X-Men: Next Dimension Review

X-Men: Next Dimension is the latest title in the popular X-Men 3D Fighter series that saw two version released on the PSOne; offering 24 of your favourite mutated freaks in a game that provides some entertainment but will not be replacing the Soul Calibur’s and Virtua Fighter’s of the fighting world.<br><br>A wide selection of different modes is on offer to the player, of course with any fighting game most of the bulk will come in the Versus modes, and in this respect X-Men: Next Dimension is like any other fighter. It does contain an extensive Story Mode for single play, which unlike most other fighting games is well designed and implemented (in most instances); told via a selection of pre-rendered cut-scenes with one-round fights intermitting, the story tells of how the evil Bastion is trying to rid the world of Mutants with his legion of Sentinels. As the story progresses you’ll have the chance to play as different characters, whilst the plot is typical of your average X-Men comic - nothing bad, but nothing great; it certainly puts the likes of Dead or Alive 3 story mode to shame.<br><br>Although it’s a 3D fighter, the game harks back to the classic Capcom 2D X-Men titles, such as X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes. Special moves are executed by rotations of the d-pad and button combinations, whilst the typical power-bars charge up to let you unleash devastating supers. A particularly neat innovation is the way that each character has four different super moves, you can then transfer your stored up energy from one section of your power-meter to another.<br><br>Unfortunately when you’re onto the battlefield the poor execution becomes increasingly evident. For starters the controls feel a little stiff and you’ll find it hard to string moves together, particularly on the Xbox and GameCube pad. Secondly the game is just too slow, whilst I can understand this lends more tactical depth then say Marvel Vs Capcom, but you just expect a little more when you select the likes of Wolverine, at times it feels they’re on sedatives! Poor collision detection and a general lack of weight to the characters results in a fighting game that just doesn’t feel right; an issue considering that fighting games are all about how they feel!<br><br>Visually the game isn’t going to blow the likes of Dead or Alive 3 away; character models lack detail and worst of all some severely ropey animation. The environments have the same problems, but benefit slightly by being expansive and having interactive elements, such as being able to destroy objects and fight on multi-levels. Perhaps the only nice touch visually is when special moves are executed, depending on their level all types of special effects kick in and the camera pans around to give that Matrix feel. Ultimately however it’s a disappointing title when you look at other Xbox titles around, this title lacks all of the special effects that make Xbox titles stand out from the crowd.<br><br>Patrick Stewart (Professor X) voices the cut-scenes during the story mode, but unfortunately the rest of the audio and sound effects can’t match up to the high standards. When fights start the sound just seems to waddle into the background, in particular character voices and weak and sound effects almost non-existent; another element missing that a good fighting game requires.<br>