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[Tomasooie]

Was certain it was. Not that it really matters, IMO, as BB has done some rather good emulation jobs, like Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

Did you play Space Harrier on there? Their emulation destroyed the music, one of the best things about the game! If they had played it once, they would have caught it. I'm sure they did, but they just didn't give a damn. They lied concerning the absence of the lock-on games, and they didn't even bother to put in the PAL Mega Drive box art in the museum section for the PAL release. They just kept the US Genesis box art on there.

But most of the games were fine. However: they still didn't give you many display options. You couldn't have crisp, unfiltered pixels. Even with smoothing off, the games still looked like a filtered, blurry mess. They also had ugly borders that clashed with the games' visuals and you couldn't get rid of them without pushing them off the screen by distorting the original aspect ratio. Ironically, their Sega Vintage releases had a very tame dark blue border that I didn't even mind, and they actually let you turn that one off!

Backbone are still cheap and lazy. Does this look like the sign of a respectable job?

The damn thing looks stretched, and on top of that they use some cheap, horrendous-looking typeface for the text.

As far as playing the game goes, it should be fine. They would have to reach a new level of incompetence to mess that up, but they've already shown everyone that they are a studio who shits out fast emulation jobs to make a quick buck.
Unfortunate that so many publishers flock to them.

If you want to see an emulated arcade game done right to compare, check out Final Fight: Double Impact. Every display option you could possibly want: unfiltered, scanlines, different filter options, a mode where you're looking into the cabinet and can see the bezel art surrounding the game screen (which is rounded in this mode, like an old CRT); drop-in/drop out co-op (whenever you're playing by yourself, anyone looking for a game can instantly join you, just like in the arcades) that utilizes GGPO; original soundtrack and a remixed soundtrack; and two games (though Magic Sword is a bit shit).

I wish all emulated games released on consoles were done like that.

 

[gutter_trash]

I was playing a bit online with another person, there was noticeable control input lag. Still a lot of fun, though.

yup, I notice bad lag too,
I thought that I wasn't playing, but then realized that I was moving in lag commands, not really good for battling bosses

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I stretched my screen out to fit all the way so it looks like that IGN shot. In terms of online, the first game had a crappy host and a 1 second lag. The 2nd game, we had 6 random people in and there was no lag that I could notice. Backbone isn't the most terrific at making things perfect but there was a definite difference between certain hosts. It's all in the connections.

Overall it is definitely worth 10.

 

[vg260]

-1 sale.

Same here. Backbone = lazy ass developers. Still sad they did MvC2.

 

[Lance Bone Path]

That was possibly the easiest platinum I've ever gotten.

 

[cantona222]

I'll get the 360 version for the achievements. I don't have 5 players waiting for me to play with them locally I can only try and convince my wife to play with me.

 

[netguy503]

That was possibly the easiest platinum I've ever gotten.

hahahahaha.....I wish.

 

[Jeff Stephen]

It's up on the XBL marketplace.
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/X-MEN/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410b11

 

[sixteen-bit]

I just spent the money I was going to spend on this for Mass Effect 2 ($11 New off Amazon). Oh well, these impressions have me feeling like I made the right decision.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Just got in from work gave the trial a try. Pretty cool. Small file too only 48 mb's. I will wait till xbl does some deal for it not paying 800 bs points.

 

[akilshohen]

short as hell. Oh well, I have an influx of points, and was waiting for something like this....maybe I should get KOF 2002 UM to repent :lol
It's fun though, the game does lag. I thought my 360 crashed, but it was just some lag :lol. Achievements are stupid easy, although I don't know how someone can beat this game in 25 minutes....

 

[YoungHav]

can anyone confirm if Colossus' special attack "man yell" is faithful to the arcade version?

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!

 

[eek5]

is lag bad on 360 version as well? :\

 

[Lance Bone Path]

hahahahaha.....I wish.

The most time-consuming trophy is the 25 minute clear, which is very easy if you choose the Japan normal 6 player setting. The key to this trophy is power-spam.

You should choose to host this yourself since this will guarantee that you get those settings which is probably optimal for superpower spam. The other benefit is that you may need to start from the character select screen prior to level 1 in order to qualify for game clearing.

I recommend starting the game and going at level 1 solo instead of waiting for people to join up in the character select screen. It will be a minor miracle if you finish the first level with less than two or three team members unless there is something majorly wrong with your internet connection.

Random people online will play nearly optimally by default since they will spam powers until they drop their health down to ~10% where any hit will get them killed. They'll come back to life with all their powers restored and they will repeat the use power and suicide ad nauseum.

The only important thing to remember is to clobber enemy stragglers (which may otherwise cause rightward progress to stall) and keep the party moving to the right to maximize the number of enemies on the screen- this optimizes the mileage you get from your fellow power spammers.

can anyone confirm if Colossus' special attack "man yell" is faithful to the arcade version?

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!

Colossus's man yell sounds the same to me.

 

[Big Icarus]

I wish they would've used the original pixel rendition of the character portraits for either the select screen or the HUD.

Speaking of that select screen, was the background music on that and the title screen in the original arcade machine? Those two tracks seem really crappy compared to the tracks in the game proper. So glad I can finally hear 'ecks, ecks, ecks, eh, eeeckss men' in the comfort of my own home.

 

[demosthenes]

Game should have been $5 or $7. Still was very nostalgic .

 

[Princess Skittles]

is lag bad on 360 version as well? :\

It's Backbone, so yes, with extreme probability.

 

[Manmademan]

Game should have been $5 or $7. Still was very nostalgic .

:lol

this game would have been $60 new EASY back in the 16 bit era. 10 bucks is nothing for a game like this.

 

[Dartastic]

EH EH EHEH EH EHEH EH EH, EH EH EHH EH EHHHHXMEN! :lol

 

[DrFunk]

I still love the intro and music to this day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GzSQ6um6rY&feature=related

 

[Hell S]

OK so I just beat the game online with 5 other players on XBL.

The host had a ping of 70ms. No lag.

 

[The Lamonster]

OK so I just beat the game online with 5 other players on XBL.

The host had a ping of 70ms. No lag.

Impressions? Was it fun?

 

[oracrest]

Is there a good gif/sprite resource that has art from this game?

 

[Hell S]

Impressions? Was it fun?

No. The game is bad. Not because of bad emulation or anything. It's just boring.

But I like the online integration. You see lobbies with seats available and host ping. Nicely done for a XBLA game. There is host migration as well if he does quit during the game.

This purchase was more to support classic Beat'em-ups than this X-Men game in particular.

 

[shattyboombatty]

It's Backbone, so yes, with extreme probability.

Ugh! Fucking backbone... I can't think of one title I've played that they've worked on that didn't look and feel like they put the absolute bare minimum amount of effort into.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Are the multiplayer trophies online only, or can you obtain them through local play?

 

[netguy503]

text that has no point and is not referring to my comment at all

I never said the TROPHIES weren't easy...they are. You said this game has a platinum...it does not.

 

[netguy503]

This purchase was more to support classic Beat'em-ups than this X-Men game in particular.

And to get Simpson's Arcade on PSN/XBL.

 

[Lance Bone Path]

No. The game is bad. Not because of bad emulation or anything. It's just boring.

But I like the online integration. You see lobbies with seats available and host ping. Nicely done for a XBLA game. There is host migration as well if he does quit during the game.

This purchase was more to support classic Beat'em-ups than this X-Men game in particular.

It sounds like PSN and XBLA online support is pretty much identical. You can manually pick lobbies that have good ping and open slots, but my experience was that I was always beaten to the punch by other people who probably were quick-joining.

I went with quick join after failing to join lobbies with decent host pings, but hosting is probably the way to go to avoid lag.

As a host you can kick people out. I also saw less lag and freezing. Most people with terrible pings will quit out of your game, but there's always the option of kicking them.

I never said the TROPHIES weren't easy...they are. You said this game has a platinum...it does not.

My bad. I wasn't paying enough attention to what the trophies were I guess. I got 100%, quit, and turned off the system.

Are the multiplayer trophies online only, or can you obtain them through local play?

IIRC there are two trophies that require 6 players to be playing at the same time, but you can have 6 players local in the PSN version.

 

[LosDaddie]

This purchase was more to support classic Beat'em-ups than this X-Men game in particular.

This is a pure nostalgia purchase for me. (I'm buying the game on XBLA today) Same will go for The Simpsons Arcade if it ever comes out.

Like the 1989 TMNT Arcade game, I'll probably play through Xmen Arcade a few times with friends and that will be it.

 

[Princess Skittles]

Ugh! Fucking backbone... I can't think of one title I've played that they've worked on that didn't look and feel like they put the absolute bare minimum amount of effort into.

To be fair, I beleive SSF2TCREHDXLMNOP had a lot of work put into it, but they also had a rather focused and dedicated team above them overseeing the project as opposed to this (or anything else they've touched) where the only received direction must have been "emulate this, ruin all the great pixel art and make sure it has the illusion of online multi-player."

 

[Parallax Scroll]

I like this game, but I don't think I'll be buying. It's more fun to play it down at the nickel arcade.

 

[Princess Skittles]

It's more fun to play it down at the nickel arcade.

Carrollton?

 

[Parallax Scroll]

Carrollton?

Anaheim Nickel Nickel has it on free play.

 

[Roto13]

There not bad, there just a no frills developers. SF2: HD was awesome, Streets of Rage 2 was good.

No, they're bad.

 

[Oneself]

The emulation is totally acceptable, the online is still cheap backbone style. I had fun but it was definitely more fun in my memories. The more I replay those games, the more I think the only good games in this genre were Streets of Rage 2&3. They had more than 1 move available and every character had a specific style of play. ... and Scott Pilgrim & Castle Crashers are pretty good too.

 

[Lance Bone Path]

The emulation is totally acceptable, the online is still cheap backbone style. I had fun but it was definitely more fun in my memories. The more I replay those games, the more I think the only good games in this genre were Streets of Rage 2&3. They had more than 1 move available and every character had a specific style of play. ... and Scott Pilgrim & Castle Crashers are pretty good too.

The moves in X-men arcade are not button based for the most part. This is a subtlety that you will never ever have to learn or master when you have infinite credits (and infinite power uses by extension), however. The game is very different when you have one credit and each power use drops your life bar.

There are two types of jump attacks and this is mostly based on timing. You can vary the height of the jumps by the length of time the jump button is pressed so it's similar to LBP in that regard. If you press the attack button at the apex of the jump, you initiate a long leap attack and when you can choose to reverse direction. If you press the attack button early or late, you initiate a short leap attack (you can choose to reverse direction with this attack as well), which will let you stay more or less in the same location.

In general the long leap attack is more useful because it has the dual purpose of attacking and quickly covering ground.

The attack button has a bunch of different attacks mapped to it and the attack depends on where an enemy is positioned relative to your character as well as what character you're using and what enemy it happens to be. Sentinel type enemies can be thrown and whether or not you throw them is pretty much all positioning. Throwing also gives you a few frames of invulnerability.

Combos are generally three hits. You will actually do more damage with a quick 3 hit combo than with 3 hits that are not in quick succession, but you will also leave yourself more open to attacks from behind and long range attacks.

 

[thetrin]

No. The game is bad. Not because of bad emulation or anything. It's just boring.

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

 

[Princess Skittles]

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

Alas, a good beat 'em up like Battle Circuit would go unnoticed without the warm familiarity of a children's comic book attached to it.

 

[AwRy108]

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

This. Used the same reasoning to stave off the nostalgia pangs that threaten me spending money on this game.

 

[Lothars]

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

It's not a bad game though, I never really played it when I was younger but it's a fun beat-em up game and I would recommend everyone to at least try the demo.

 

[Lance Bone Path]

Technically all beat-em ups that give you infinite continues and let you continue exactly where you left off with respect to the level and the health of your enemies are bad games.

The only thing they have going for them is their music, their art, and nostalgia. Any good gameplay can be overcome by hitting continue and spamming the attack buttons.

 

[LosDaddie]

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

And do you have a point?

Of course this release is all about pulling on the heartstrings of those who played the game back in the 90s. This is nothing but a pure nostalgia release. The only thing BB did was make sure the game ran on a consoles and had online play. There were no improvments to the game.

Konami/BackBone basically just said: "Hey, remember that awesome Xmen Arcade game you played as a kid? Well here you go AND you can play online with your friends!"

 

[Augemitbutter]

Technically all beat-em ups that give you infinite continues and let you continue exactly where you left off with respect to the level and the health of your enemies are bad games.

The only thing they have going for them is their music, their art, and nostalgia. Any good gameplay can be overcome by hitting continue and spamming the attack buttons.

heh, lots of people have been raised to do exactly that in todays market. easymode will let you finish games with one button in a lot of games, completely ignoring the games mechanics.

i don't think it's a good idea to sell arcade games with infinite continues and restart on the same spot either. nobody will appreciate games like these in the long run.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

:lol

this game would have been $60 new EASY back in the 16 bit era. 10 bucks is nothing for a game like this.

What kind of logic is that when today you could by something like Applejack for a tenth of the price and end up with a thoroughly entertaining, well designed product as opposed to a terrible nostalgia brawler.

 

[Sharkington]

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

Blinded by nostalgia?

I don't think you realize that people know it's all nostalgia when they sign up, and they're okay with that. They're not "blinded" by anything. No one's saying it's an amazing game.

Nostalgia is not a bad thing, like you seem to be implying. It's a completely valid reason for paying $10 to experience something.

 

[Teknoman]

Which is what people not blinded by nostalgia have been saying the whole time. X-men was never a good game.

I dunno, its no worse than Streets of Rage 2, TMNT 2/4, Brawl Brothers/Rushing Beat, or Final Fight.

Of course...if we got Guardian Heroes HD handled directly by Treasure, then that would be a no brainer.

 

[Sharkington]

What kind of logic is that when today you could by something like Applejack for a tenth of the price and end up with a thoroughly entertaining, well designed product as opposed to a terrible nostalgia brawler.

Because this either/or scenario you're painting is a fallacy? Anyone that wants both can easily have both.

Again, nostalgia is a completely valid reason to want to experience something. I'm not sure why so many of you talk about it like it's a bad thing. Why is the process of reliving memories vilified? It makes no sense to me.

 

[Princess Skittles]

I dunno, its no worse than Streets of Rage 2, TMNT 2/4, or Final Fight.

Street of Rage 2 is actually a REALLY solid game with REALLY solid mechanics, one of the few that escaped the "quarter munching" mentality of the genre's arcade roots.

The others are pretty spot on though.

 

[Teknoman]

Street of Rage 2 is actually a REALLY solid game with REALLY solid mechanics, one of the few that escaped the "quarter munching" mentality of the genre's arcade roots.

The others are pretty spot on though.

Now that you mention it...I think beat em ups built for consoles are better in that they arent designed to eat quarters.

Backbone's crappy menus kinda put me off buying X-men.

The game does seem to have a few nuances though: Every character's highest jump attack has a different range/effectiveness...nothing too complex of course.

On a sidenote, the other day I was playing SoR2 and it seems you can beat up everyone easily with timed single punches using Axel. Nothing fun about that of course, but never noticed it until yesterday.