| Set On Stun |

A Bloody Mess of Fun

Release Date: May 1, 2009

Rating: 8 (worth playing)

Developer: Raven Software

Publisher: Activision

ESRB Rating: M (for some serious bloody violence)

Movie tie-in games or comic book videogames are 100 percent hit and miss but mostly miss. Many of them are created with the intent to profit off the popularity of the film  and it would seem  that they spent  as little time making the game  as they did learning about the characters or the story. That usually translates into a disappointing experience for the gamer to the point where we now have low expectations whenever a new movie-based or comic book game is made. Granted there have been a few exceptions (Lord of the Rings –Two Towers) but not too many standouts — that is until one of Marvel Comic’s most popular mutants got a a once over from developer Raven Software. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a game based on the recently released film but tosses in a bit more game than you would expect. Oh, and if you think this is some kind of goofy kid’s game, thank again. Wolverine, unlike it’ PG-13 film counterpart is most definitely M-rated from every graphically rendered dismemberment to every slow motion severed head flying through the air. This is definitely not one for the kids.

A Movie Game and Then Some

Following closely the storyline of the film the game goes back back and forth in time from a long-forgotten mission in the jungle to the present day as Logan/Wolverine searches for those who wronged him — mainly his half-brother brother Victor Creed/a.k.a Sabertooth and Colonel Stryker. Now before you get your X-men nerd pants all in a bunch, remember this is based on the movie  and not steeped in the Marvel mythology.  While the back and forth in time line isn’t always a great device it does provide some variety in the game environments.  This is by no means some revolutionary new action game but what it does present and one heck of a menu of dicing and slicing that goes above and beyond what Ryu Hayabusa or Kratos could ever do.

Chopity Chop Chop

As you traverse the various levels (Alkali Lake, South American jungles, a New Orleans Casino, etc.) you fight through various waves of enemies mixed in with mini bosses that pop up a bit too frequently and of course your main big bosses.  Wolverine’s main weapons — those two adamantium claws. Ever wonder how many ways you can kill a dude with claws or how intensely bloody you can make a battle? Well, wonder no more. Much like the infamous Ginsu knife claims, he slices, he dices, he can even open cans.  This game isn’t just bloody. It’s a river of flowing blood coming out of an elevator with two creepy twins standing in front of the wave (see: The Shining). There’s everything from  mutilations, to evisceration, to decapitations to other things that ends in “ation.”  Playing off the fact the Wolverine heals himself,  Raven even took the time to get all gross and gooey with the chracter’s injuries. There are times when flesh is literally hanging off his bones before he starts to heal. You want bloody, you got it bub!

50 Ways To Cleave A Soldier

Sure there is a visceral joy in mashing buttons and chopping the bits out of dudes but luckily there’s more than just blood splattered fighting going on in this game. The developers realized they needed to give ‘ol Logan a variety of ways to do his killing and as such crated a slew of combos that involve using the face buttons to do things from impaling people on spikes to throwing a guy up in the air and then chopping the bejesus out of him. There are a couple of exceptional moves that give the game the “never get old” sense of fun. One of them involves finishing off a foe by doing a flip in the air while he’s down and basically ramming him in the face (sweet isn’t it?). And the other? Well it works for two things. One, it can easily get you from point A to point B real quick. And 2, it lets you lunge across a large distance and literally take down a down an enemy. It’s crazy fun to do and sometimes it actually helps you get away from the hordes of attackers.

Good Action Makes Up for Annoying Bosses
One of the great things Wolverine does is the transition from cut scene to game. In fact there are a couple of them that are just downright jaw dropping. Battling the Sentinel was one of those and for all intents and purposes the game should have ended there — but it didn’t. You end up having to go on this long, arduous battle to fight Gambit,  then Sabertooth, then Deadpool. In between that there are these tireless minboss battles that involve either this weird rock monster or a non hairy Wendigo. The first few times it was okay but the 20th time it just became annoying. The same goes for the never ending shift between present, past and sort of in between. This is not the best way to frame a videogame from a story perspective even if you’re trying to add variety. Props to Acitivision though for getting Hugh Jackman to do his own voice rather than a sound alike. Often this is another issue that plagues the movie games is that the talent behind the characters don’t voice their virtual dopplegangers. To make things interesting there’s even a little bit of a break in the action from time to time that puts Wolverine in situations where he has to figure something out to get to the next part of the level. Not nearly as annoying as the miniboss fights, there was a good enough dose of non-dissecting action that didn’t seem forced or like an afterthought.

All in all X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a standout game in the category of movie tie-in games that delivers the visceral joy of  hacking and slashing along with some well crafted gameplay into what Wolverine can really do as an a videogame character. If want a good way to release some rage on nameless foes, you couldn’t find a better game than this.

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