Name: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Genre: Action-platformer
It’s no surprise in the game industry that games come out that don’t seem fully original. Only a handful of games have come out with an industry-changing game design. Few games have made such an impression on the industry as God of War. Something about the cathartic action, constant leveling-up, and over-the-top boss battles seems to just make for a great game. Perhaps the most frequently used game mechanic from God of War is none other than the “quick time event”. Used in everything from action, to shooters, to survival horror games, this simple button press sequence is one of the most common mechanics in big name games these days. The long shadow that the God of War series casts is not going away any time soon, so gamers may have to get used to “God of War rip-offs”. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an excellent example of a concept that the God of War game design fits perfectly. So will the tie-in game to the lackluster movie surpass Kratos and his over-the-top game series? Read on…
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software is well known for developing many Marvel games, including X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. X-Men Origins is another over-the-top super mutant game from them. Now, I previously said that X-Men Origins: Wolverine borrows primarily from God of War. This is partially true. The game also borrows a good deal from Tomb Raider. Yes, another big franchise has left their mark on the new X-Men game, in the form of Lara Croft's platforming segments.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is part God of War hack-and-slash and part Tomb Raider platforming. One of these parts the game does well, the other it does not. As is natural for Wolverine, the hack-and-slash action is the best part of the game. The combat is visceral and fun. Over-the-top gore and insanely awesome moves and combos make for a varied experience. Wolverine can collect orbs by killing foes, which add to his rage meter. When activated, his rage attacks can deal a large amount of damage, and awesome to watch. As fun as the combat is, it can feel a bit repetitive at times. The game consists of a lot of killing every enemy in the room, then proceeding onto the new room to do the same thing. But, that’s fine. That’s what made God of War accessible and fun. But, when the environments start to repeat themselves, it gets a bit tiring. Logan goes back to Africa through flashbacks about 6 times throughout the 6-8 hour experience. The Africa levels are fun, but they aren’t great enough to make me want to revisit them a lot.
The platforming is the second half of the gameplay that X-Men Origins consists of. It is easily the weaker half of the game. Logan feels very heavy when he’s jumping from ledge to ledge, and controlling him is very difficult. Thankfully, most platforming occurs over land, so you can just try again if you fail. However in the few platforming segments that take place over chasms or water, these can be very frustrating. There is a lot of puzzling as well, straight from Tomb Raider. These moments aren’t very memorable, but they serve their purpose and are about as good as anything out of a Lara Croft game.
The quick time events show up a good deal as well. While not the same epic scale as Kratos, Wolverine does a good job of using these sequences to the player’s advantage, and they always feel fun. In addition to the straight forward combat, Wolverine can use the environment to his advantage, and these are always fun to watch. Impaling dudes on spikes, trees, and poles never gets old. Pulling off quick kills is equally fun, and the variety of kills you get is even better.
The story is presented through cutscenes and voiceovers. The story is easier to follow if you have seen the movie, but the developers changed a good deal of the plot to fit the game, so most people will be lost. The VO through the cutscenes is inexplicably quiet, so I always had to crank up the volume to hear it. When I did hear it, Wolverine was the standout, easily giving the best performance. The music is serviceable, doing its job just fine, without ever feeling overly impressive. The sound effects on the claws and dismemberment feel just right, and the sound work clearly went into making those sound the best.
The game looks pretty good, taking the player to plenty of different areas. Wolverine looks great in-game, but the cutscenes all look out of place. Nothing looks quite right in the cutscenes, and all the characters have a glazed look on their face. The pre-rendered cinematics look much better, but there are only about 3 of them in the whole game. The gore and regeneration all associated with Wolverine all stand out as the graphical “oomph” that the developers were aiming for. The enemies repeat a bit too much, though. In fact, with the exception of the last 3 levels, or so, the bosses repeat way too much. While they are cool the first time, fighting the same rock golem for the 12th time is not the thrilling boss battle that God of War could always deliver.
The game is only 6-8 hours, which is serviceable, but no multiplayer or separate modes make this less worth its full price. The lasting appeal will come from finding all the collectibles and costumes. In fact, the costume collecting is one of the more enjoyable parts of the game. If, through the game, the player stumbles upon some Wolverine action figures, then he can fight that version of Wolverine in a combat room. Beating that Wolverine will let the player play through the game in that costume. It’s always a blast to play with the “proper” suit. Yellow Wolverine FTW!
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a hell of a lot better than the movie. The game lets the player leave with a sense of satisfaction, which is more than the movie does. The combat is as enjoyable as any God of War game, and equally brutal. The costumes are great for any X-Men fan, and the entire experience is entirely built around pleasing X-Men fans. However, the game gets repetitive after fighting the same enemies and exploring Africa for the 50th time. The platforming could’ve been cut or fixed to make the game less frustrating for the player. The game is certainly not very original, deriving most of its gameplay from God of War or Tomb Raider. All these setbacks don’t stop the game from being fun, and that’s really the bottom line with X-Men Origins. It’s fun. It’s not trying to be anything other then a good time. And it succeeds at that. It may not be the Holy Grail of games, but it’s a cathartic experience that was still fun despite any flaws.
7/10
Topic: [Video Game] X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Read 4656 times)