The movie’s coming, and so are the action figures... so you knew it was only a matter of time before a video game publisher jumped on board and started working on a new "X-Men" video game. Well, Activision is stepping up to the plate with their upcoming X-Men Mutant Academy for the Sony PlayStation. That’s right, Activision’s "X-Men" fighting game will hit the shelves of your local game dealer this summer, and while it may not have a whole lot to do with the upcoming blockbuster film, it’s nice to finally be given a release date for this oft-delayed brawler.

We may have first seen this nigh-vaporware PlayStation game back at E3 a few years ago, but let me tell ya--it has sure changed! What was once considered a shoddy 3-D cash run has been given a new lease on life at the hands of the talented guys and gals at Paradox (yes, the same cats that worked on the notorious, unreleased Thrill Kill). With the new development team, at least we know that the uncanny mutants are in good hands. Now, about those all-important features…

Paradox and Activision have an impressive array of features planned for the game, and if they all come together like Activision's promising, we may just see the best "X-Men" fighter yet. Here’s an official list, straight from Activision:

Ten playable characters, including Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Mystique, Sabertooth and more. Ten stages straight from the comic books, including the danger room, the savage lands and New York City after the dreaded Sentinel invasion. Multiple gameplay modes, including Academy Training, Arcade Cerebro and Versus.

We had a chance to sit down with this "X-Men" fighter, and what we’ve seen thus far has been fairly impressive. Unfortunately, only Cyclops and Wolverine were playable.. but even with only two selectable characters, the game still screams a good time! With a gameplay style very remeniscient of classic Street Fighter, you and your friends will be able to pick up play with no problems at all--and since Paradox is stapled to the project, you know you’ll be in for some fast action!

X-Men Mutant Academy has come a long way since we last saw it, and at this pace, we may have quite a treat to look forward to this summer. We’ll have more on this one come E3; but until then, be prepared--the mutant invasion is coming… - Rick Mears

You can read more of this and download the Game Movie here.