This is an entry for the A to Z Challenge (see the sidebar for more information). These are just some of my initial impressions on the Steam, GOG, and other online games throughout the month. It is not as much of a review as it is a summary of my feelings on the game.
When I was in junior high school, the multiplayer arcade games of choice Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men: Children of the Atom. The gameplay was very similar between these two beat-’em-up games: Jump and attack your enemies, and try to control your position relative to your enemies on the horizontal axis. X-Men:CotA has the added benefit of magical “super” attacks, similar to that of the tried and true formula made popular by Golden Axe; the only difference is that X-Men:CotA takes the energy out of your life bar rather than any kind of special “magic” bar.
I have two separate – but related – comments about this game.
First, the fact that there is no limit to the number of continues or “credits you can insert” puts a bit of a damper on the fun of this game. When I played this game in the arcade, I was extra cautious with my character’s life total because I wanted to maximize the value of my quarter. While playing the game on XBLA, I found that I didn’t care about my life total; I just kept fighting until I lost, and allowed myself to continue.
The second issue is with the monotonous nature of the moves. I suppose this worked in the arcade when I needed a simple fighting system to help me preserve my quarters, but now that I have played the more complex beat-’em-up games, I find this type of game gets really boring, really quickly.
So would I recommend it? Well, when this game goes to $5 or 400 points, I recommend picking it up just for the nostalgia. It’s a fun game to pull out when you have childhood friends over and you want to re-live the arcade experience.