Games based on superheroes are always hit or a miss, well more like always miss, and it’s even worse when it comes to games based on movies based on superheroes. For every Spider-Man 2, there’s a Superman Returns or Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Now I would have easily dismissed X-Men Origins: Wolverine as another crappy movie tie-in (much like last year’s Iron-Man and Hulk games) had it not been developed by Raven Software. It’s evident from the X-Men Legends series and Marvel Ultimate Alliance that Raven knows how to make a good superhero game. While X-Men Origins: Wolverine may not be a groundbreaking title, it’s still the best game featuring everyone’s favourite adamantium-laced mutant antihero as the lead character.
The game is loosely based on the movie of the same name and the story is told via cut-scenes, which are mostly flashbacks which take place during a mission Wolverine is on in the African jungles as a part of William Stryker’s team. The narrative keeps shifting from Wolverine’s current mission in Africa to past and future events. Needless to say, the story feels somewhat disjointed and jumps around a lot. It’s not too bad but don’t expect a solid satisfying plot. Thankfully, you’re not here for the plot, you’re here to slice and dice enemies with your adamantium claws and lighting fast reflexes and boy, the game does deliver in this department!
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The gameplay is similar to any hack-and-slash game in the vein of Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden. You’ll enter an area, slice up tons of bad guys with fancy looking moves, and move on to the next. The combat is very satisfying and quite visceral (more on the “visceral” part later). Wolverine has a large number of unlockable combos and special attacks in his arsenal. There’s the usual light and heavy attack as well as a grab function which can be used to perform some nasty environmental kills such as impaling enemies on sharp objects, setting them on fire or throwing them into large spinning fans. However the coolest combat ability comes in the form of Wolverine’s lunge attack. By targeting a distant enemy and pressing a button, Wolverine will perform a long range lunge attack. Not only does this look amazingly cool, but it’s actually quite deadly since you can quickly link it to a second attack by pressing another attack button. It’s by far the most effective skill and is also the only way to kill certain enemies and bosses.
Speaking of enemies, there isn’t a lot of variety in them as you’ll be facing the same not-so-brilliant soldiers and mutants throughout the game. You’ll also face off against some robotic enemies later and the game will also throw giant rock mutants called Leviathans, W.E.N.D.I.G.O.s or robotic prototypes at you every now and then. These big brutes look intimidating, but the strategy to beat them pretty much always remains the same. Some of the bigger boss fights are genuinely fun, especially one involving a certain giant mutant hunting machine.
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With each enemy you kill you’ll receive experience points, which are used to level up and earn skill points. As you might have guessed, skill points allow you to upgrade various attributes such as Damage, Health, Rage and also Wolverine’s special attacks. The health system is rather well designed. Since Wolverine can automatically heal wounds, the regenerating health system actually makes a lot of sense here. But take too much damage and his vital organs will be exposed and any damage taken at this point will prove to be fatal until he regenerates muscle and tissue by avoiding damage for a while. The health system captures Wolverine’s strengths and weaknesses perfectly. You’ll also find and unlock various “mutagens” which can be used to permanently boost certain attributes or give you extra damage or defence. However, there are only three slots for these, so you’ll have to choose based on your playing style. You can boost Wolverine’s health and healing abilities or choose to increase his combat proficiency.
I’ve always thought that Wolverine was a pretty brutal fighter especially since he’s no Peter Parker and his primary means of attack is his razor-sharp indestructible claws, but somehow the movies never really captured his primal nature and brutality. Well, no need to worry any longer, because this game lets you experience exactly how Wolverine would fight… and he fights dirty. For starters, the game is rated M, which is higher than the movie is, and the game wears it’s rating like a badge, or in this case, a dog tag. It’s unapologetically violent and certainly not in the same league as the PG-13 X-Men movie universe. Wolverine can literally tear his enemies apart in glorious gory detail, much like Ryu Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden II. The game also slows down and the camera zooms in whenever you pull off a rather nasty kill showing you the carnage up close. Not just that, but the cut-scenes feature some pretty brutal moments such as Wolverine sticking a soldier’s head into a spinning helicopter rotor or Sabertooth ripping the arms clean off from another one.
Next page: The verdict
