of the best games out on the PSP. You don't have to know anything about the X-Men to get into this game or understand what's going on. The storyline will keep you interested as you make your way through different worlds both indoors and outdoors. Despite the long loading times the positives far outweigh the negatives and you'll patiently (or is that impatiently?) sit through the loading screens to get to the action. The great gameplay combined with a great storyline makes this the best RPG on the PSP so far and will be hard to beat anytime soon.

Pros:   • Gameplay   • Storyline   • Graphics   • PSP specific content Cons:   • Long loading times

Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Difficulty: Value: Score:

9/10 9/10 9/10 8/10 9/10 8.5/10