Activision Digs Mutation

July 12, 2006 | By: David Radd

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X-Men: The Official Game was just about universally panned by critics. And yet, thanks to the strong comic book license, hype for the X3 movie and not much in the way of strong competition it managed to sell decently, placing 11th on NPD's top 20 for May. We speak with Activision about the game and the potential for other Marvel licensed games.

Few franchises have done more to popularize comic books to the mainstream than X-Men. Originally introduced in 1963, the series helped popularize the now common comic set up of a young team of super heroes coping with their powers and the differences they bring. In the '90s new artists and writers helped reinvigorate the brand, and a cartoon series which ran for 5 years gave non-comic reading kids intimate knowledge as to what the X-Men were all about. Then in 2000, the first X-Men movie released, and with its success it validated the use of comic book characters in Hollywood in the modern/digital effects era, along with giving a whole new look to the X-Men that the public became familiar with.

At the same time, comic fans were becoming familiar with the X-Men through an all new medium: video games. Ask any twenty-something today, and he or she probably has fond memories of playing the X-Men arcade game released in '92 by Konami. Chances are they probably also played as a super powered mutant in any number of Marvel-based fighting games made by Capcom. There's even a halfway decent chance that, more recently, they cut their teeth with a buddy or two on the popular Action/RPG X-Men Legends titles published by Activision.

Things have come full circle with X-Men: The Official Game. While based on the events of the movies, this game has its own original plot and situation. It is the latest game that demonstrates a new trend transcending the movie and video gaming industry: the use of actors and materials from a movie and creating a new or parallel story. We chatted with Maryanne Lataif, Activision's VP of Corporate Communications, about X-Men: The Official Game's appeal.

I'm the Juggernaut bi... oh what's the point?
One of the major incentives for fans of the film to buy the game is the fact that the story bridges the gap between the movies X2: X-Men United and X3: The Last Stand. This new sub story explains that William Stryker (a character from X2) had a back up plan to deal with the "mutant problem"... hunter robots called Sentinels. Along with dealing with this new threat, the game also explains the absence of the character Nightcrawler in X3 in a story penned by Chris Penn (co-writer of X3: The Last Stand) and Chris Claremont (veteran X-Men comic writer).

For X-Men: The Official Game, Activision secured the voice talent of Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), which helped draw in potential movie goers of the X3 film. Additionally, releasing 10 days before the movie helped X-Men: The Official Game benefit from the fervent amount of hype surrounding the summer blockbuster's release. On the other half of the same coin, X-Men: The Official Game helped build the anticipation for the run up to X3's debut and helped remind fans of the vital story events that took place in X2.

"The game immersed players in an original storyline that served as a prelude to X-Men: The Official Game," said Lataif. "The game allowed players to assume the roles of Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Iceman as they wield and upgrade their signature powers and maneuver through unique environments designed to showcase their super hero abilities."

"X3: The Last Stand was one of the most successful films of the year," she continued. "The movie generated interest in the game and consumers who liked the movie were able to play some of their favorite characters in the game."