Last year I wanted this game bad, but why? It was obviously the hype and my love of the X-Men. The name X-Men tells me that some of the best Marvel characters will be available at my beckoned whim. Then again, the only thing I hate about the X-Men is the Phoenix Sagas; they just drag on, on and on. Back to my point, I had high expectations for this game, especially after the great job done in the first and second movies as well as the renovation in the comic books and on television.

I placed this game into my console and as I do with all new games, I let the story unfold by watching the opening. I have to say that the graphics and animation is perhaps the best I have ever seen for the GameCube. Patrick Stewart as the voice of Professor Charles Xavier was a welcomed surprise and he did the job quite well. Without giving too much of the story away, like in most games of this type, you end up going against a former foe, but in a whole new way... The foe is, in my opinion, a lesser known one, but all the same, just as deadly as any other.

Once I got into the game and started into the story mode, I got goose-bumps from the opening scenes. If you remember the story where Bishop did some time-traveling to stop the mutant virus, you will know what I am talking about, however it does not turn out to be what it seems. The story is basically a crisscross and back-stabbing party between members of the Brotherhood when an agreement is made with the foe to kidnap Forge to get him to reveal a secret anti-mutant weapon he invented many years before.

While I enjoy the ability to choose my fighter as the story progresses, after a while the comments they made to each other in taunt became monotonous. I choose Wolverine throughout most of the game when I was able to do so, but the lack of vocabulary forced me to look elsewhere when I played someone in versus mode. Too much of a "good" thing and all that stuff… However, the sound overall seemed to be rather well done.

The controls are basic; the ability to fly with some of the characters and do easy combos added a bit more fun for me. If I could not learn the controls during the first match, I was not going to bother playing it again later, but they were easy to learn. The complicated controls of most PC games are why I prefer console games.

A few more plus sides to the game include the costume selection. You can choose three difference costumes; some are from the movies and from the comics. You have the option to battle in teams. The areas are huge and if you can do the right type of damage, you can actually fling your challenger into another stage. There are extras, such as the ability to view scenes from the game that you unlocked.

I solved this game on the normal level in story mode in under three hours. My fingers hurt, my bum was numb and my eyes burned since I had not blinked the whole time. The action is fast and you must learn to fight in a 3-D arena if you wish to get very far. You must use both the control stick and joypad to move, that was the hardest part to get used to, but afterwards it was all fun from there.

While I may not try story mode again anytime soon, the versus mode was great fun and with all the characters to choose from as well as three locked characters and 5 hidden characters, you will not get bored very fast if you have a friend.

If you love the X-Men, fighting and tight fitting clothes on women, this game is for you. Then again, if you love the X-Men, fighting and tight fitting clothes on men, this game is also for you. I guess this game is for everyone thirteen or older. Enjoy it and remember, Juggernaut may be slow, but he will tear you up if you can not move fast and jump a lot.