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 Mega Drive/Genesis. The game is a sequel to its 1992 side-scrolling video game titled X-Men. The game was given a KA (Kids to Adults) rating by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. It garnered some attention when it introduced the X-Men enemy Magneto as a playable character.

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.

Soundtrack
The game's music was composed by Kurt Harland, of electronica band Information Society. A soundtrack album was released in 1996.

Gameplay
This game was innovative in that the player was immediately thrust into the game; the first level begins as soon as the game loads with a random character. The first level comprised of only one stage, allowing players to switch out characters after the opening stage. The title screen and credits roll only after completing the first level.

Playable Characters
The character lineup for the game includes Beast, Gambit, Cyclops, Wolverine, Psylocke, and Nightcrawler. Upon defeating the third level, Magneto becomes a playable 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 increased 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 propel himself forward. When his attack is charged, or his health is full, he throws 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 optic blast as an attack. He, like Gambit, uses his kick to propel 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 standard blast.


 * 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 propel 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.


 * Nightcrawler's special is teleportation. He disappears and reappears in a cloud of smoke, damaging all enemies surrounding him. Unlike the first game, he cannot actually teleport through walls. His kick can propel 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, however, his attacks are all very weak, making him worse against bosses.


 * Wolverine is regarded by some as the best character in this game. His special, a forward swipe with his claws, propels him forward. 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. 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 up to three health bars after a certain amount of time. When he is low on health he will also occasionally perform a 'berserker' attack, where he loses control of himself and attacks anything around him.


 * Magneto's 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 keep him from being too powerful, the game's creators made him very slow.

Level 1: Siberia
The first level in the game is Siberia. It consists of only one stage covered in snow, and acts as a short introduction to the game. The level is controlled by anti-mutant robots and Hand Ninjas. You do not get to pick your character for this level, as it starts immediately upon booting up the game.

Level 2: Sentinel Complex
The second level in the game is the Sentinel Complex. It consists of four stages. The first stage is the lower level of the complex, the second is the upper level, the third is the Sentinel Core (where you face the first boss), and the fourth is running the second stage backwards (with explosions) to escape the building.

Level 3: Avalon
The third level in the game is Magneto's Avalon, or Astroid M. The first stage is the Asteroid Surface, the second is inside the actual Avalon (where you face a gun-toting boss, Fabian Cortez), the third is the elevator shaft where you face Exodus, and the fourth is Magneto's quarters, where you face him as a boss. After defeating him, he joins you.

Level 4: Apocalypse's Fortress
The fourth level of the game is Apocalypse's Fortress. The first stage is The Climb, where you face a boss named Tusk. The second is inside the fortress, where you face multiple Tusks. The third is the Computer Room, where you will face off with Apocalypse.

Level 5: The Savage Land
The first stage is the Savage Land exterior, where you must maneuver through the trees and swamps. The second stage is the Savage Land interior. The third stage is the Flooding Fortress, and the fourth stage is the Flooding Fortress upper floors. The boss of the level is Brainchild.

Level 6: Phalanx Flagship
The final level in the game is the inflitration of the Phalanx Flagship. The first part of the stage is ascending the trap filled ship with a Phalanx General as the boss. The second part of the stage is an elevator fight. While standing on a platform, you are attacked by various robots and then you fight Deathbird as a boss. The third part of the stage is the clone factory itself. The final segment of the stage is the fight against the Brood Queen. After you kill the Brood Queen, you must defeat enemy clones of every playable X-Men, and then you have beaten the game.

Sentinel Core
The first boss of the game is a stationary computer. At the botton of the enemy lies rotating energy blocks which power the computer. You must destroy every block attached to the computer in order for it to be destroyed. While you attack it, it sends streams of electricity from the energy blocks as well as energy emission from the "eyes." Distance fighters such as Cyclops and Gambit work best here.

Fabian Cortez
After he breaks in from the background, he remains on the far right side of the screen the entire time. Using his jetpack he moves up and down shooting his gun in fixed intervals. Cyclops or Wolverine are good choices for this boss.

Exodus
Exodus spends most of his time floating in the center of the screen. He shoots out enery beams using his hands which can go down, across, or diagonally. Occasionally he will move to one of the walls either to the left or right and destroy the floor beneath him. Some energy beams just hurt you, while others can destroy sections of the stages. If you stand in one of the destroyed sections, you loose life. Psylocke works best here because she can just stand beneath him and attack using her sword.

Magneto
There are two parts to this boss fight. Magneto will always float at the top of the screen. The first part is running away from him, where you must break through certain walls as you run to the right. As you run, he shoots beams of energy in fixed intervals. Eventually you come to a wall that you cannot break. You must distract him so he shoots beams at you but misses so he hits the wall. After the wall is hit numerous times, you move on to the second part of the fight. The second part of the fight requires you to knock Magneto onto a platform. All you must do is hit him to the right, and he will slowly decend onto the platform. His only attacks are single energy beams. Wolverine is recommended.

Tusk
Tusk stands in the center of a raised platform and never gets off of it. His only attacks are throwing rocks at you, summoning mini-tusks to attack you, and a counterattack that occurs once you've dealt damage to him. If you hit him on his right side, he will charge to the right in an attempt to hit you. If you attack him on his left, he charges to the left. Fast characters like Wolverine or Nightcrawler are recommended.

Apocalypse
In this fight, the majority of the stage is jumping and ducking over explosive orbs. Orbs come down from the air and circle around the main computer. To end the orb rotations faster, you must hit the red and blue orb that comes down. Occasionally Apocalypse comes down on a floating platform. His only attack is using his extendable arm to attack you diagonally. As you deal more damage to him, he becomes faster and more aggressive. For a challenge Wolverine is a recommended character, but for an easy victory use Magneto. He can fly so he dodges all the orbs, and Apocalypse only attacks the ground, making Magneto immune if he remains in the air.

Brainchild
This multipart boss fight doesn't take too long. When the fight starts, all that's on the screen is a simple floating device that shoots slow beams. When you destroy it, Brain Child emerges as just a simple enemy not unlike the ones you fought in the prveous stage. However, he has two transformations. One is a ground beast that shoots projectiles, swings his head, and can zoom into you, while the other can mount itself on the ceiling.

Phalanx General
At first glance this boss is nothing more than a bigger normal enemy you face faced before reaching him. The General has beams that he can shoot across and diagonally, but this time he can turn into a circle of balls and teleoprt across the room. He has transformations similar to Brainchild's, and isn't too hard either.

Deathbird
This boss's only attack is a cloud of needles she throws. She occasionally swoops in, and when she does you must hit her before the leaves the screen again. When she throws the needles it's easy to dodge. Sometimes when she appears she doesn't even attack. Pretty much every character except Magneto would be useful here.

Brood Queen
This is a very intense boss fight that requires quick reflexes and thinking. She emerges from the right in an explosive entrance, and you must ALWAYS remain mobile unless she stops. It's important to dodge her potent beams. When you defeat her, remain aware, because you will be chased by her claws when she's dead.

Clone Wars
The final fights of the game are against clones of your playable characters. They contain all the powers you have become familiar with over the course of the game. Use strategy and remember the strengths and weaknesses of each and you should win and beat the game!