(Editor’s Note: Below is a classic BotB from November 2005 republished in anticpation of the next entry in the One Day, One Game series)

It’s rare that a co-op game comes along, even rarer that it’s worth playing. So when it does I like to get together with old gaming pals and share the experience. Nowadays, with jobs and distance between us, time is an issue. So when the game, the people, and the time line up, I have no problem driving 300 miles to play share my hobby with anyone. And so it was two weeks ago. The day: Saturday October 1st. The person: The Navigator, a.k.a. Nav, the guy I trust to watch my back in any gamespace. The game: X-Men Legends 2. Here is that day, in game time elapsed.

00:00- Xbox power on, the game roars to life on Nav’s 46 inch wide screen DLP TV with native 720p (and 1080i, thought he game is in 720p) resolution and 5.1 surround sound. Needless to say Nav makes more money then I do…lots more.

00:04- Opening cinema is over and we are dropped into Game Mechanics for the Illiterate 101, also known as the tutorial stage, the sad and slow starting section that every game has to have these days due to the slow decline of the Video Game Instruction Manual.

00:05- The good news is that we are able to start right away with a useful selection of mutants, so we pick our avatars: Wolverine for Nav, and for myself (although I am a long time Cyclops fan) decide to try something new and go with Storm. This classic combo of melee and ranged attackers should carry us through the game.

00:07- I switch back to Cyclops.

00:26- We’re on Genosha, and the game has decided to “tell, not show” that not only has the ancient mutant Apocalypse risen to power, but the Brotherhood and the X-Men have already decided to join forces. I guess the TV commercials were the story intro, good thing I watch G4 (for Cinematech only, I swear!)

00:29- Neat! They included Blink! The doubly hot pink (she’s both hot physically and actually hot pink) teleporter that I enjoy from Exiles.

00:48- They gave Blink a voice like an 11 year old girl. I’ve just made myself sick.

02:44- That boss fight against Abyss was awesome, and if I concentrated really hard, I could even tell what was going on!

03:02- During one of the borderline interminable mission briefings, I take a Doritos break.

03:03- Have to pause the game to wash my hands.

04:42- Another mission briefing, more Doritos.

04:43- More hand washing.

05:59- Another mission briefing, the use of chopsticks to eat Doritos is pioneered.

06:34- Nav takes issue with my ‘better safe then sorry’ item hording. I have to leave the room so he can sell stuff off and free space in the inventory without me second guessing everything.

07:22- I try to change it up a bit and use some jumping attacks.

07:25- I accidentally fling myself off a railing and into oblivion.

07:57- We defeat a mutant code named ‘Mikhail’, which is also his real name. What a fortune he must save on stationary!

09:02- Now that we’ve unlocked Jean Grey’s revival power, we make her a permanent part of the team. Over the next 3 hours I have to repeatedly remind Nav that she is from Ohio, not France and therefore it is pronounced “Jean” as in pants, not “Jean” as in “-Luc Picard.”

11:42- We break to go see Serenity. Great movie, but there will not be a sequel or a new TV show, sorry folks.

13:14- Power leveling with Wolverine and Cyclops has made us think we are way ahead of the curve and ready to start creaming any remaining competition.

13:26- Turns out we were right, most standard enemies are now 1HKs and fight with the continuity-accurate three remaining Cuckoos is a snap.

15:22- Coke Zero is great, but it makes me belch like a drunken frog.

17:31- Archangel makes an appearance, but boss fights are cake now that Nav and I have level 40+ characters and all the best unique items. I’m not bragging, I just guess we should have started on the hard difficulty level.

19:42- Apocalypse himself goes down in a riot of crimson energy and flashing claws. Nav and I exchange and fist pounds and I hop back in my car for a bleary drive home.

THE RIDE BOARD:

In the Xbox: Here’s a game that didn’t make the One Day One Game cut. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Sure it has a co-op mode (or “Ko-Op” in the game’s vernacular) but that’s not enough, the game has to not suck first. I can see what they were trying to do here, but when the developer’s saw God of War, they must have known they were not in the same league. GoW is a masterpiece of game play and visuals, MK:SM would be lucky to be an early build of that game.

Did You Know: The word “Checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat”, which means “the king is dead.”

From The Vaults: One of the earliest Co-Op favorites of mine was Jackal for the NES. What could be better then you and a buddy working together, each in a tricked out army jeep on a duo mission to save POWs in Cambodia! It had a stiff difficultly curve, clunky handling, and a lot of graphical glitches. Wait a second, that wasn’t such a great game…

This is my stop.

Comments? Questions? E-mail me at seth410@gamertransit.com. Complaints? I’m not padding out my library, really! Back of the Bus is © 2006 by Seth “4:10” Robison, used with exclusive permission by gamertransit.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.