The games based upon the recent crop of comic book movies have been mediocre, to be kind. With the exception of Activision's Spider Man titles, the world of consoles and controllers has not been kind to men with genetic abnormalities and spandex costumes. Does X2: Wolverine's Revenge change this trend? Hardly.
Despite the awesomeness that is readily apparent in the X-Men's resident clawed smartass, X2's fighting system does very little to bring out the "cool" factor that should come along with "being" put into Wolvie's shoes. The strike system is pretty fun for a while, but combat borderlines on repetitive after the novelty wears off, especially during tedious stealth sequences. And though sneaking around as Wolverine may seem just plain wrong, it is the only truly feasible way to gain new strike moves and combos, as pulling off chains is overly clunky due to a somewhat slow response time. You will often wonder if a stat-based system wouldn't have worked better, giving you your moves at the outset. This is all augmented by a healing system that recharges slower than in The Getaway, and even requires you to have your claws sheathed. Why bother licensing the character in the first place?
At least the game looks halfway decent. Despite the Conehead-reject Professor X, Wolverine's Revenge looks pretty solid, and does a commendable job of immersing you in a playable comic book. It's nothing to write home about, and bugs and glitches abound, but there have been worse looking comic book/movie games in recent history. Anyone remember Blade 2? Superb voice acting by Mark Hamill and Patrick Stewart offsets any complaints about the graphics, though the score leaves a bit to be desired. Of course, the Xbox version of the game allows for custom soundtracks, so you could always load up the X2 score or whatnot.
Fans of Wolverine and the X-Men will enjoy this game more than the casual fan, but it is a solid rental for anyone who at least liked the movie. With a little more development time, Wolverine's Revenge could have been the next Spider-Man, but as it is, it is at least worth a weekend playthrough if you are on the fence about it.
-George
Company Line
Releasing simultaneously with the X2 feature film, X2 Wolverine's Revenge is the only action-adventure game that allows you to assume the role of Wolverine. After discovering that a deadly virus has been triggered in your body, you have 48 desperate hours to find and take possession of the antidote from the evil organization that gave you the disease.
Prepare to meet your makers.
In 1968, the mutant known simply as Logan was surgically implanted with the virtually unbreakable adamantium skeleton that made him into Wolverine, one of the world's most famous X-Men. Now, more than 30 years later, Wolverine has discoverd that he was also implanted with something else: a viral time-bomb that will render him lifeless in 48 hours. The clock is ticking. The antidote needs to be found quickly. And only you can find it.
Superhuman mutant powers - Unsheathe Wolverine's trademark claws to shred your enemies. Withstand counterattacks using your unbreakable adamantium-bonded skeleton and accelerated healing factor.
High-adrenaline action and stealth gameplay - Employ advanced stealth techniques to infiltrate high-security locations. If confronted, perform spectacular Wolverine combat moves in epic superhero battles. But beware - almost everything around you is combustible, destructible or capable of being thrown.
Dependable allies and malicious foes - Good friends Beast and Colossus join the fight as you take on archenemies Sabretooth, Wendigo, Juggernaut and Magneto. Professor Charles Xavier provides hints and clues through a telepathic link.
Captivating storyline - Experience a completely original, tension-inducing storyline developed by comics legend Larry Hama, featuring the voices of Mark Hamill and Patrick Stewart.
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