X-Men: Destiny

Review

Common Sense Media says

Moral choice aspect is overshadowed by lots of brawling.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that X-Men: Destiny is basically a fighting game in which you play a young superpowered mutant who can choose to either join up with the heroic X-Men or the villainous Brotherhood of Mutants in a fight against anti-mutant forces. Choosing to be a good guy or bad guy can alter your experience a bit, but there aren't really any hard lessons learned by choosing the less noble path. The game contains a whole lot of superhero fantasy combat and some sexual innuendo.

  • Positive messages1
    You need to make moral choices in the game, either by joining the X-Men (who have purer motives to their actions) or Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants (who work through a law-ignoring fight-fire-with-fire point of view). You can win either way, though, so the message presented by the game is mixed.
  • Positive role models1
    The X-Men team members you run into will talk about following laws, maintaining honor, and taking the more noble route (though they still engage in violence whenever the opportunity pops up). The members of the Brotherhood, who can also be your teammates (depending on the choices you make), espouse a more violent, far less forgiving ideology.
  • Ease of play3
    Gameplay is relatively easy. Multiple difficulty levels allow you to customize your experience quite a bit, but newcomers should be able to get through the full game on the easiest setting.
  • Violence3
    Through melee combat and energy blasting superpowers, you will fight your way through hundreds of enemies. While the enemies you defeat don't necessarily appear to die, there are tons of explosions and other destructive attacks from which survival seems a rather slim chance.
  • Sex2
    Some female characters wear skimpy outfits, bearing midriffs and cleavage. There's some sexual innuendo in a moment of dialogue where a character talks about wanting a "chick with super flexibility."
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What's it about?

In X-MEN: DESTINY, you play as one of three young people who has just developed a superhuman mutant power. At the funeral of X-Men founder, Professor X, there is an attack by a militant anti-mutant group, the Purifiers. Two different factions, the noble X-Men and the belligerent Brotherhood of Mutants, battle against the purists -- but each with very different tactics. You have to choose which path to follow and which team to join.

Is it any good?

 

The storyline of X-Men: Destiny is interesting in that it lets you play as an original never-before-seen character, but allows you to interact with a slew of both popular and lesser-known characters from the X-Men universe. The course you choose doesn't alter the missions much at all, but will affect which other superheroes and villains you get to see and which new powers you can develop. There's a nice RPG aspect to the game that allows you to add new powers, suits, and equipment to customize your hero. But the story is basically linear with no real room for exploring. A little variety would have gone a long way here, since the majority of the game consists of brawling your way through large masses of enemies (which can grow tiresome after a while). At the same time, the simplicity of it all makes this a very nice entry point for newcomers to action gaming.

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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the moral ramifications of the choices you can make in the game. If you choose to follow the route of the Brotherhood of Mutants, do you think two wrongs make a right? Do you believe there are times when the end truly justifies the means?

  • In what ways does choosing the X-Men's route feel like a better moral choice?

  • What is it about superheroes games that make them so much fun to play?

This review was written by Christopher Healy
Kid, 11 years old
October 15, 2011
AGE
7
 
BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the X-Men franchise.Sure there's some violence but nothing too bad for a mature 5 year old.I think the costumes are a bit skimpy,but most I would wear myself.All I can say is BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Helped me decide (16) | Had useful details (18) | Read my mind (18)
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Teen, 17 years old
May 12, 2012
AGE
10
 
Learning0
Best game ever
Great game! I love the game and i think anyone 10 and up should immediately buy it.
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Parent
May 12, 2012
AGE
11
 
Learning0
11 and up
I am a parent of kids ages 9 and 11. My sons love the game and told me that kids 11 and up should play it. I watched them play and I agree.
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This review was written by Christopher Healy
Topics:superheroes
Platforms:Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:Activision
Release date:September 26, 2011
Price:$39.99–$49.99
ESRB rating:T for Mild language, Mild suggestive themes, Violence
This review was written by Christopher Healy

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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