Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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- Reaction score
- 5
If you enjoyed the movie or you’re just looking for some mindless, hardcore, slice ‘n dice action, we definitely reckon that Wolverine is a title you should get your claws into.
Most gamers cringe and roll their usually-bloodshot eyes whenever a movie-adaptation title is announced. Message boards and tech sites are spammed with bleak predictions and upturned noses from both game and movie fans alike, dooming these oft-inferior reworkings to sad, lonely deaths via poor media hype and old fashioned word of mouth scorn.
However, Wolverine’s first venture onto current generation consoles has surprised critics and hardcore Marvel supporters alike by creating a game that’s not only surprisingly fun, awesomely brutal and still true to its adamantium-coated roots, but one that thankfully managed to do so without Paul W.S. Anderson or Uwe Boll getting their own claws into it first.
The storyline follows the recent movie of the same name, making Wolverine a great tie-in and an excellent medium to expand on events not elaborated upon in the film. We won’t give away too much here, but let’s just say that nitpicking fans won’t be disappointed.
The one criticism we have about this though is that the events that unfold as players maim their way through the various levels are introduced for no apparent reason. Gamers will wonder why they’re fighting a particular enemy or who half the supporting characters are, which makes the game seem like it either suffers from pure negligence or that it simply serves as bait to get people into theatres.
This minor narrative oversight finds compensation though in Wolverine’s wickedly fun gameplay. Players control Logan from a third-person perspective and slashing and slicing the various enemies is done through the traditional quick attack/strong attack/grab/jump button configuration. Simple combos allow powerful attacks to be chained together with very little effort, making for some spectacular maimings and even more colourful deaths.
What makes the combat so cool though is the ridiculous level of violence that gamers can unleash. Previous games saw Logan sporting what were effectively rubber prongs with pink marshmallows on the end, but that’s far from the case in this game. In fact, the evisceration-ridden action in Wolverine is similar to what we imagine would happen if a starved Bengal tiger got loose in an orphanage for blind children: never in the history of superhero games have we seen what total carnage the protagonist is really capable of, and never has it been such a guilty pleasure to tear frantic soldiers into bits.
To illustrate this point, by the end of the first level gamers will have witnessed Logan stabbing an enemy in the head before slicing him open top-to-toe; impaling an unfortunate foe on a rusty pipe; holding a guy down before tearing his head right off (complete with arcing slow-mo spray of blood); punching a dude repeatedly in the stomach (claws extended, of course); and using a helicopter’s rotors to puree the pilot’s skull into something vaguely resembling a chunky mixed berry milkshake.
But wait! There’s more! There’s also a Quick Kill system that involves some careful timing and a suitably worn-down baddie. Once executed, these moves will blow gamers (and the poor bad dudes) away with their unnecessary brutality and inventiveness: we’re talking beating guys to death with their own severed arms, or guiding a screaming soldier’s shotgun under his own chin before making him pull the trigger. Awesome.
Apart from sending video game censors into an absolute frenzy and giving small children horrific nightmares, dispatching enemies in exciting/nauseating ways also helps Logan gain experience which can be used to unlock a variety of moves and abilities. These are upgraded using a very basic character customization screen, which may seem overly simplified at first but it does make the upgrade process accessible and gets players back to the killing quicker.
As foes are carefully carved into wafer-thin slices, Logan’s Rage will steadily build. This meter opens up another whole range of attacks, all of which are even more hectic than the gruesome basic moves. Our favourite sends Logan barrelling forward like a giant drill and sprays terrified soldiers onto the walls, floor and most of the screen. (Might want to send the kids to bed before you unlock this one.)
There are also Mutagens which boost abilities like health regeneration and increased Rage, although only one of these is available at the start. By the end of the game there will be three Mutagen slots available for use, so players will have to be selective as to which powerups they want active. More Mutagens can be found scattered around the levels, so it pays to wipe the blood from your eyes and keep them peeled for hidden goodies.
X-Men fans know that it wouldn’t be a Wolverine game if Logan didn’t have his famous health regeneration ability, and they have nothing to fear as it’s well implemented here. Logan has two health bars: one that takes damage to a certain point, and a second that kicks in once his outer layers are breached and his adamantium skeleton is exposed. Once his core takes too much damage Logan will perish, although he’s so ridiculously powerful that he can easily claw his way back (ahem) to full health with little concern of heading to that big Xavier Institute in the sky.
We actually loved getting a savage beating now and again just to watch Logan heal up, as layers of skin and muscle grow back before your very eyes as the hero pauses between brawls. We’re still not sure how his mangy wifebeater manages to sew itself back together though, but these kind of wardrobe malfunctions seem to be the norm in superhero games and movies. (We’d still like to know how the Hulk fits into his rapidly-expanding pants. Spandex, perhaps?)
The visuals aren’t going to amaze your friends or make PC gamers jealous, but they do an adequate job of recreating jungle outposts and science labs without murdering the framerate. What matters most is the quality of the butchering, and gamers will enjoy some gory close-ups, accurately rendered blood spatters and some quite bouncy severed limbs. The audio accompanying this is good, with a host of slashing and slicing sounds living in perfect balance with the screams of frightened foes. Jackman lends his voice to Logan too, a real plus is making Wolverine into an official and well-crafted title.
We weren’t too fond of the boss battles though, which tended to repeat themselves too much, and ploughing through wave upon wave of enemies can also become a bit samey. Wolverine is therefore not a great candidate for those who look for replayability. It is however the comic book conversion that X-Men followers have been waiting for. If you enjoyed the movie or you’re just looking for some mindless, hardcore, slice ‘n dice action, we definitely reckon that Wolverine is a title you should get your claws into.
Most gamers cringe and roll their usually-bloodshot eyes whenever a movie-adaptation title is announced. Message boards and tech sites are spammed with bleak predictions and upturned noses from both game and movie fans alike, dooming these oft-inferior reworkings to sad, lonely deaths via poor media hype and old fashioned word of mouth scorn.
However, Wolverine’s first venture onto current generation consoles has surprised critics and hardcore Marvel supporters alike by creating a game that’s not only surprisingly fun, awesomely brutal and still true to its adamantium-coated roots, but one that thankfully managed to do so without Paul W.S. Anderson or Uwe Boll getting their own claws into it first.
The storyline follows the recent movie of the same name, making Wolverine a great tie-in and an excellent medium to expand on events not elaborated upon in the film. We won’t give away too much here, but let’s just say that nitpicking fans won’t be disappointed.
The one criticism we have about this though is that the events that unfold as players maim their way through the various levels are introduced for no apparent reason. Gamers will wonder why they’re fighting a particular enemy or who half the supporting characters are, which makes the game seem like it either suffers from pure negligence or that it simply serves as bait to get people into theatres.
This minor narrative oversight finds compensation though in Wolverine’s wickedly fun gameplay. Players control Logan from a third-person perspective and slashing and slicing the various enemies is done through the traditional quick attack/strong attack/grab/jump button configuration. Simple combos allow powerful attacks to be chained together with very little effort, making for some spectacular maimings and even more colourful deaths.
What makes the combat so cool though is the ridiculous level of violence that gamers can unleash. Previous games saw Logan sporting what were effectively rubber prongs with pink marshmallows on the end, but that’s far from the case in this game. In fact, the evisceration-ridden action in Wolverine is similar to what we imagine would happen if a starved Bengal tiger got loose in an orphanage for blind children: never in the history of superhero games have we seen what total carnage the protagonist is really capable of, and never has it been such a guilty pleasure to tear frantic soldiers into bits.
To illustrate this point, by the end of the first level gamers will have witnessed Logan stabbing an enemy in the head before slicing him open top-to-toe; impaling an unfortunate foe on a rusty pipe; holding a guy down before tearing his head right off (complete with arcing slow-mo spray of blood); punching a dude repeatedly in the stomach (claws extended, of course); and using a helicopter’s rotors to puree the pilot’s skull into something vaguely resembling a chunky mixed berry milkshake.
But wait! There’s more! There’s also a Quick Kill system that involves some careful timing and a suitably worn-down baddie. Once executed, these moves will blow gamers (and the poor bad dudes) away with their unnecessary brutality and inventiveness: we’re talking beating guys to death with their own severed arms, or guiding a screaming soldier’s shotgun under his own chin before making him pull the trigger. Awesome.
Apart from sending video game censors into an absolute frenzy and giving small children horrific nightmares, dispatching enemies in exciting/nauseating ways also helps Logan gain experience which can be used to unlock a variety of moves and abilities. These are upgraded using a very basic character customization screen, which may seem overly simplified at first but it does make the upgrade process accessible and gets players back to the killing quicker.
As foes are carefully carved into wafer-thin slices, Logan’s Rage will steadily build. This meter opens up another whole range of attacks, all of which are even more hectic than the gruesome basic moves. Our favourite sends Logan barrelling forward like a giant drill and sprays terrified soldiers onto the walls, floor and most of the screen. (Might want to send the kids to bed before you unlock this one.)
There are also Mutagens which boost abilities like health regeneration and increased Rage, although only one of these is available at the start. By the end of the game there will be three Mutagen slots available for use, so players will have to be selective as to which powerups they want active. More Mutagens can be found scattered around the levels, so it pays to wipe the blood from your eyes and keep them peeled for hidden goodies.
X-Men fans know that it wouldn’t be a Wolverine game if Logan didn’t have his famous health regeneration ability, and they have nothing to fear as it’s well implemented here. Logan has two health bars: one that takes damage to a certain point, and a second that kicks in once his outer layers are breached and his adamantium skeleton is exposed. Once his core takes too much damage Logan will perish, although he’s so ridiculously powerful that he can easily claw his way back (ahem) to full health with little concern of heading to that big Xavier Institute in the sky.
We actually loved getting a savage beating now and again just to watch Logan heal up, as layers of skin and muscle grow back before your very eyes as the hero pauses between brawls. We’re still not sure how his mangy wifebeater manages to sew itself back together though, but these kind of wardrobe malfunctions seem to be the norm in superhero games and movies. (We’d still like to know how the Hulk fits into his rapidly-expanding pants. Spandex, perhaps?)
The visuals aren’t going to amaze your friends or make PC gamers jealous, but they do an adequate job of recreating jungle outposts and science labs without murdering the framerate. What matters most is the quality of the butchering, and gamers will enjoy some gory close-ups, accurately rendered blood spatters and some quite bouncy severed limbs. The audio accompanying this is good, with a host of slashing and slicing sounds living in perfect balance with the screams of frightened foes. Jackman lends his voice to Logan too, a real plus is making Wolverine into an official and well-crafted title.
We weren’t too fond of the boss battles though, which tended to repeat themselves too much, and ploughing through wave upon wave of enemies can also become a bit samey. Wolverine is therefore not a great candidate for those who look for replayability. It is however the comic book conversion that X-Men followers have been waiting for. If you enjoyed the movie or you’re just looking for some mindless, hardcore, slice ‘n dice action, we definitely reckon that Wolverine is a title you should get your claws into.