X-Men 2: Clone Wars

X-Men 2: Clone Wars is the title of a video game released in 1995 by Sega of America for its Sega Genesis. The game is a sequal to its 1992 side-scrolling video game titled X-Men (Sega video game). The game was given a Kids Through Adults rating by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

Storyline
The technorganic alien race known as the Phalanx return and are seeking to take control of Earth by assimlating all of its inhabitants. They've also captured and cloned several mutants for experimentation. Only a select group of X-men (Beast, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Wolverine, Cyclops) have avoided capture and, temporarily united with their oldest foe, Magneto, they must defeat the Phalanx before all of humanity is assimilated. Along the way, they will travel through familiar landscapes including the Savage Land and Avalon, and battle powerful adversaries such as Apocalypse, the Sentinels, Exodus, Deathbird and more.

Gameplay
This game was innovative in that the player was immediatly thrust into the game; the first level begins as soon as the credits are over with a random character. Each character has a "mutant power" which can be used in fighting. Some of these can be charged to a greater effect by holding down the power button, and all of them are incresed in power when the character has nine or ten bars of health. In addition to these powers, some characters are capable of climbing the walls and ceiling, or grabbing onto the wall. These powers can be used to reach hidden health (which is in the shape of a double helix) or as a shortcut. Also, some characters had attacks that propelled them forward, enabling them to jump further. Finally, some characters had double jumps, useful for shortcuts.

-Beast pounds the ground, damaging anyone near him. This attack cannot be charged, but when his health is at its peak, two shockwaves are shot away from him along the ground. He can also grab onto walls, but not climb them. He is generally regarded as the worst character because of his slowness. However, he defeats bosses easily, because of his strong attacks. He can also leap forwards, but this attack is mostly pointless, as it does no damage.

-Gambit has the power to throw explosive cards. He can use his kick to propell himself forward. When his attack is charged, or his health is full, he throw two separate cards. When his health is full and he is fully charged, he throws three cards. He is one of two characters who can attack from a distance.

-Cyclops is the other distance attacker. He shoots a red laser from his eyes as an attack. He, like Gambit, uses his kick to propell himself forward. When he is fully charged or has full health, his attack is stronger and slightly thicker. When he is fully charged and at full health, his attack is very strong and about three times as thick as his basic laser.

-Psylocke uses a telepathic knife as a special. This is very damaging, but slow to pull off, and it only works on humanoid enemies. She carries a sword, which is much faster, has a further reach, and hurts all enemies. She uses her special to propell herself forward. When her health is full, the knife becomes longer and stronger. She can grab walls, but not climb them, and has a double jump. She also has a mostly pointless slide attack, added in an attempt to make her even with the other players. However, she is still not as good as the others.

-Nightcrawler's special is teleportation. He disappears and reappears in a cloud of smoke, damaging all enemies surrounding him. His kick can propell him forwards, he has a double jump, and he can climb walls and ceilings. When he has full health, his teleporting does more damage, and charging it makes him go further. He is very fast, and well-liked among most people. However, his attacks are all very weak, making him worse against bosses.

-Wolverine is regarded as the best character in this game, by far. His special propells him forward, a forward swipe with his claws. Unlike the first game, his claws are always out, and he deals a lot of damage with every attack. He climbs walls and ceilings by sticking his claws into them, and he has a double jump. When his health is full, his attack does more damage, and the trail left by his claws in the air becomes more jagged looking. This alone would probably make him the most powerful person in the game, but also, when he has only one or two bars of health, he heals after a certain amount of time.

-Magneto becaome a playable character after beating him at the end of the third level. His regular attack is long range. He jumps higher than the others, and moves slowly through the air. He has two specials, depending on if he is in the air or not. If his power is used when he is in the air, he stops falling and floats there until his special is used again. When he is on the ground, he makes a magnetic orb that floats in front of him and explodes. The explosion has a very small radius, unless he has full health, in which case it covers the screen. To make for these powers, though, he is very slow, and therefore bad in many levels.

Trivia
The Phalanx appeared in the X-men animated series during its final season.