I've Got Claws... But I Still Need A Game After Me.

Another game review:

Developer: Raven Interactive

Publisher: Activision

Game: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Let me start off by saying this: Hugh Jackman is not Wolverine. I don't mean that he doesn't play him in the game (he does). I just mean that Wolverine is supposed to be rough and tumble, grizzled, tough, and more likely to fight than use witty retorts. Hugh Jackman would rather you see Wolverine as a performer, trying to be as witty as he can from one battle to the next. And, what hurts the most, is that now, everybody thinks that Wolverine is some sort of "buddy" character (Marvel isn't helping with putting Wolverine in both X-Men and Avengers). He's supposed to be a loner, brutal, and the type you hope you never piss off.

I have no desire to watch the movie (because of what I said above, and what they did to Deadpool), but I did play the game. I guess you could say its the best of both worlds... but that'd be lying. The story explains the origin of Wolverine, from ruthless killing machine to ruthless killing machine with metal coated skeleton that wants to kill his brother. The game ends when he finds his old commander, and fights a mutant that steals other mutants powers, and looks like Ryan Reynolds with no mouth or hair (I refuse to believe its Deadpool). Every step you take to finding the villains, soldiers, or giant "realistic" depictions of supersoldiers that look like moldy mashed potatoes try to stop you. So, the story doesn't win any awards.

But, the kicker is this... the game is actually fun. Slashing through soldiers and cutting limbs off works well, but using Wolverine's abilities to climb and solve puzzles as well is actually well done. The fighting is fluid, but the special powers are limited. You get four, a claw drill, which is useless, a claw spin, which is useful for every boss in the game; an angled claw spin, which is horrible; and berserker, which makes you more powerful and faster. You only need two powers... why did they give you four? Was it to fill the D-Pad? On top of the powers, you'll find "mutagens" that, when applied, give you enhanced abilities, like more life.

Most of Wolverine's "noncontrolable" powers are there, too. "Instincts" help you find invisible enemies. But the most prevalent is healing. You have two health bars, outside and internal. When you take damage, it drains your "outside" health until it's zero, then you'll start to lose your "internal" health. You'll also see Wolverine's body fall apart down to the skeleton, and heal in real time. This is a cool effect, especially in certain fights that will leave you as a skeleton by the time its over.

Where the fighting does lack is the boss battles. Only one had any real strategy, but the rest are "beat them senseless until you get a context sensitive kill section." And they feel thrown in, too. Why am I fighting Gambit? Why's he suddenly part of Weapon X? And why does he have four armed ninjas doing his bidding? And the final battle feel more like a miniboss than an actual struggle, too.

The graphics are well done, including the cut scenes. I could do without a lot of the newer designs, though. Seriously, in the past five years, Sabretooth has like 20 different variations. And Deadpool looks nothing like Deadpool, either (I blame the movie).

Pardon the short review, but I said everything that needs said about this game. It is fun, but it's also cheesy. Need a hero fix? Wait for Arkham Asylum.

Overall: C

+ Good Graphics

+ Good Healing Mechanism

+ Good fighting system...

- ... for a while.

- Poor execution as a whole.

- We want Wade Wilson, not a pretty boy afraid to ruin his image.