There was a big announcement, a while back, that the classic Arcade game X-Men was released for iPhone. Quietly, the same day, it was released on the Android.
Yes, in 1992 one of my favorite games of all time found it’s way into arcades. And until recently, it hadn’t found it’s way into my home. But recently it was released on Xbox Live, then a matter of weeks later, it appeared on handsets.
The day it released, they were asking for $2.99 (which I gleefully paid as one of the first 250 downloaders, according to the Android Market). It is currently showing as only 99 cents, so I would encourage anyone to pick it up right away.
The game itself plays just like the original arcade version, though it does use the re-recorded voices found in the console re-release (don’t worry, your favorite Engrish has been faithfully recreated). On my Evo Shift I noticed absolutely no slow downs, after multiple playthroughs – with several sprites battling it out on the screen I was able to keep up and keep on beating’em up!.
On screen controls were fine, and mostly responsive. I see some complaints on Market reviews of people wishing they were smaller, but I like them the way they are. I just wish the Punch button and the Special button were swapped, because I am constantly accidentally exiting back to my Home Screen, because of the positioning of the physical buttons and the horizontal orientation of the game.
Despite the very few shortcomings of the controls, the game is a fun way to kill time, looks and sounds authentic, and even supports OpenFeint rewards, for Achievement junkies like me (what? Just because it isn’t Xbox Live doesn’t meant I don’t enjoy seeing the points pile up!).