I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this game for awhile, and Gamefly finally delivered. The game is loosely based on the movie, but in many ways, is actually better. While the movie cut back on the violence and such, since it was a PG-13 movie and all, the game did nothing of the sort. It was Wolverine at his savage best- mutilating enemies in a wide variety of ways!
The game follows the basic plot of the movie, with Wolverine being tricked into returning to Stryker so that his regen ability can be used to power up Deadpool. The game goes back and forth across the time when Wolverine and the rest of the squad are in Africa looking for adamantium, and then it goes to Wolverine getting the adamantium skeleton and then going on a rampage looking for Sabertooth. Across the game you come across some bosses from the movie such as Sabertooth, Gambit, Deadpool, Blob, and Agent Zero (the guy with the accurate shot).
But thats where the similarities end. The basic story is also switched up, with some interesting content added in. The biggest change is the addition of Sentinels. As Wolverine tracks down Sabertooth, he meets up with Mystique, who happened to be with the team in Africa as a CIA operative (she was not in the movie at all). Upon speaking with her, she agrees to help Wolverine if he helps her rescue Wraith (the black guy with the cowboy hat) from a factory. The factory happens to be where Trask is building his first Sentinels, and Wolverine is forced to take a few of them down while hes in town.
So thats the basic story. Gameplay is pretty fast-paced and violently awesome. Square is the basic attack, and triangle is an uppercut attack that, when charged, will launch enemies into the air. Holding R2 will activate one of four special claw attacks, ranging from a spinning attack to a beserker fury which will inflict additional damage on enemies for a time. A really cool feature is that pushing R1 will allow Wolverine to lunge at distant foes and impale them on contact. And speaking of impaling, there are many environmental things that can be interacted with to quick kill enemies. For example, there are spike towers, forklifts, fuse boxes, and other goodies.
As you run about slaughtering enemies, you gain experience which can be used to unlock additional moves, as well as increase some of your stats. There are also powerups to find called mutagens. Wolverine can eventually equip up to three mutagens, and they act as “accessories”, giving Wolverine particular powers (increased health, does more damage, get more XP). Also hidden throughout the game are action figures which, when you collect two of the same one, you unlock that particular costume for Wolverine. Not for nothing, but I enjoyed playing through most of the game in Wolverine’s classic yellow costume as opposed to the Hugh Jackman look.
So enough about the technical stuff. I keep talking about the violence in the game, and Im going to get to it now. To put it simply, the Wolverine game is an over-the-top blood fest. He has moves that would make Mortal Kombat fans cringe. Wolverine will impale enemies on spikes as I already said, but his own physical claw attacks also make short and bloody work of his foes. He will rip enemies in half, slice off their limbs, decapitate helicopter pilots in their own helicopter’s rotors, slice through enemies, take an enemey’s shotgun and use it to blow away their face…I can go on and on. Not only does he do ridiculously bloody finishers, but each enemy also has a specific “quick kill” finisher that is unique to that class. Oh, and did I mention how awesome it is to watch Wolverine take so much damage that his bones and internal organs show, only to fully regenerate given enough time. Its definitely any Wolverine fan’s dream game.
So, the game is short and easy. Its back button mashing for the most part, and there are only a handful of levels. I would like to say that I blew through the game in under 10 hours. However, despite this, it is still an amazing piece of work, and it would be a shame if you missed out on this blood fest. I highly recommend renting this game. Like I said, it will only take a handful of hours to complete, and you’ll get some nice shiny trophies with it (they are quite plentiful and easy to get). However, I would recommend against buying it. While it is a wonderfully fantastic game, it offers little replay value, and I couldnt see myself spending $40 on it (that was Gamefly’s keep it now quote for me).
So it is essential that you rent this wonderful game. It is such a blast, and I guarantee you will enjoy it.
Just make sure the kids arent watching as you play.
