X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a brutal, gory, blood soaked brawler that finally takes the safety scissors off of everyone’s favorite mutant and showcases just what adamantium claws can really do. The game is fast paced and satisfying and fun and delivers in just about every way Wolverine fans could want. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the better movie tie-in games we have had in a long time, and is worth checking out.
Game Details
- Publisher: Activision
- Developer: Raven Software
- Also On: PS3, Wii
- ESRB Rating: “M” for Mature
- Genre: Action
- Pros: Fun gameplay; brutal and violent and really showcases the real Wolverine; crazy damage model on Wolverine
- Cons: Too easy; gets repetitive; some levels a bit on the long side
The story in X-Men Origins: Wolverine follows the same path as the movie. It reveals details on Wolverine’s relationship with Sabertooth, how he got his adamantium skeleton, and more. The game takes a twisting path through the story, repeatedly flashing back to a mission in Africa in between levels taking place in the present day, which makes everything a bit hard to follow. If you have seen the movie, you’ll be better off than people that haven’t as far as understanding what the heck is going on, but the story isn’t even close to the main attraction here as it is all about the bloody gameplay.
For the first time that I can remember, Wolverine isn’t censored. The movies and videogames have always had a kind of family friendly filter where the true destructive nature of Wolverine’s claws is muted and there isn’t any blood or gore. The fact of the matter is, though, that razor sharp claws cut through people and this game finally showcases that. It is bloody and brutal and gory and goes a long way towards earning its “M” for Mature rating. This is the real Wolverine, and we couldn’t be happier about it.
Gameplay
Activision
The gameplay is a third-person hack and slash brawler with some light platforming and puzzle solving mixed in. For the most part, though, you are slicing enemies up with your claws and it is pretty darn impressive. You have light and strong attacks and different combinations of them produce different combos and new moves. You also can pounce on enemies from a distance as well as throw enemies into spikes or off of cliffs. Basically, you have a lot of ways to kill people and everything looks awesome while you’re doing it. There is an experience system in place and as you kill enemies of find fallen soldiers’ dog tags you level up and get stronger and earn new abilities to help you fight off new and stronger enemies. We’re pleased to say that you level up ridiculously fast here which keeps the game clicking along at a nice pace. Also breaking up any potential repetitiveness is the occasional set piece such as jumping between moving trucks, destroying helicopters with your claws, or fighting a huge Sentinel in mid air as it is crashing to Earth, and they are all really cool.
Another major gameplay feature is Wolverine’s legendary healing ability. As he takes damage his shirt becomes tattered (and eventually disappears entirely) and you see wounds appear on his body, and the more damage he takes the bigger and deeper the wounds become until eventually you see his skeleton poking out. Duck out of combat for a few seconds, though, and he heals right up.
At no point is the game ever not fun, but there are a few little things that may move it more into rental territory than a solid purchase. The game does a good job of introducing new enemies and set pieces and stuff to try and keep it from getting too repetitive, but eventually it does. Part of this, I think, is because some levels are just too darn long. They just drag on forever and you get tired of seeing the same interiors and stuff over and over again. This is an 8-10 hour game, which is about the right length, but it would have been better with more short levels and set pieces and less long levels spent packing power cells around and beating on the same 5 enemies. The game is also pretty darn easy. It makes sense considering that Wolverine is a super powered mutant, but this also contributes to a bit of a repetitive feeling through the game as you aren’t really ever in any danger. It is fun, don’t get me wrong, but towards the end of the game it kind of starts to drag.
Graphics and Sound
The graphics in X-Men Origins: Wolverine aren’t super impressive outside of the aforementioned awesome damage model on Wolverine, but they get the job done.
The sound is the same way. Hugh Jackman lends his voice to Wolverine and sounds pretty good, but everything else is only so-so. The music is good, but run of the mill sound effects and half-hearted voice acting from everyone else bring it down.
Bottom Line
Activision
Ultimately, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a surprisingly solid movie tie-in that fans of the character are going to really enjoy. The gameplay is brutal and gory and satisfying, which is absolutely appropriate for the character and it is refreshing to see an “M” rated Wolverine game that really showcases the character we love from the comics instead of some “T” rated, watered down, safety scissors wearing wimp like he usually is in videogames. It is absolutely worth playing, but the question then becomes if it is worth a purchase, and that is where things get a little tricky. The game is fun, but kind of goes on a bit too long and starts feeling pretty repetitive by the end. My recommendation - X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a decent purchase for fans of the character, but most action fans will be happy with a rental.
