Paradox Entertainment is hard at work on X-Men: Next Dimension, an X-Men fighting game currently in development for the GameCube, the PlayStation 2, and the Xbox. There will be eight environments in the game that are based on famous locales within the X-Men universe such as Professor Xavier's mansion, Apocalypse's Egyptian tomb, and the danger room. Each area is made up of two to five sections, so you can knock your opponents into new areas of an environment by performing specific types of moves. One level we saw had Beast fighting Phoenix, and after a few slams to the ground, both characters plummeted through the floor and into an entirely new room. We were also shown the Xavier mansion level, where a fight between Cyclops and Toad broke out of the mansion and into the backyard area. X-Men: Next Dimension will have 24 characters, and each character will have three costumes, some of which will be original creations, while others will be taken from the comic book.

　　The gameplay has been reworked since Activision's last 3D X-Men fighting game. The characters now have full eight-way movement, allowing them to sidestep and perform special evasive moves. In addition to an assortment of basic attacks and special moves, every character in X-Men: Next Dimension will have rising attacks, as well as air throws and air counters. Overall, it looks like a strong effort has been made to increase the depth of the fighting engine, but the controls have been kept relatively simple so fighting-game novices can jump right in and start playing.

　　We'll have more on Next Dimension from the E3 show floor.