Good gameplay, but not challenging enough

Reviewed by tpofofn on September 04, 2007  |  report this review

I love the hack-and-slash action of this game, and it makes for some fun times. Unfortunately, the difficulty level is very low. None of the puzzles are challenging--they're essentially "You need the blue key to enter this door" type things, or else all you need to do is have Rogue drain the batteries out of a generator, or get Iceman to put out a fire, or something dumb that requires only the presence of a specific character on your team. Also, the enemies are weak and lazy and can't really provide much of a challenge--even the bosses are pretty pitiful.

This game improved on the previous one with the addition of a level select, a storage box for extra items, the ability to create a portal back to your base once every five minutes, and the ability to buy upgrades to your character from Forge's shop. You can also use more than the previous 4 special abilities; however, the powers you get to pick from don't vary a whole lot from character to character. Bishop's beam attack is basically the same as Cyclops's which is the same as Scarlet Witch's etc.

The level design is not particularly excellent. Basically a large area with enemies scattered around, and after you kill the enemies, the whole thing is empty and boring. And the potential for maze-like areas is kind of ruined by the map that shows up on the screen.

On the plus side, playing as semi-customizable superhero characters alongside a couple friends and just bashing up the various enemies can be a blast. But walking across an empty city block unopposed...not so much.

Unlocking Iron Man

Hint by tpofofn on September 04, 2007  |  report this hint

You can unlock Iron Man by collecting 4 Homing Beacons in each act to open a portal to a Secret Bonus Area. Play through the Secret Bonus Area in each act to unlock a different piece of Iron Man's armor. In the final act, you will release Iron Man himself. Present him with his full suit of armor and he will be able to join your battle against the evil Apocalypse. Each act actually has 6 Homing Beacons, so even if you miss one or two, you can still unlock him.