X-Men: Mutant Academy 2

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2
North American PlayStation cover art
Developer(s)	Paradox Development
Publisher(s)	Activision
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release	NA: September 18, 2001 EU: September 21, 2001
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 is a 2.5D fighting game for the PlayStation video game console. It was developed by Paradox Development and published by Activision on September 18, 2001. ^[1] It is the sequel to X-Men: Mutant Academy and predecessor to X-Men: Next Dimension .

Gameplay

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 features much the same gameplay as its predecessor, but has new features such as the combatants Nightcrawler and Forge.

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 is a 2.5D action fighting game. Characters and environments are modeled in 3D, but gameplay is restricted to a 2D plane. Like its predecessor, the game allows the player to select from several heroes and villains from the X-Men franchise and includes many of the signature moves from the comics. The game also includes a behind-the-scenes look at X-Men: The Movie concept sketches, costumes and other similar material. Four game modes are offered to the player.

• Academy Training - This is where alternate costumes can be unlocked. The majority of characters have the ability to unlock two costumes, but six characters cannot.
• Arcade - In this mode, it is possible to unlock the characters ending movies. Another additional feature is the ability to unlock extra characters. Psylocke is unlocked after completing the game with Wolverine, and Juggernaut is unlocked after completing the game with all characters, including Psylocke. There are two special characters that can be unlocked after obtaining the extra characters. Spider-Man is unlocked if the player encounters and defeats him in Arcade Mode, and Xavier is unlocked after beating the game with Juggernaut.
• Versus - Allows two players to fight each other using available characters. On defeating Arcade Mode, the Pool Party arena is unlocked, which changes the character's skins to pool/beach themes.
• Survival - Survival Mode allows the player to choose a single character and attempt to defeat multiple enemies without losing their own health. When the player's health bar is drained, the game is over. Each game of Survival Mode consists of one round; it counts wins and perfects (defeats without losing any of one's own health) and when defeated, places the player on a leaderboard, which initially has Beast last with two wins zero perfects, and Rogue first with ten wins, four perfects.

Characters

X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 features 18 total playable characters, consisting of all 10 characters from the PlayStation version of Mutant Academy and eight newcomers. Mutant Academy 2 is also the only game in the series to feature a playable character from outside the X-Men franchise, that being Spider-Man. Newcomers are marked in bold:

• Beast
• Cyclops
• Forge
• Gambit
• Havok
• Juggernaut
• Magneto
• Mystique
• Nightcrawler
• Phoenix
• Professor X
• Psylocke
• Rogue
• Sabretooth
• Spider-Man
• Storm
• Toad
• Wolverine

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	71.92% [2]
Metacritic	72/100 [3]

Review scores

Publication	Score
Computer and Video Games	6/10 [4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly	5/10 [5]
Game Informer	8.25/10 [6]
GamePro	[7]
GameRevolution	C+ [8]
GameSpot	8.4/10 [9]
GameSpy	73% [10]
GameZone	7.5/10 [11]
IGN	8.3/10 [12]
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	[13]

Unlike X-Men: Mutant Academy , the game received mostly positive reviews by critics. Many praised the game for its improved graphics, new characters, gameplay, its hidden characters, its 3D environment, and the expanded number of combos.^{[ citation needed ]} However, some criticized the game for its lack of gameplay modes and the combos were usually hard to pull off.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2011, Complex ranked it as the 43rd best fighting game of all time. ^[14]

References

1. I. G. N. Staff (2001-09-11). "Activision Opens Site for Marvel Fans". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
2. "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 for PlayStation". GameRankings . Retrieved 2014-04-02.
3. "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 Critic Reviews for PlayStation". Metacritic . Retrieved 2014-04-02.
4. "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2". Computer and Video Games . No. 240. p. 112. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
5. EGM Staff (November 2001). "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 149. p. 220.
6. McNamara, Andy (October 2001). "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2". Game Informer . No. 102. Archived from the original on 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
7. Uncle Dust (2001-09-17). "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro . Archived from the original on 2005-03-13. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
8. Nash, Joe (2001-09-30). "X-Men Mutant Academy 2 Review". Game Revolution . Retrieved 2014-04-02.
9. Provo, Frank (2001-10-10). "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 Review". GameSpot . Retrieved 2014-04-02.
10. D'Aprile, Jason (2001-09-27). "X-Men 2 [sic] (PSOne)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-01-12. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
11. The Badger (2001-10-19). "X-Men Mutant Academy 2 Review - PlayStation". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
12. Perry, Doug (2001-10-01). "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2". IGN . Retrieved 2014-04-02.
13. "X-Men: Mutant Academy 2". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . November 2001. p. 167.
14. "43. X-Men Mutant Academy 2 (PlayStation/Game Boy Color, 2000) — the 50 Best Fighting Games of All Time | Complex". Complex Networks . Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.

External links

• Paradox Development page
• Activision, Inc. page
• X-Men video games on Marvel.com
• X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 at MobyGames