So far, Activision, and every other publisher, has steered clear of the highly successful X-Men movie franchise. Aside from X2: Wolverine's Revenge, which was not a direct adaptation of the movie(s), there has been surprisingly nothing, even given Activision's successful ­Spider-Man titles based on their movie counterparts. Not entirely sure why that is – perhaps all dev teams were too busy making a kick-ass Spidey title, or perhaps no one had a good idea on how to adapt the X-Men movies into a decent game. I'll assume the latter, though that usually doesn't stop most companies.

However, the masters at Raven Software saw fit to tread a different path of the X-Men franchise, taking an RPG approach in lieu of the hit and miss third-person action taken by most other movie/comic adaptations. X-Men Legends proved to be a worthwhile time-eater, and added yet another great title notch to Raven's belt. Can they do it again – exactly one year later?

From what I've seen so far, I don't doubt it. I had the opportunity to spend a decent chunk of time with X-Men Legends II, primarily the Xbox and PC versions, at a recent Activision event. Unfortunately they didn't seem to have a Gamecube version to demo, though mysteriously Gamecube hardware was present. I also don't recall seeing the PS2 version on display either. The builds shown were near complete, though perhaps a show-stopping bug reared its ugly head last minute for the GC, hence the missing demo. The game is set to simultaneously release for the PS2, Xbox, PC, and Gamecube later this month, with the PSP version following shortly thereafter, and a finishing polish was already present on the versions on hand.

The general plot of X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse presents an unlikely alliance between the X-Men and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, in an effort to reclaim Earth from Apocalypse. Players will be able to build a team of four mutants out of 16 to do battle with, selecting from either the X-Men or Brotherhood ranks. The fight can be taken online as well, with up to four other players in cooperative play. The game boasts some 100 plus types of enemies, 10 individual powers for each character, and more expansive destructible locales.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse for the Xbox, just as with its predecessor, looks quite stunning. The graphics are a tad better, with seemingly more flamboyant special effects and lighting. The characters seem to have a bit more pop this time around, but nothing drastically different than the previous. The interface remains unchanged for the most part, so relearning how to play should not be an issue. The action takes place in a top-down, three quarter view perspective The controls are relatively simple, at least as far as navigation is concerned. Having not played the first Legends title, I was a bit lost as to how to use the 'mutant' powers of the currently active hero. So, I resorted to button-mashing, with moderate success, occasionally unleashing something other than a fist or foot. Changing between mutants is done with a simple press of the D-Pad, which I found myself doing when low on health, or when I needed a specific mutants powers to pass an obstacle (such as Nightcrawler's teleport ability). It wasn't until I sat down in front of the PC version did I better understand the powers, and how to use them.

Right away, particularly with the PC version, X-Men Legends II reminded me of an old favorite Action/RPG, namely Diablo. The similar nature becomes far more apparent with the PC version as the controls become a 'point and click' type affair. Gamers can opt to use a gamepad, or map keys for movement and attacks, making it feel more like its console counterpart, but now why would you want to do that? Raven has spent a great deal of time in catering to the PC gamer, and I suspect this will reap great rewards. Being a total absentee the first time around, Raven is making sure that the sequel will go beyond a simple port, at least as far as the controls are concerned.

Clicking on an enemy will move your selected character within attacking range, and attacking will continue for as long as the mouse button is held. To unleash 'mutant' powers, the number keys are bound by default, though you may wish to move some of your more used powers to additional mouse buttons (if you happen to have a mouse with a butt-load of buttons – which I do). The scroll-wheel allows you to zoom in or out of the action, making larger assaults a little more manageable.

Interestingly enough, I didn't notice a substantial graphical increase between the Xbox and PC version, which is actually saying a lot about the Xbox. The Xbox version looks and runs so damn fine it's ridiculous. The major graphical difference is of course the higher resolution possibilities of a PC – though on a PC, you are playing the game less than two feet away, whereas with a console, typically one would be much farther away – just like mom trained us.

The PSP version looked almost spot-on visually. Lacking a bit of anti-aliasing and perhaps possessing a bit less special-effects flair, the game will be identical to all other version. X-Men Legends II will likely be one of the few 'must have' titles for the PSP come October – and I don't doubt that one bit, especially with the multiplayer aspects.

The roster of well-known mutants include: Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, Bishop, Cyclops, Magneto, Toad, Juggernaut, Rogue, Gambit, Iceman, Emma Frost, Sabertooth, Jean Grey, with likely more either not yet announced, or unlockable. It looks as though Raven will once again do Marvel justice, as well as satisfying a PC gamers Action/RPG lust. Keep an eye out for a full review. (Whoops… sorry Cyclops, didn't see you there. I didn't mean anything by it….)