Posted by Tim Fischer on October 11, 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Categories: Featured Articles, New Games, Reviews | no responses

I can already hear what you are thinking: Movie tie-in games suck. It’s been the truth for so long that I have all but given up on the concept of a good movie game. But X-men Origins: Wolverine is a good game. It doesn’t add to the action- wolverine-game-still2-496x281 adventure genre, but at the same time it does nothing to hurt it either.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is loosely based on the movie that came out this summer. There are some scenes from the game that are almost straight from the movie. Most movie tie-in games try for a scene for scene playback of the movie. This is where many movie tie-in games get it wrong. Scene for scene does not translate into the video game properly.

The entire game can be divided into two parts: the present and the past. Raven Software took the flashback approach to telling their story of Wolverine’s origin. As Wolverine, you will go back and forth between an African mission three years prior and the present, which shows when Wolverine acquires his Adamantium skeleton and the resulting, predictable effects (mess with Wolverine and you get the claws). The story is compelling enough to entice gamers to continue playing even though sometimes the button mashing fighting can cause boredom.

As you kill enemies, Wolverine will build up his experience points to gain levels. While leveling up you will increase Wolverine’s max health each level by 5 points, but the most important part of leveling up is to gain points to spend on x-men_origins_wolverine_video_game_image__11_ increasing abilities such as claw spin, rage, berserker, etc. Finding the 95 hidden bodies and taking their dog tags will also net you XP.

Be on the lookout for mutagens as well. You are going to need these to bolster your abilities. You eventually will be able to equip three different mutagens. Each mutagen has three levels. The mutagens range from increased health and healing to extra XP from killing enemies.

The cannon fodder enemies range from machete wielding villager to machine gun toting soldier to human size robots. All are fairly easy to take out with a few moves. As a matter of fact, you can actually progress throughout the entire game only pressing the X button. But using the combos and the special attacks will not only increase the fun factor, but they are cool to watch.

The boss battles are the hardest part of the game. They take a mix of special powers and timing to defeat them. Some of the bosses are recycled such as the Sentinels and the W.E.N.D.I.G.O.s and you might get bored. But you will love fighting the mutant bosses. They take time and some skill. sentinal

There are also bonus “Danger Room” sessions that you can unlock by finding Wolverine statues. The fours rooms have you facing another Wolverine. If you defeat him you earn the right to wear the costume through the regular game. But there is no added benefit to switch costumes. It would have been nice if they had some kind of power up, but it’s purely for show.

I was a little taken back that a mature rated game would obscure certain animations such as using purple blood when using helicopter blades to decapitate a soldier instead of the red that is prevalent throughout the game. You see Wolverine practically dismembered while playing with blood and hole in the body. But I guess there is a limit to all good things. One playthrough will take about 12 hours and should net you about 635 in gamerscore. Overall you are going to have a good time playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Tim Fischer

Managing Editor

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