With the sequel to the X-Men film looming very near on the horizon, Activision has bestowed upon us the inevitable movie tie-in game, X2: Wolverine’s Revenge. As the name suggests, the game focuses on fan-favorite mutant Logan, better known as Wolverine. Logan has always had a bit of a spotty history in the X-Men universe, as many die-hard fans will attest to. Wolverine’s Revenge delves into the grizzled mutant’s past, and attempts to shed some light on the ever-mysterious series of events that turned him into the killing machine we’ve all come to know and love. Back before hooking up with Professor Xavier and company, Logan was involved in a top-secret military project known as "Weapon X." His mutant healing factor made him a prime subject for a snazzy adamantium exoskeleton implant, which is where those cool claws of his come from. Unfortunately, no one really asked his opinion before drugging him up and playing doctor; as the game begins (circa 1968), Logan wakes up a tad bit upset at his captors, and decides to show them a thing or two. Throw a lethal virus into the mix, combine it with a race against time, and Logan’s got all the reasons he needs to tear things up. Wolverine’s Revenge is divided into six acts, each broken up into several smaller areas. Gameplay largely consists of running around and killing folks, moving ever forward in search of answers. The combat system employs a basic chain combo system; unsheathing Logan’s trademark claws allows you to deal more damage to your opponents, while retracting them allows for faster but less-damaging punches. Logan’s healing factor also kicks in while his claw are sheathed, which slowly refills his health meter. On the more complex end of combat, Logan can launch into a berserker rage (powered by a rage meter that builds as Logan fights), causing him to strike harder and move much faster. He also has the ability to execute special strikes, which launch him into devastating chain combos capable of taking out several simultaneous opponents. While he only has access to a few basic strike moves at first, Logan can improve his combat abilities by collecting dog tags; these are earned in a variety of ways, such as by defeating bosses or executing difficult chain combos. Another option for collecting dog tags is to perform stealth strikes on enemies. Logan can use his mutant senses to detect enemies, which puts the game into a sort of "Predator-vision" mode and allows him to stealth about quietly. Logan can sidle up against walls while he’s sneaking around, which lets him get the drop on his hapless foes. Plenty of extras can be unlocked by collecting certain items scattered throughout the game levels. Collecting Cerebro files allows you to read background histories on various characters, while several alternate costumes (including the classic blue and yellow outfit) are made available by finding hidden comic book covers. Several other X-Men characters also make surprise appearances as the game progresses--including a few boss fights with such luminaries as Sabretooth and Lady Deathstrike. Wolverine’s Revenge plays like a typical third-person action game. Much of the combat is pretty basic; though the strike moves become pretty necessary later on, most fights are easy enough to win with simple button mashing. Dying typically isn’t much of a concern, as Logan’s healing factor allows you to refill in-between fights. All told, there isn’t too much variety or challenge to the game’s action; most levels simply consist of move-forward-and-kill objectives. It is also worth noting that the game camera can be more than a little irritating at times, taking it upon itself to readjust as you move around. The character models in Wolverine’s Revenge look decent; Logan looks pretty hardcore, and animates well. The enemies--what little variety of enemies there are--also look alright, though you’ll quickly be getting sick of seeing them. Much of the same goes for the environments; though they look decent, they get fairly redundant fairly quickly. Plenty of clipping issues manifest themselves as well; people sticking out of walls are an all-too-ordinary sight here. Sound-wise, the musical score in Wolverine’s Revenge attempts to maintain a pulse-pounding demeanor throughout. While well-intentioned, this simply ends up getting annoying and repetitive. On the bright side, there’s some pretty good voice talent here. Mark Hamill voices the lead role, and does a surprisingly good job portraying Logan’s rough-and-tumble persona; Patrick Stewart is also onboard as the voice of Professor Xavier. Not all of the voice acting is quality, though I’ve heard much worse. The game’s biggest irritant--sound-wise, anyway--is the limited number of voice samples during gameplay. You’ll quickly grow tired of hearing Logan’s small vocabulary of grunts, as well as his enemies’ own repetitive expressions. In the end, X2: Wolverine’s Revenge simply feels rushed and unpolished. The building blocks for a truly good action game are present here; one gets the feeling that the game was likely pushed out the door to match X2’s theatrical release. It’s a shame that the developers didn’t spend some extra time with it, as this game could’ve been a real winner. As it stands, I’d recommend it for die-hard X-Men fans only.
Other Helpful Reviews for X-Men 2: Wolverine's Revenge
This game, had no plot to speak of, and was very boring to play. when it first came out I got it for $45 now I wouldnt send 5 on it. The game play was bad and very boring, and not very fun at all. There was only one g... Read Full Review
I got this game as a cheap thrill thinking that it be ok but nothing special. And I was right it wasnt anything special but its still worth while your time if you want a straight forward third person beat 'em up. You ... Read Full Review
