Summer is all about blockbuster moves, and with those budget-busting films come a slew of video games based on said movies. When looking over the review scores of nearly all movie-games it was found that every single one of them falls below average, never meeting the expectations set by the movie's quality. Thankfully developer Raven Software and publisher Activision have changed everything, with the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, based on the movie of the same name. The first noticeable difference is the fact that the game has a hardcore M (Mature) rating. Wolverine includes a ton of blood and violence, where claws can cut through every part of the human body with precise execution. Everything is not perfect in the game but the developers did more right than they did wrong, and for that reason X-Men Origins: Wolverine is easily one of the best "movie-genre" games created.
Although the game follows the somewhat similar storyline to that of the movie it takes a lot of liberties with character introduction and plot progression. Without spoiling to much I can tell you that it delves into how Wolverine got his name, metal bone coverings, and leads the player right up to the point of the first X-Men movie. Just like the recently released Origins film the game introduces a slew of new, younger characters from the X-Men universe. By the end of the 8-10 hours of gameplay time you will get to face off against Sabertooth, Gambit, Deadpool, and a ton more famous faces from the comics/movies. I tend to think that had the developers followed the actual Wolverine movie’s plot a bit closer the game would have felt like it progressed better, in a path that made more sense. For those achievement obsessed people reading this: I was able to get more than half the 1000 available GS points on my first play-through, and they are well spread-out with a good variety.
Even though there is a good bit of variety when it comes to level structure I couldn’t help but feel that the settings started to feel a bit repetitive, especially when I hit the halfway mark. The main three level types are jungle, interior industrial, and nuclear power plant. Multiple different enemy types and major boss battles, as well as the occasional “puzzle” break up each level, which help to calm the player from the onslaught of insane amounts of violence and action. Controlling Wolverine is fairly easy, using the face buttons for attacking and jumping while the left trigger defends and the right trigger engages special moves. The left/right bumper buttons help Wolverine pull of his famous “lunge of death” and ends up working quite efficiently. Throughout the game the lunge move will be used over and over again, and the over-the-top violent payoff is worth it every time.
