For those of you who have been waiting with baited breath, or outright
holding your breath, BREATH! It's finally here! The arcade version of
X-Men is finally available for the PC market. Originally a Capcom project
that was supposed to be ready a year ago but ran into technical difficulties,
Acclaim took over and managed to finish it. The beauty of the thing is that
they did a really great job. I would have to say that this was probably
worth turning blue and passing out a few times.Anyone who hasn't heard of the X-Men by now must be living with their heads in the sand. For those who really, honestly don't know the whole story, I suggest picking up a few of the Marvel Comics by the same name and getting up to date. What you'll find in the comics is what you'll see on the screen. All the characters are there and all of them are ready to fight in full-on, one-on-one combat. Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Ice Man, Colossus, and Psylocke, all X-Men, are honor bound to fight the forces of evil embodied by the likes of Spiral, Silver Samurai, Omega Red, Juggernaut, Magneto and even Sentinel. Pick a side, choose a character and be prepared for the fight of a lifetime. The only two characters that cannot be player selected are Juggernaut and Magneto. They appear near the end of an arduous series of rounds and can only be defeated with great skill and perseverence.
This game was directly translated from the arcade version and it shows. A faster paced game will be very hard to find. The action is non-stop from the moment your character steps into the combat area. It even has an obsolete function that was used to check the memory functions of the arcade machines. More could not have been done to remain faithful to the original. The number of options you can customize almost rivals those options that arcade owners can use. Controls, sound, voice, picture, color, game data and a number of other options make this game uniquely customizable.
The sheer number of moves possible in a fight will leave you wondering how they did it. Start with four directional controls, add six action controls split into three punch and three kick, then throw in combining direction and action keys for more moves and special hidden moves particular to each character, and you're assured of a battle that will leave even a seasoned player panting. There is no such thing as a dull moment in this game. Fortunately the space-bar can be used to pause the action, allow you to take a breath, then continue battling for good or evil. Special action moves and defense moves have also been included to allow even more depth and complexity to the action.
A one or two person game can be played in 1, 3 or 5 round matches on either of the keyboard, analog joystick or Gravis GrIP. This last is recommended for best game play and requires no calibration to get started. Any combination of input devices can be used for the two player games which can only add to the fun and allows both players to be in on the action and battle head-to-head. An auto-guard feature for beginners will help a player get used to the fighting without feeling that there's no way of ever learning all the moves before being pulverized in every round. Player two can also join in, if the option is set, in the middle of the first player's game. Once player one defeats player two, he can then resume his original game right from where he left off.
The graphics are nothing short of amazing. Fully rendered in the tradition of Marvel Comics each character is instantly recognizable and fully detailed. Nothing is lost even in the furious action of full battle. The backgrounds change from scene to scene and even have things going on while the battle takes place. People cheering or booing depending on how well a player is doing only makes up part of what is going on in the background. All this activity and the action remains fast and furious. A real treat when you want the best of both action and graphics. The sound effects are equally well matched to the action. Grunts, groans and "Ooph's" are all heard in the right spots with a background fight music that is pure arcade style.
Two versions of the game have been provided for different memory configurations. An 8MB version is provided along with a 16MB version. If you only have 8MB of RAM, it is recommended that you play in DOS mode. If you have 16MB or more of RAM, you can play from Windows 95, but I've found that the best performance comes from running this game in DOS mode. Windows will only get in the way and slow down the action, which is the last thing you want to do with this game.
Be sure to check out the X-Men PC Demo from the Acclaim website listed below.
Written by Glenn Soucy
| Graphics: | 90% |
| Sound: | 90% |
| Music: | 85% |
| Gameplay: | 92% |
| Interest: | 90% |
| Overall: | 90% |
Acclaim Entertainment,
One Acclaim Plaza,
Glen Cove, NY.
Web site: Acclaim Entertainment
In Europe:
In UK:
Acclaim Entertainment, Ltd.
Moreau House,
112-120 Brompton Road,
Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1JJ.
In Germany:
Acclaim Entertainment GmbH,
Furstenfelder Strasse 9/4,
D-80331 Munchen.
In France:
Acclaim Entertainment, SA.,
12/14 Rond Point des Champs Elysees,
75008 Paris.
 |
 |
 |
| [Main] | [Back issues] | [Feedback] |
All content Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 Coming Soon Magazine, Inc.
All Rights reserved.