Review: X-men Origins Wolverine (the game)

I know it's a few years past its time but I just got the game and I had to give my review for it. I also wanted to demonstrate how I will be doing my reviews for later releases.

For my reviews of full-game titles, I will start off with an introduction describing the game. Next I will split the game into 5 categories: Story, Graphics, Sound, Gameplay and Replay Value. There each category will be graded from A being the highest and F being the lowest. Then I will average out the scores like a GPA. I will be adding + and - as well to keep things balanced. The closing with a conclusion with a recommendation whether to get the game or not.

So without further ado, here is my review of X-Men Origins: Wolverine


Video games and comic books has struggled to work together for years. Few gems like Arkham Asylum and Shattered dimensions are ever made. The same can be said for Video game adaptions of movies. So many games like these are doomed to be poorly received and has gained a stigma from gamers and readers alike.

So a video game adaptation of a movie adaptation of a comic book seems like a bold move for small-time Raven Software. However they managed to not only truly capture Wolverines Awesomeness, but made this one bloody, violent, gore-fest that's actually fun.

Story

The story follows the same path as the Movie Version of X-Men Origins, except with a lot more back story to Logan's Journey from his last mission with Team X in South Africa, to his escape for the weapon x facility. While the story is just as stale as the films, we still get the chance to see some of our favorite mutants that we didn't get to see before including Mystique and a Young Emma Frost. However the game does have a surprising ending that strays away from the main plot of the movie, but this isn't a game you get to follow the story.

Story Grade: D+

Graphics

While the graphics here are decent for current generation consoles they aren't anything near something to brag about.Also to let you guys know that there is a lot of blood. Most of the game blood will be splattering on the walls whether its the guy you just decapitated or a bomb blew up in your face, the screen will run with blood. Occasional glitching throughout the game and cut scenes take away the spur of the moment but never ruin the game.However there is one feature that is truly amazing.

Blood isn't purple...Still pretty awesome though.

Most previous games never utilized Wolverines mutant regeneration which allows him to heal from any wound possible, usually by either ignoring that ability or having it taken away by him from some stupid machine. This time around they finally gave Logan his special healing and it looks amazing. Wolverine has 4 layers of tissue (Organs, Muscle, Skin and Shirt) all of which gets torn when he receives heavy damage and all of which regenerates and heals over time. Sometimes I'd close in on him just to see his muscle regenerate around his adamantium skeleton. Pure. Geek. Greatness.

Skin today, gone tomorrow!

Graphics Grade: B-

Sound

The sound of Wolverine unleashing his adamantium claws is always music to my ears. The game comes with an orchestra of gunfire, explosions, slashes, gashes, crashes, yelling, screaming, taunting, explosions and many more sounds that all fit well into the experience. While most of the sound track is ambiance of your location, action music always comes up when enemies appear to set you in the mood for killing. Hugh Jackman, the actor behind Wolverine for all of the X-men movies and origins lends his voice for our hero in the game and while it isn't as stellar as his actual acting he still hits all the grunts, growls and roars right on the the mark. Supporting characters are voiced by other people not from the movie, most of them pretty cheesy and poorly acted.

Sound Grade: C+

Gameplay

Hack, Slash repeat is mainly the core of Wolverines game play, but that doesn't mean it's not fun as hell to do it. The combat set up is fairly simple having only a quick attack, heavy attack, grab special and block button but all these moves can be combined for a plethora of ways to maim anyone who gets in your way. There is one move however that is new to this game, the lunge. This nifty ability allows you to quickly home in at one of your targets from a long distance and lets you choose how to act afterwards. Its really useful when an enemy is firing from a gap your normal jump cant reach, but there comes a point where you rely on your lunge way too much.

I believe I can fly!

Most mini-and normal bosses can hurt you badly from close range, so the main tactic for almost every one is to wait for an opening, lunge on there back and repeatedly whittle their health for a small amount of time. This wouldn't be too bad if these kinds of bosses didn't appear as much as they did. However some bosses including Gambit, Sentinel, and Agent Zero did require a different tactic to winning which was refreshing and fun.

Edward Nord (a.k.a Agent Zero) was one of the better Boss fights

The game isn't always fight here, mover here, fight more guys there. Puzzling and platforming is also present in the game as well. And surprisingly these parts are fun and sometimes challenging, some at which requires you to use Wolverine's feral sense which helps you sees objects of interests, traps and even cloaked enemies.

While most of the game is just repetition, the combat is fun, gory and fluid enough to keep you hooked. A true guilty pleasure.

Playability Grade: B

Replay Value

While the main campaign will take a decent amount of time to complete there are a few things that will keep you playing for a little extra longer. You can go back to your completed missions to find any dog tags (collectibles that you find for exp and achievements/trophies) Mutagens (power ups that permanently affect wolverines abilities) and costume challenges to unlock Wolverines iconic outfits throughout the years.

Classic Wolverine

Legendary Wolverine

X-Force Wolverine

But if you're they kinda gamer where you want the game to be a real challenge, you unlock hard mode to truly test your skills. WARNING, if your start a new game you lose all your mutagens, dog tags, level progression and have to start all over. (don't worry, you still keep your costumes)

Deadpool's a pain on hard mode.

Replay Grade: C

Conclusion

While this game is just an adaptation of a bad movie and is not true gaming gold, it manages to capture the true spirit of a Wolverine comic and creates a fun but repetitive experience that most comic/movie licensed games fail to do from the get-go. I recommend this game for any hard-core fan of Wolverine (the character) and anybody who loves to rip people to shreds, decapitate them or even impaling them to a forklift.

Overall Grade: C+

Decapatatiooooooooooooon!!!