X-Men: The Official Game (2006). Play online

Summary

X‑Men: The Official Game on the DS delivers a distinctive top‑down, 3‑D beat ’em up spread across forty levels. I’m hooked on how the lower screen shows the fast‑paced action while the upper screen tracks health, powers and objectives. Movement relies on the control pad, and every attack, dodge or teleport is handled with a tap on the touch screen.

The handheld lets you jump between Wolverine’s brutal ground attacks, Iceman’s frosty projectiles, and Magneto’s metal‑bending powers on the fly – although certain stages are locked to Nightcrawler, whose teleport‑skill turns crowd control into a puzzle. Magneto can even haul and hurl metallic objects or smash metal doors, adding a strategic edge against tougher foes and bosses.

A true bridge between X2 and X‑Men: The Last Stand, the game uses voice talent straight from the movies and a script co‑written by Zak Penn and Chris Claremont. The DS version’s reception was mixed, landing at a 50 on Metacritic, but it remains a quirky piece of the franchise’s cross‑media puzzle.

Storyline

In the Danger Room at the Xavier Institute, Wolverine fights Sabretooth and loses until Iceman intervenes; Cyclops is too grief‑stricken over Jean Grey’s apparent death for training. Professor X orders the team to retrieve irreplaceable Cerebro parts from Alkali Lake.
Nightcrawler sneaks into William Stryker’s ruined base, discovers Hydra agents looting it, and teams with Colossus to secure the parts while Wolverine and Storm uncover Stryker’s hidden Sentinel program. Storm is captured by Lady Deathstrike, but Wolverine rescues her and the X‑Men escape as the massive Sentinel Master Mold awakens.
Following Deathstrike to Japan, Wolverine learns Hydra works for the mutant Silver Samurai. After a brutal showdown, Wolverine defeats Samurai and learns a Hydra device in Hong Kong can halt Master Mold, prompting Magneto and Sabretooth to join the fight.
In Hong Kong the X‑Jet is shot down; Iceman recovers the device and Magneto uses it to cripple Master Mold. Nightcrawler disables its control center, Iceman destroys the core, and Wolverine battles feral clones of himself. Sabretooth captures Jason Stryker, but Wolverine kills Sabretooth and the Sentinel collapses, killing Jason.
Back at the mansion, Nightcrawler decides to leave the X‑Men, while Cyclops discovers Jean Grey alive but unstable, ending the story of X‑Men: The Official Game with Cyclops begging to be let inside.