X-Men: Next Dimension - Xbox

With Marvel's X-Men firmly in the limelight, and in anticipation of the second film release, Activision has unleashed yet another X-Men beat-em-up, this time in the style of Tecmo's Dead or Alive series.

Easing the constraints of the beat-em-up genre, the appropriately named Next Dimension demonstrates freedom of movement through destructible objects, collapsing walls and multi-tiered fighting arenas. These so called 'true 3D' environments aren't free-roaming by any means due to the close-combat nature of the game, but they do offer a sense of depth unrivalled by any of its predecessors.

Some 24 infamous X-Men characters are available from the outset. Storm, Wolverine and Cyclops make predictable but welcome appearances, as well as a few more obscure mutants. All mutants have their own signature moves and a variety of special arts manoeuvres, offering some rather colourful eye candy.

Gameplay itself is typically fast-paced. Each bout lasts the usual 99 seconds and you must simply deplete the enemy's health gauge as much as possible. If your opponent is KO'd or you have a greater amount of health when the time expires, you win. It's a standard beat-em-up affair, but a mighty fun one at that. There's also a plethora of Street Fighter Alpha-inspired super moves and combos, offering more freedom to the players in mid-game combat. It's not just lasers, tornadoes and bare knuckle fighting - there's a good element of strategy.

A fine addition to the Xbox console, Next Dimension is sure to whet the appetites of ardent X-Men fanatics. more