Summary
Insomniac working on aMarvel’s X-Mengame is tremendously exciting and howMarvel’s Wolverinelays those foundations will be interesting to see unfold. The idea that Insomniac was developingMarvel’s Wolverinenever plainly precipitated that an X-Men game would follow; in fact, knowingMarvel’s X-Menwould need to be an ensemble game sort of puts it out of Insomniac’s wheelhouse a bit. It seems to be in the pipeline nonetheless, and who it will feature is going to be a hot debate for the next five or so years, assuming plans don’t change in half a decade’s worth of time.
The reason why a single-player X-Men game seems contradictory is because the titular group is made up of many mutant characters. That said, many ensemble games have managed to be single-player and lend control of several characters to the player at different times. If this is the direction Marvel wants to head with such games, then there may be characters who get to take the lead amid four or five X-Men icons. However, whileScott Summers’ Cyclops is a natural leader of the X-Men, his hindrances in gameplay might ensure that he does not get to play a significant role.
Cyclops is One of the X-Men’s Least Dynamic Characters
Scott is astonishingly interesting personality-wise, but with regard to what his abilities amount to in gameplay he could never be dynamic or engaging for long. The primary issue with Scott is that his optic blasts are either too overpowered or too underpowered depending on what his role is in the ensemble he’s found himself in. This ability is the only element separating him from any ordinary person skilled in martial arts or a tactician’s leadership conditioning and as far as gameplay options go that makes for a mechanically dry and static character.
Gameplay for Cyclops in a Single-Player Game Would Have Several Hurdles
Boiled down to gameplay alone,Cyclops is a one-trick ponyand his singular trick can never be as overpowered as it should be because he’d simply annihilate everything otherwise. The only area where his gameplay could possibly have any dynamic features is in the visor dial, which could let players alternate between different optic blast functions the same way Cyclops controls how and when the blasts are fired.
Cyclops’ Leadership Quality Makes Him a Support Character
Instead of having him be the frontline soldier whom other characters take a backseat to, Cyclops would be best implemented on a battlefield as a leader who ushers commands to companions and rallies them with support buffs, not unlike therole of an Officer inStar Wars Battlefront 2. It would be neat if Cyclops could build up a meter to unleash concussive blasts, but in the meantime he’d likely be relegated to giving orders to other X-Men and buffing them with passives in order to have him be worthwhile.
That doesn’t make for engaging single-player gameplay, though, if he’s simply going around and buffing NPCs. It’s ultimately unfortunate because Cyclops truly is an interesting character, but Insomniac might be better off making himan NPC companion similar toGod of War Ragnarok’s Angrboda or Freyarather than his own playable character.
It would be a shame to only see him hanging aroundXavier’s School for Gifted Youngstersor whereverMarvel’s X-Menhas its hub base, and his optic blasts could definitely come in handy in a pinch, but otherwise he’s not nearly as versatile as Gambit, Nightcrawler, Rogue, or Storm could be, for instance.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
