X-Men Origins Wolverine | Review

Synopsis: Activision has recently released X-Men Origins: Wolverine and is available now for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, PC, Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo Wii. Raven Software has previously released other action RPG’s using characters from the Marvel universe such X-Men legends, X-Men Legends II, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Wolverine breaks away from the focus on the RPG element, placing the emphasis on action. In this title, you take on the role of Wolverine, eviscerating anything in your way using over a hundred available moves. Rage abilities, feral senses, and regeneration powers make this entry stand out from the other games available in the action game genre. Lastly, the game ties to the blockbuster movie using voice acting from the likes of Hugh Jackman, Will.i.am, and Liev Schreiber without making the game feel like another mediocre movie games.



Praise: The action in the title is amazing; with extremely fast paced action while being very fluid. You have your standard light and heavy attacks, with throws, and new move I have not used before, lunging. Lunging is definitely a welcome feature, allowing you to lock on to a target, throw yourself at that enemy and follow up with a series of additional attacks depending on how wish to destroy your opponent. Using the environment is also a fun way to rid yourself of large groups of baddies, whether you want to impale them on stakes placed in the walls and ground or throw them off a cliff. The graphics are crisp and realistic adding to the cinematic feel, while slowing down and zooming in to show exactly how you are going to kill your opponent. Boss fights are very big and keep you on your toes to find a way to exploit a weakness, take the boss out and move on to the next scenario. I have never been a big fan of voice acting, but being that anyone that thinks of Wolverine, immediately pictures Hugh Jackman with sideburns, bulging muscles, and claws, so it is aesthetically pleasing to know the developers got the voice actors from the movie, to provide the dialogue for the game. The biggest thing I would like to address is that this is not your typical movie game, even though it does follow events seen in the blockbuster hit, it still adds depths to the story seen in the movie along with emphasizing the action scenes found in the movie.



Gripes: Unfortunately, there were a few things that stuck with me while playing though this game; the camera, slowdown of frame rate, and repetitiveness of the gameplay. The camera problem is nowhere near as bad as the camera control in Ninja Gaiden 2 or Afro Samurai, the issue that I have with the camera are that in the middle of a heated action scene, the camera tends to automatically moves to a view that you may immediately try to correct so you can see what you are attacking, or the camera moves underneath Wolverine or behind the environment so that you are looking through walls or the ground you are standing on. There was also a slowdown in frame rate sometimes when you are in a crowded room with a lot of action taking place, so if you have a hard drive with some extra space, you may want to install the game to eliminate this from reoccurring. Lastly, there seems to be a lot of receptiveness to the gameplay, that was noticed from time to time on some levels, but as soon as you think your are repeatedly do the same thing, you are quickly engrossed in a large battles that have you thinking of different ways to best wipe everyone out.



Overall, this game is very entertaining, and stands out from other games in the action genre. You also do not want to go into this title expecting it to be the typical movie game, as it redefines movie games previously released. The most exciting part of this title lies within the speed and fluidity of the gameplay. Though it does have some nuances, the high points tend to make the issues easily forgettable. Fans of the movie, comic fanboys, and action junkies alike will not be disappointed either, as the game holds true to Logan’s past.



Mashbuttons.com gives X-Men Origins: Wolverine 7.5 out of 10