X-Men: Destiny Review (5/10)

Marvel haven't had any good video game releases so far, and judging by X-Men: Destiny (and Spider-Man: Edge of Time, the reviews of which haven't been favourable either), they're not going to get any anytime soon. Destiny takes place in the near future, with Professor X dead and three new mutants being discovered by the titular heroes and the evil Brotherhood of Mutants, with the main strength of the game being your ability to choose your path. Sadly, this sounds better than it actually plays: the amount of choices you get to make which will affect the game deeply is a pretty small number, so the majority of your five-hour playing time will be spent button-mashing in dull combat sequences that merely serve to lead you to another pointless choice. The visuals don't do the series justice either, looking akin to a PS1 or Nintendo Gamecube title rather than a 2011 blockbuster video game, and it's this feeling of the release being rushed out for the major Autumn window that really holds Destiny back from being anything other than sub-par. I'd only recommend this one to the hardcore fans of all things X-celsior (but not X-Cellent, which tragically, this isn't).