The fact that we got a little slip of paper indicating we'd see a ton of stuff but not be able to talk about it didn't help either. Luckily, the actual level designs we could witness seemed both larger and offered more branching paths, so depending on who you had in your team, you could use their powers (much like the first game) to open up a new path or get through an area without taking damage.

And while we can't mention specific characters by name, the fact that there are a base number of 8 X-Men and 8 Brotherhood playables (not to mention tons of unlockables), means the roster is definitely diverse. The AI for each computer controlled character can be tweaked to allow for a more aggressive or reactive stance, and the same familiar toggles for when characters should heal themselves can be adjusted here too. It also helps create some interesting dynamics between X-Men and Brotherhood characters and how they speak with the people delivering missions. The exchange between Wolverine and his... uh, friend that we can't mention was a father/son dynamic right out of the comics.

Still, it would appear that the whole bit with Legion and going back in time and rewriting the entire X-Men Universe has been scrapped in favor of a more simplified existing-X-Men-team-up-with-Brotherhood-of-Evil-Mutants-to-combat-Apocalypse storyline. We did see some bits like Mr. Sinister apparently doing the same genetic manipulation on characters (and we weren't told to hush up about that), so it does seem like a fair retelling of what's going on without introducing stuff like the one-handed Weapon X bits and so on. It's probably safer, since the constraints of an action role-playing game don't really lend themselves to a good 20 hours of explanation and non-interactive cutscenes.

Those cutscenes, it should be noted, at least the pre-rendered CG ones, are freaking awesome. Quite a few people at the event asked if it was Activision mainstay Blur Studios doing the CG and even without the expected "yep, they're awesome, eh?" answer, it was obvious the team was doing some of their best work. The opening cinematic alone was enough to get geeked over.

In all honesty, it's hard to point out some of the bigger advances to things without more hands-on time, and with all the approvals that are necessary between Activision and Marvel, we may not be able to bring you the info we REALLY want to offer until the review. We'll keep hammering away, however, so expect a basic update in the near future, as well as a ton of media in the weeks to come.