X-Men Legends

X-Men Legends is an action role-playing video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It was released on the GameCube in the fall of 2004. Players can play as one of fifteen X-Men characters, with the ability to switch between four computer- or human-controlled characters at any time.

Gameplay
X-Men Legends is played as an action role-playing game. Players choose a team of up to four characters from a larger group of X-Men. As players proceed through the game additional X-Men are unlocked. Up to four players can play in the cooperative campaign, with the ability to add or remove players at any time. Cooperative play features a refined combat system and the ability to interact with non-player characters. The game also features a skirmish mode, which allows players to fight against each other or against waves of computer-controlled enemies.

As characters gain experience points players can upgrade their four main powers and other abilities unique to that character. Items found during gameplay can also be equipped to further enhance a character's abilities. Characters can combine attacks to create a combo, in which two or more players use their mutant powers on a single enemy at the same time. The characters' special abilities can be used to create a "Super Combo" when combined with an "Xtreme Power" which become available at level 15.

The X-Mansion serves as a hub that the team returns to after each mission. While at the mansion, one player controls Alison Crestmere as she explores, and learns about herself and the other X-Men. Here players can also view loading screen art, cinematics, and comic book covers acquired during gameplay. Biographies of the X-Men and their enemies can be accessed on computers located in the mansion. Players can participate in an X-Men trivia game, which rewards experience points for correct answers. Additionally, players can access the Danger Room's computer to play challenge missions unlocked during gameplay.

The players have two vendors available to them: Forge, who sells equipment and the Morlock Healer, who provides health and energy packs as well as training disks for use in the Danger Room. Forge becomes available after Alison contacts him accidentally from the X-Mansion, and Healer can be accessed following the third mission.

Characters

 * Beast
 * Colossus
 * Cyclops
 * Emma Frost
 * Gambit
 * Iceman
 * Jean Grey
 * Jubilee
 * Magma
 * Nightcrawler
 * Professor X
 * Psylocke
 * Rogue
 * Storm
 * Wolverine

Plot
X-Men Legends is not set in any particular Marvel Comics universe. It is played from the perspective of a teenage girl named Alison Crestmere, a mutant with the ability to control volcanic activity. At the start of the game Alison is abducted by the Genetic Research and Security Organization (GRSO). As GRSO soldiers take her away, Mystique arrives with Blob and takes Alison from the soldiers. She is in turn rescued from Mystique and Blob by the X-Men Wolverine and Cyclops, who take her to the Xavier Institute to explore her powers. As Alison trains, the X-Men investigate an Alaskan research facility controlled by the Brotherhood of Mutants, then rescue Gambit from the Morlocks. They then try to stop the Brotherhood from rescuing Magneto from captivity aboard the U.S.S. Arbiter. Mystique is able to penetrate the defenses and free Magneto, and the ensuing damage caused by the Brotherhood leaves the X-Men to rescue several Arbiter crew members.

With Alison’s training complete, she takes the codename Magma and the X-Men travel to Russia to help Colossus prevent the Brotherhood from obtaining weapons-grade plutonium. After accomplishing this mission, they discover that Colossus’s sister, Illyana, is in a coma from a psychic hold placed on her by the Shadow King. Professor Xavier, Emma Frost, and Jean Grey enter the astral plane to save her. They succeed, but in the process Xavier is captured by the Shadow King. After Xavier’s capture the X-Men learn that General William Kincaid, a leader in the anti-mutant movement, is building mutant-hunting Sentinels. Magneto travels to his base on Asteroid M, where he reveals his plan to cover the Earth in darkness. Meanwhile, the X-Men free Xavier who defeats the Shadow King in a psychic battle. The X-Men travel to Asteroid M, where they discover that the asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. After defeating Magneto they search for the Gravitron, a device used to pilot the asteroid. They encounter General Kincaid, who pilots Master Mold, a prototype sentinel larger and more powerful than other sentinels. After defeating General Kincaid, the X-Men locate the Gravitron and Magma uses her powers to steer the asteroid back into space. The X-Men's victory on Asteroid M is watched by Apocalypse who makes his upcoming plot from his base.

In the game's epilogue, a television news anchor reports that Magneto is still at large and General Kincaid has been arrested for crimes against humanity. The game ends with the President of the United States thanking the X-Men for their service.