X-Men Arcade (XBLA/PSN)

X-Men is widely regarded as the best arcade beat em ups of all time and finally after 18 years, it's been ported to a home console.  Everything you loved about the original has been brought back including 6-player online (4-player local), the 5 iconic X-Men, and..Dazzler.   As much as I loved this game as a kid, I feel that Konami is asking too much for what is essentially an untouched and unpolished game from the 90s.  Don't get me wrong, I've gladly dropped up to $20 on downloadable titles and usually don't argue about games around $10, but with 1989's TMNT already out for only $5, why do I need to pay twice that amount for a game that's really not that much better?  $10 could be justified if X-Men were even marginally updated like better graphics, soundbytes, or some added features but unfortunately this game is priced too high for most gamers, myself included.  You could argue that they included the Japanese version, but really all that added was life pills.  I played through the campaign twice already racking up a total playtime of 1 hour.  Yes there are 6 players to choose from, each with different mutant powers, but just like TMNT: Turtles In Time, you might wanna let this one float by you.  It's definitely fun but for $10 you could get excellent games like Scott Pilgrim, Super Meat Boy, Pac Man: CE DX, Guwange, Geometry Wars 2, or tons of other great titles. 

FINAL GRADE: C-

Fun for a little while but grows old quickly.

I obviously didn't address everything.  For everything I missed, (and another perspective) here is:

MAHCUS' MARKS

What can I say about the classic 1992 X-men arcade game? First thing is, I am glad not to have met it at a younger age for my family would have become poor from all the quarters needed to make it to the end. What sets this beat'em up apart from others, for me, is the familiarization with the classic X-men characters, who I have had a fondness with ever since the comic books and animated series. However, the simplistic controls and repetitive domination over waves of sentinels and copycat Juggernauts (each level rendered a different color) makes the game quite boring after a while. You'll start dying on purpose just to be able to keep using your special mutant power (which takes up 3 of your life bars). Good thing you get unlimited lives. The 6-player co-op is fun if playing with people who do not take it seriously because the game will come down to who can steal the most kills. Overall, this game is definitely outdated and unless you've had a grudge with it since the 90's and have a burning desire to finish it, there is no hurry to buy until the price drops to $5.

My Rating