PS3, Xbox, 360. Out September 30

Canadian developer Silicon Knights was once the poster cniidforbri,i(ance ?p tne gaming worid with criticaify lauded -titles like Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Shakes for the GameCube nestled under Its belt. Then Too Human stumbled onto the scene in 2008 and knocked it off its pedestal.

Sadly, its shot at redemption, X-Men: Destiny, is an equally abysmal affair marred by a catalogue of failures. Including clunky character models, lamentable voice-acting and Infuriating controls. Destiny Is a role-playing button-basher that puts you Ih control of one of three young mutants who suddenly realise they're genetically gifted in the middle of a Sen Francisco peace rally to commemorate the death of Professor X, which has come under attack by a mysterious foe.

The script - from the normally dependable Mike Carey, current scribbler on the X-Men: Legacy series - fedire and riddled with face-slapping puns, while supposed consequential choices barely affect the dissappointingly short narrative arc. What's even more concerning, and yetteillng, is how X-Men: Destiny was simply rolled out onto shelves with llttJe support from either developer or publisher.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It's not a total loss, and there's some enjoyment to be had by explorihgyour character's nascent powers, but all-ln-atl It's a disappointing outing for Marvel's X-Men. Professor X was wise to sit this one out. SW ***