Run To New X-Men Film, Run Away From New X-Men Game

The headline about says it all. The new X-Men film, by director Brett Ratner, is pulse-pounding, intense and despite the claims about a "Last Stand," it sets the stage for Sentinels and more Magneto in a future X-Men IV. Be sure to stick around after the credits for a pretty cool, if predictable surprise after the current film that sets it up.

As for "X-Men, The Official Game," well, it doesn't come close to the film. You can control three characters. Two of them, Wolverine and the Ice Man, have about three moves. It gets repetitive quickly, though, sliding around on an ice slide being created as you -- Silver Surfer style -- is kind of neat.

NightCrawler has better moves. He can teleport across rooms and through some objects. His plotline is better, too, but even his storyline grows stale too quickly, mainly because the game is too easy and the bad guys too dumb.

There are 28 missions for the heroes to complete against villians like Hydra and Magneto's Brotherhood. The final battles against the big villians, the bosses in videogame speak, are quite good, but there's just not enough fun getting there.

Activision could've had a superb game but took a misstep of sorts. It's a renter, but not a keeper (Rating: 2.5/5).