Professor Xavier has an important task for the X-Men...he has some grocery shopping to do and needs help picking out some cantaloupes. I almost wish that were serious. Could you imagine a game where Wolverine in full X-Men getup has to follow Professor X around as he's grocery shopping for prune juice? I would play that. Or a game where Cyclops takes Jean Grey to the mall and has to help her pick out new clothes. Just seeing the X-Men during the mundane parts of their lives would be interesting, that's for sure. Well, not as interesting as Thor washing his clothes or Captain America making lunch. Actually, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I do know that the X-Men are on a mission! The mission, should they choose to accept it, is this: there are mutants being held captive on the island of Genosha. Xavier sends out five of his best mutant superheroes to take down the complex and save the captives.

When you think of X-Men, there are a certain few that I'm sure immediately pop into your head. Obviously, Wolverine is the first one most people think of. The ones that come next usually vary between Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, etc. Then there are the ones that no one has ever heard of. As for the characters in the game, I'm sure you could guess at least three of the five. Wolverine, Cyclops, and Beast are among the better-known X-Men. Gambit is one of the ones people are familiar with but may not immediately think of (except for those of us who have him as our favorite). The other character surprised me with her appearance. Sure, I've heard of Psylocke, but I wasn't 100% certain of her abilities. Surprisingly, Psylocke is the most gosh darn epic character in the game! It's like buying a game in the bargain bin and finding out it's the best game ever made. She has some amazing moves despite the fact that the game barely utilizes her telepathic/telekinetic abilities to make ENERGY KNIVES FROM HER FISTS.

The other characters' moves and combos are very useful as well, but aren't animated quite so amazingly. Each one has a unique ability. Beast can walk on the ceiling. Wolverine can climb up walls using his knuckle claws (much like my kittens do to my legs when I'm holding anything). Cyclops has laser eyes. Gambit has his amazing staff skills and energy cards (and six pack abs. Hoo-hah!). The only thing I was truly disappointed in was Wolverine's lack of regeneration. I mean, come on! That's Wolverine's thing besides his adamantium claws! Oh well, I suppose it made the game sustain its challenging edge.

Wait for the upcoming DLC where Stan Lee just blinds enemies with his vast fortune.

Speaking of a challenge, this game is going to take you for the ride of your life! I am duly impressed with how well this game keeps you on your toes. Most of the time, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse has a Final Fight style of gameplay. Actually, now that I think about it, the entire game is similar to it except for the few platforms scattered here and there. Although, the game is like Street Fighter on occasion, especially with the twenty million end bosses you have to piledrive through! These bosses are no walk in the park. Having to go head to head with them is more like a lovely stroll through hell while covered in paper cuts. You would think Apocalypse, one of the most renowned villains in the X-Men universe, would be the final boss. HA! Silly me. You would have thought that defeating the person who was causing the main issue here would solve the problem. Nip it in the bud and all that. As it turns out, there are FOUR bosses after Apocalypse! It would make sense if they were his Four Horsemen, but two of them (Omega Red and Juggernaut) seem rather random. The game presents these two baddies as a practice for the big guys in the final levels. We've had the entire game! Apocalypse was a pain in the butt buns to take down! Why do we need to practice for bosses that just decided to pop up and muck things up? Oh well. At least the bosses look cool.

This game looks great! If I saw it walking by, I'd give it a second glance. The graphics are amazingly detailed. You can see every whoosh and ripple of the heroes' hair and muscles. It is quite fun to watch! As a result, it's fun to play, too. I really cannot place what I enjoy so much about this game. Aside from the fact that I am a big X-Men fan, I'm pretty sure it's the graphics and gameplay that draw me into the game. Sure, the combo controls are a little wonky. I go to spin kick and end up standing still and getting a bad guy fist to the face. Not cool, bro. It can be a little confusing since each character has their own combo attacks with their own button set. Was Gambit's card throw B, up, and right or is that Psylocke's kick flip? Eh, I ended up furiously mashing the buttons anyway. It works for the most part, but you had better get those combos in your head for the baddies in the end! You'll need all the skills you have to beat this game. I guess that is why I like X-Men Mutant Apocalypse. You have to develop skill and strategy to KO Apocalypse, Magneto, and his lack of easy lackeys.

Also the music buzzes and rocks with late 80s energy and I love it!

Out of curiosity, I decided to list every X-Man I could list at the top of my head. I got 17! If you can beat that, let me know how many you got in the comments. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is I enjoy X-Men. Although that does not mean I'll automatically like this game because of that, I can say that anyone else fond of these mutant superheroes can enjoy being an X-Man/Woman for the time being. I will admit, I enjoyed X-Men Legends 2 a lot more; however, I would easily put X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse up there with my X-concerning favorites.

Anyone want to talk X-Men with me?

I'll tell you about Nightcrawler and Quicksilver!