A conundrum falls before me as I gaze over the short abyss that threatens to halt my progress in vanquishing evil. True, I can chance jumping into the pit without so much as a risk of initial injury, but who knows what inhuman traps await me should I decide to do so. No, there must be other options - no problem has just one solution, especially when a super hero is involved, let alone four super heroes. I quickly cycle through my mutant heroes and decide to become the Master of Magnetism, Magneto. I ominously raise my hands as if acknowledging my greatness and hover above the restrictive ground below me. The statue of Anubis below me watches as I mockingly float over the pit of doom and land safely on the plateau on the other side. Now, the Sun Crystal shall be mine! I grab the precious stone, thus extinguishing the soft blue glow that fills the immediate area and lowering the entrapping pillars that were blocking my closest exit. I desire to celebrate my clever and deceptively easy victory as I exit through the chamber's doorway, but before I have a moment to sigh, the next room shakes violently and unleashes the fury of Anubis upon me in a cacophony of explosive debris and Anubis warriors. Retrieving said Sun Crystal is going to be more challenging than I thought, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Everything in life is about choices, so why should a video game be any different? It's the approach I took when designing CRPGs at Black Isle Studios and it is the same approach I took when designing areas in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. There are so many different mutants the player can control with varying super powers that it would seem a crime not to provide differing ways to solve a puzzle. I want the player to figure out their own solution to a puzzle or scenario rather than create the feeling that the player must figure out what the designers were thinking. And it's amazing how much XML2 provides multiple ways to capitalize on individual mutants; unique powers. My example above is a very small tidbit of what the player can do in XML2. In fact, there are several other ways to get that Sun Crystal in Egypt, but the player can figure them out themselves. I don't want to spoil the surprises.
I must say it is very refreshing working with people who are so into comic book super heroes as I am, and especially working on a game that features one of my personal favorites; the X-Men. The amount of creativity that has gone into this game is phenomenal. From design, to art, to programming, this project has been AAA from the get go. The enthusiasm has been infectious for this title and it shows in the development of the project. When a gamer plays XML2, they will feel, without a doubt, that they are controlling an X-Man or member of the Brotherhood – heck, the gamer will probably get so immersed that they will feel they are one of the X-Men or Brotherhood. The distinctive powers are spot on, as well as the characteristics of each mutant. Even the story is pure comic book gold. A lot of great, creative juice went into XML2's development, so tighten up your boots and bring a towel to wipe off the sweat as you fight your way to defeat the ultimate evil mutant, Apocalypse! You'll be smiling the whole way through.
