X-Men Next Dimension (Nintendo GameCube, 2002)

Longtime rivals Magneto and Professor Xavier have joined together to fight a common enemy in X-Men: Next Dimension. An army of Prime-Sentinels, led by Bastion, has captured Forge and plans on using his coerced information to destroy all mutants. Players will be able to choose from 24 X-Men characters, some making their video game debut, as they punch and kick their way past the Sentinels to free their comrade. Each of the 21 environments has been designed with multiple tiers, allowing players to continue fights into new areas by throwing opponents through windows, off buildings, and more.

Sixteen characters are initially playable in five game modes: Story, Arcade, Survival, Team, and Versus. Representing the villains are Magneto, Sabretooth, Mystique, Toad, and Juggernaut. Heroes include Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Phoenix, Gambit, Beast, Psylocke, Forge, Nightcrawler, Rogue, and Havoc. An additional eight characters are waiting to be unlocked by satisfying certain conditions during play. Story Mode follows a specific narrative depending on which character is selected when starting the game. Versus lets two friends battle it out on any of the available stages, while Survival has players trying to outlast their opponents for as long as possible. Team has players assembling a squad of eight mutants and then battling another group of equal size. 

Each character has a variety of attacks based on their mutant powers. Storm, for example, can call forth lightning strikes, while Cyclops zaps foes with his optic blast. As players string together punches, kicks, and projectiles, a meter will fill up that allows them to unleash powerful combos up to 20 hits in length. Battles can also take place high in the air or low to the ground as players try to reduce their opponent's health to zero. Certain attacks trigger slow-motion effects for dramatic flair, and players will be able to perform recoveries and counters to keep opponents on their toes (or claws in some cases). In addition to the eight hidden characters, a number of alternate costumes can be unlocked during the course of play.