"Same great game, smaller package. 'Nuff said, bub!"

Grab those yellow and blue tights and and warm up the X-Jet, Marvels mutant Legends has gone portable! X-Men Legends II:Rise of Apocalypse scoffs at the PSP's limitations as successfully as Wolverine's adamantium claws cut through Sentinels. Up until now portable titles have always followed the path of the sidekick, dumbed down and always playing catch-up. This time, XML II decided to don the cape and soar for the skies, snatching the tattered victim of portable ports off the railroad tracks in the nick of time. Make no mistake, everything from the console versions is here, in it's entirety, as well as some PSP exclusives.

Gameplay:
Anyone who has played either of the previous XML titles will feel right at home here, this game looks and plays as well as it's big brothers on the consoles. In fact, it's amazing how much they were able to cram on this UMD and still keep load times down! The story plays out over five acts as you unite the X-Men with their most unlikely allies, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Best described as a comic book Diablo, each character contains a plethora of powers that can be unlocked and customized to your liking as you fight your way through the levels. Any character can be customized as a ranged caster, or a heavy melee hitter, it's all up to you. Now as in any other RPG it is possible to back-track in order to aid in the sometimes tedious leveling up of you characters, but consistent with the XML games, it's also possible to hit the danger room or try on some bonus missions for extra experience. Speaking of the danger room, let me say it's all here from the other XML games, in addition to five exclusive comic missions and four exclusive characters. The controls are definitely tight, all buttons are mapped out, and feel very smooth. It would have been nice to have camera control, but since the camera angles are fantastic, it's not missed at all. Future games need to follow this example for camera tracking, the angles always seem to adjust accordingly, and are aided by the transparency of objects in your path, very important and very successful in drawing the player into the experience.

Story:
Total comic book experience here, enough to keep Stan Lee gripped himself. Some moderations have been made, but any fan of comic book movies knows that's a bitter taste we just have to get used too. No spoilers here, but I was definitely impressed with the cutscenes and voice overs which help flesh out the story as you play, very nice touches.

Graphics/Sound:
Graphics are awesome, cutscenes are easily comparable to it's console brethren, and the cell-shaded gameplay is looking just as good on that small 16X9 screen. There are some hiccups after saving/loading games, but they are certainly bearable, and don't draw away from the X-Men experience, especially not when you realize that this is the full console game on a portable system. Sound is equally as good, music is not either annoying or unnoticeable, it compliments the settings nicely. As I've said before the use of voice acting I believe is a first in a PSP game, and hopefully not the last. Patrick Stewart does well in his portable debut, as does the rest of the cast, completely enriching how easily this game sucks you in.

Playtime/Replayability:
Playtime all depends on how you like to play. If your the type that likes to march through the game, let the AI level up your characters for you, and forget about the unlockables, then this could be a short game. However, if your not then there is more than enough to keep any fan of this type of RPG busy. Levels are easy to jump back into to search for unlockable content(ie levels, items and art). You can also take some new characters for a spin after the first completion of the game.

Final Recommendation:
This is definitely THE PSP action game to have. It's taken a few months to reveal that the PSP can turn out games of this caliber, but be warned Nintendo, with an unmistakable *Snikt* this game has pierced previous portable-console ports. The bar has been raised, and I'm curious to see how future releases plan to follow in the footsteps of these mutants!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/05