With the recent release
of the new X-men movie, Activision thought it would be a good idea to release a
game related to the movie. X2 Wolverine’s Revenge is based on Wolverine, and
begins with him escaping from a lab as Weapon X. Later you find out that you
have been implanted with a virus and must return to the lab to obtain the cure.
Using various powers, you must help Wolverine in his quest.
The controls are fairly
easy to get used to. You have a punch button, kick button, and action button as
your main fighting commands. As you attack an enemy, Wolverine will
automatically lock on to that enemy. Once locked on, you can strafe around them
or use the right analog stick to perform dodge maneuvers. Using the punch and
kick buttons you can create short combos to dispose of your opponent. These
combos get old very fast, and consist of either punch, punch, punch, or kick,
kick, kick. There are a few others at your disposal, but these are the primary
attacks.
To add variety, there are
special combo attacks that can be done to groups of enemies. When you have
positioned yourself among a group of enemies properly, you can hit circle and
Wolverine will do a very amusing and unique combo to the entire group. These are
very cool looking, but require no skill to do. The basic combat is fairly
boring.
The graphics in X2 are
probably the game’s strongest point. The character models and facial animations
are great and fun to watch. Unfortunately the camera can get really annoying as
you play. It doesn’t lock anywhere, so you have complete control over where the
camera is. This can get really annoying when you’re trying to fight and you’re
looking at the ceiling.
The sound effects are
what you would expect from a game starring Wolverine – slashing sounds, cries of
pain, and grunts. The voice acting is really good, starring the one and only
Mark Hamill as Wolverine. The only problem with the voice acting that I had was
that Mr. Hamill doesn’t make a very good Wolverine. He’s just not as gruff as
I’d expect.
There are lots of
unlockables throughout the game that can be acquired by finding hidden areas and
items. By doing things like stealth kills or triple strikes you can earn dog
tags that allow you to unlock more combos for Wolverine. You can also find items
that will give you more costumes or more background story. There’s even a
jukebox mode that you can use to listen to the game’s tunes.
Sadly, X2 Wolverine’s
Revenge fell short of my hopes for a good X-men game. I had seen movies and
screen shots of the game and was really impressed. Upon playing the game, I
realized the gameplay wasn’t as deep as it looked. It’s fun at the beginning as
you learn all of
Logan’s moves, but
later on they become boring. You have the ability to learn new combos the
further you progress, but even then you see them over and over. Unfortunately,
with all the other great action titles out there, X2 Wolverine’s Revenge doesn’t
live up to the rest.
Gameplay: 5.5
Wolverine’s
Revenge plays like just about any other 3D action title, except with less attack
options. Extra features like Wolverine’s mutant sight or feral rage add a bit of
variety, but not much. Unlockables like new costumes help the replay value.
Graphics: 7.3
The graphics are
pretty good. Wolverine’s enhanced sight and smell adds a neat heat vision effect
to your surroundings. The backgrounds are detailed and varied, allowing for a
nice change in scenery throughout Wolverine’s journey.
Sound: 5
The music has a
very ominous feel to it, mixed in with claw swipes and fight noises. Overall the
music is pretty average – nothing above average, yet nothing too terrible.
Difficulty: Hard
I found myself
redoing certain missions over and over. Sometimes I would just get caught in bad
situations and get absolutely slaughtered. If you aren’t prepared for certain
encounters you will find it hard to survive.
Concept: 8
Now, without
playing the game it sounds like a cool concept: Wolverine revisiting his past.
It leaves opportunities open like meeting with old rivals, giving the player a
chance to find out why they hate each other’s guts.
Overall: 5.6
I was excited for
X2 Wolverine’s Revenge. It looked like a fun action game starring the most
ruthless of the X-men. I was quickly disappointed when I found out that all
those cool combos I had seen were executed by a single press of the button. I
wanted the actual combat to be that exciting, but it wasn’t. But, expectations
aside, Wolverine’s Revenge isn’t a total stinker. The combos are really
entertaining, and a lot of times the game requires you to think with your head
and not with your claws. Someone should just do a remake of the arcade game.
