Would-be Wolverines can start sharpening their virtual claws. This morning, Activision announced that it has shipped X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. The follow-up to last year's popular multiplatform action role-playing game X-Men Legends already is or soon will be in stores across North America. Like its predecessor, the game is available for a wide variety of platforms, including the PC, Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2, with a PSP version due out next month and a mobile phone edition coming in November. It is rated T for Teen and retails for $49.99 for consoles and $39.99 for the PC.

　　Developed by Raven Software (Quake 4, Prey), Rise of Apocalypse features an original storyline featuring classic characters from Marvel Comics' X-Men series, including Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman, and Nightcrawler. The second installment in the series will also let players select from the band of evil mutants known as the Brotherhood, which includes Juggernaut, Toad, and Magneto. The Brotherhood joins with the X-Men to fight a common foe: the supervillain Apocalypse and his horde of minions, which (naturally) include four horsemen.

　　As with the original X-Men Legends, Rise of Apocalypse's gameplay consists of a blend of hack-and-slash-style action and role-playing elements. Players will select members of the Botherhood and X-Men to form a four-man team, which will then go up against more than 100 different kinds of opponents. The two sides will face off in a variety of locations, all with destructible environments. Characters will accrue experience to upgrade their various mutant powers, which the player can select manually or allow the computer to assign automatically. And unlike the original, X-Men Legends has an online multiplayer component, which includes versus, co-op, and six-player skirmish modes.

　　For a complete rundown on X-Men Legends II: Apocalypse, check back tomorrow for GameSpot's full review.