X-Men 2: Clone Wars/Characters

The character line-up for the game includes Beast, Gambit, Cyclops, Wolverine, Psylocke, and Nightcrawler. Later on 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
Beast's mutant attack is to pound the ground with his fists, 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, giving the attack a projectile element. Obviously, this move cannot be performed in the air; Apart from Mangneto Beast is the only character who cannot perform his mutant attack in the air. Beast can also grab onto or bounce off vertical walls, but not climb them. Beast has the strongest regular attacks of any playable character in the game, equal to the charged mutant attack of many other characters, and their range is second only to Gambit, so he can usually clear levels the fastest, however he requires an experienced player as his sheer size compared to the other characters means he is difficult to maneuver to avoid damage from enemies. He can also perform a non-offensive fixed distance leap forwards, which can be useful to quickly escape danger, quickly get through a closing door on level 2, or when clearing short jumps.

Gambit
Gambit's mutant attack is the power to throw explosive cards. The base attack is for one card to be thrown, although two cards are thrown simultaneously if the attack is charged, or if the character has 9 or 10 health bars. If the attack is charged when Gambit has 9 or 10 health bars three cards cards are thrown simultaneously. Gambit's regular attacks are performed with a wooden stick (bo), which has the longest range of any regular attack in the game, making him perhaps the easiest character to play for beginners. He can also perform a flying kick. Gambit cannot, however, grab onto walls, so cannot take advantage of short cuts.

Cyclops
Cyclops' mutant attack is to shoot a red optic blast that travels most of the length of the screen before him. The obvious advantage of this attack is lessened somewhat by making his base mutant attack do only half as much damager as a regular attack, unless it is fully charged or Cyclops has 9 or 10 health bars, when his optic blast becomes 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. Cyclops' projectile attack can be repeated more quickly than Gambit's, however this was counterbalanced by making his regular attacks have the shortest range out of all the playable characters. Like Gambit, he cannot grab onto walls.

Psylocke
Psylocke's mutant attack is a telepathic knife punch. At its peak this attack is the second most powerful attack in the game (after Wolverine's peak mutant slash) and in some ways the better move as Psylocke remains stationary when she performs it, and so does not risk damage by lunging forward into the enemy. The move is however slow to pull off and only effects humanoid enemies. Her regular attack is to slash her sword twice, which is much faster and capable of damaging enemies both in front and behind her, but has a fairly short range. She can grab onto vertical walls, but not climb them. Psylocke has the highest jump of any character in the game, however it is also has the shortest range, and she can easily fall short of the long jumps in the game. Jumping and performing the pyschic knife gives her jump greater horizontal range. Her regular aerial attack is to curl into a ball and somersault holding her sword out, effectively giving her a full 360 degree slash that has a 100% defense rate against regular aerial enemies. She also has a non-offensive short slide, which can be used to duck under enemy projectiles or stationary obstacles whilst still moving forward.

Nighcrawler
Nightcrawler's mutant attack is teleportation. He disappears and reappears in a cloud of smoke, damaging all enemies surrounding him. However, unlike in the first Genesis X-Men game, he cannot use this ability to teleport through walls and take shortcuts, although it can be used to dodge projectiles or damage obstacles. He can also climb walls and ceilings. Charging his attack increases the distance which Nightcrawler travels when performing it. Although the fastest character in the game, his mutant attack when not at peak health is weak, although not as weak as Cyclops or Gambit's base mutant attacks.

Wolverine
Wolverine's mutant attack is to lunge forward and swiping his claws. This move is the strongest in the game when performed when Wolverine has 9 or 10 bars of health, capable of defeating some of the minor bosses in a few strikes. The move's weakness is that it always requires Wolverine to move forward; if not judged correctly the move can force Wolverine to make contact with a enemy which may injure him. He can climb walls and ceilings by sticking his claws into them, and he has a double jump. Wolverine also has the ability to heal himself when he has only one or two bars of health remaining, although this takes some time. Once he reaches three bars Wolverine will not heal anymore unless his health is knocked back down to one or two bars. Wolverine's speed is fairly similar to Nightcrawler's, however his attack range is average, requiring him to engage in close combat with enemies, thus exposing him to greater risk of damage. When not at peak health Wolverine's attack strength is average. Unlike in the first Genesis X-Men game, the player does not have the ability to sheath or unsheath Wolverine's claws—they are always out.

Magneto
Magneto's mutant attack is to produce a magnetic orb in front of him that explodes after several seconds. Holding the attack button increases the distance Magneto sends the orb out. When at 9 or 10 bars of health the explosion range and strength of the orb is increased, encompassing effectively the entire screen. This move is possibly equal in strength to Psylocke's telepathic knife. Magneto cannot produce an orb in the air. Rather, the mutant attack button lets Magneto hover in mid air, from which he can fire regular attack projectiles at enemies. Magneto will hover until the mutant attack button is pressed again. Magneto's jump possibly equals Psylocke's in height, yet he cannot grab walls. In order to prevent the character from from being too powerful the game's programmers made him very slow, to the point where he is arguable the worst character in the game. There are only one or two levels in which Magneto is a wise choice of character.