X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

Tying in with the big screen release, X-Men Origins: Wolverine the game debuted day-in-date on consoles. While the movie itself was nothing too special, a decent movie, the video game version of the title packs in a much expanded story compared to the movie. The game is also mature rated, so while the movie was generally fine to bring kids too, the game is far from child-friendly. In the first mission alone, having viewed the movie first, it's actually surprising just how different Logan's character is in the movie compared to the game.

As movie based games are tailored--to sell to movie goers and ride the movie's marketing campaign and buzz--one would figure the similarities between the two would be fairly strong. However, as the mature rating entails, X-Men Origins: Wolverine the game is an exceptionally different experience than the movie primarily due to the huge amount of gore.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine the game follows the early tribulations of Logan as he affectively becomes the metal-clad-bones warrior known as Wolverine. Logan had previously worked as a special mutant operative with a commanding officer by the name of Striker, along with a few other mutant cohorts you meet again throughout the game. Logan disbanded the team a few years before the start of the game, but when Victor Creed, Logan's mutant brother and former teammate, supposedly dispatches Logan's lover, Logan vows to kill him. What ensues is Striker recruiting Logan to kill Creed, and to do it Striker and his government funded organization enhance Logan's body by coating all his bones in the super strong metal, adamantium, giving Logan his trademark metal claws.

The game kicks off with the original mission that leads up to Logan quitting the special mutant operatives team in Africa, and largely skips much of the early parts of the movie version's focus on the history of Logan and his brother Victor prior to joining the team. After dropping from an exploding helicopter, Logan plunges claws-first into a group of combatants, kicking right into the slasher-fest that is the gameplay. Origins is an action game, and with claws like Wolverine's it's hard to imagine the game being anything-but mature rated when Logan regularly impales and dismembers every other person in the game.

Without a doubt the game's best asset is its gameplay. Like a brawler title, mashing the light attack button will automatically send Logan into a set six-attack combo, with one tap of the heavy attack button making for a nice finisher. Primarily, spamming light attacks is the baseline way to rip through baddies in the game. However, as the game progresses and player skill improves, incorporating blocking, timed counters, throwing, jumping, lunging, dodging and special abilities becomes essential. Playing the game in Hard Mode demands this right from the get go as well, but is only unlocked after finishing the game on Normal Mode.