How To Train Your Mutant Part 2: Oldies But Goldies

Ah the 90's. Growing up as a kid in that decade was literally growing up in a major transition period. Technology was becoming the widespread commodity it is today, while running around as a feral child in the streets was slowly giving way to video games, over-urbanization and mobile phones. The 90's however were what seems, even to this day, to be the golden line. On one hand you had the introduction of the Playstation and TV's were large enough and widespread enough so that almost everyone had a gaming console in their house, but at the same time they were not -as- amazing as they are today, so we still enjoyed bashing each other in the face playing soccer in the streets

Kids shows were in the same category, with major hits from the 80's slowly giving way to whatever it is kids watch these days, and one of those Titans from the 80's was off course the X-Men. Based on a comic series by Marvel, the X-Men had a top notch heavy metal intro, full with explosions, electric guitars etc. With so many unique and varied mutants going around, X-Men were among our favorite shows due to the fact there was -always- someone to relate to.

Naturally when I stumbled upon a game called Mutant Academy 2 I just. I mean I had to have it right? (This time the answer is yes)

In an era where Tekken 3 reigned fighting games supreme, as kids we mostly shunned all the other fighting games. Soul Calibur? I dont care its not Tekken, Street Fighter? I guess its good until I get a playstation to play Tekken, Mortal Kombat? Ok that was always good, but anyway

X Men Mutant Academy 2 is a classic fighter game in which you pick your favorite mutant and then proceed to kick each other's teeth in. Unlike Tekken and the other great 3d blockfests, this was a 2d game. This gave it the advantage of being able to invest more on looking good, with colorful backrounds and animations that gave you the illusion of three dimensions, rather than being 3d.

Today we will examine why you should play this game, as well as why professor X is a sadist.

Graphics

For its age, X-Men Mutant academy had amazing graphics. With good animations, vibrant colors and 3d models put in a 2d arena, the game knew how to present itself nicely. With various costumes to pick from and amazing backgrounds to fight in, the game still holds.

What wins me over however is the amazing animations and well executed moves. Considering it was significantly faster than the games I was used to playing as a kid, the developers did not shy away from utilizing the hero roster they had to its fullest. While some would hit hard, others would hit fast. Others would fly, others would dart around with acrobatics. The animation did much to showcase this

The heavy hitting moves would show, with your character half stepping back from recoil, or taking his time to charge said attack.

The backgrounds are an entirely different story all together. Being used to the bland arenas Tekken offered, it was a joy to see that in X-Men mutant academy 2 the levels told their own story. From a battle with sentinels raging on the background, to small insects and rats running along sewer pipes, there was plenty to see.

Ok lets be honest here, what exactly do you expect? Voice acting is good, sound effects are ok, music is passable. It is not a game you will -want- to mute, but at the same time, fighting games are not exactly something you need sound to play.

Moving on to Gameplay though, the game is amazingly fun to play. With fast paced combat and unique moves for each character, I spent hours upon hours learning my favorite X-Men through and through. There is immense satisfaction when you use your favorite mutant to his fullest to dominate AI and friends alike.

The cinematic special moves also offer that "wow" factor, when your character does some elaborate set of cinematic moves in the form of the usual "grapple" attacks. Those are both fun, varied and with a few choice words from each character. The game is perfect in capturing the intensity, speed and flair of a mutant fight