Gaming Target - Xbox: X2: Wolverine's Revenge

Written by Leigh Culpin on January 29, 2003

First Impressions: Will Wolverine finally prove to the game world that he's the best at what he does?

Arguably, Marvel Comics' most popular character of all time is the mutant, and long time X-Man known as Wolverine. Yup, he's right up there with The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the Fantastic Four. Known by many different names Ц Wolverine, Logan, Weapon X, James Howlett (if you didn't catch Marvel's 6 part Wolverine origin special, that is his actual name) Ц what exactly makes this claw slashing, super healing X-Man popular enough to star in his own videogame? A bunch of things actually -- many are intrigued by his mysterious back-story and in your face attitude, while at the same time wowed by this vast array of talents. Not only can he scrap with the best of them (having learning various styles of combat), but he's also equipped with an indestructible adamantium skeleton, with a matching set of razor sharp claws that can be released at will, and a super-human healing factor that can repair the deadliest of wounds within seconds. Throw in his enhanced senses (with animal like smelling and vision), and feral instincts, and you've got yourself one of the toughest SOBs alive. And if all goes as planned, little known developer, Genepool (very fitting name, eh?), will have created the first Wolverine inspired videogame to truly take advantage of all these abilities that make Wolvie so darn popular.

It's been almost 10 long years since we've seen Logan star in the crap-fest that was known as Wolverine: Adamantium Rage, but his latest venture into the gaming world is looking to be that of a promising one. The story, written by ex-Wolverine, and long time comic book writer, Larry Hama, throws the ol' canuck into a rather harsh situation. Having been infected with a deadly virus that his mutant healing factor obviously can't fight off, Wolvie now has limited time (i.e.- 48 hours) to find a cure. However, this little mishap will also open up some old wounds for everyone's favorite mutant, as he'll be forced to go back and relive past experiences from the Weapon X project that made him what he is today. Supposedly the story will be directly linked to the upcoming sequel to the X-Men movie, X2 (for X-Men 2), so it's going to be interesting to see how things work out on that front, and hopefully this doesn't detract from the overall quality of the game.

The game itself is a third-person action-adventure title that's, of course, heavy on combat. Yes, I know, we've seen this type of game attempted many a times, and usually it resulted in failure, but things are looking on the up and up in Wolverine's Revenge. Going through the games many different levels you'll encounter a wide variety of enemies to face, and properly deal with. The game will sport a relatively simple combo system that will be imperative to taking out your foes. These are not just limited to one person either; depending on your situation, different combos can be used to take out multiple opponents in a flash. If you've seen Wolvie wipe the floor with the opposition in the comics, you know exactly what he's capable of, and Genepool is working hard to allow you to do the same things in the game. Of course, along with your hands and feet, expect Wolverine's deadly claws to be put to good use as well, and hopefully without the ill effects we've seen from past Wolvie titles. Also making a return to a Wolverine inspired videogame is his mutant healing factor, which slowly builds your life back up, and the workings of a berserk attack. You know, when he sees red and starts killing everything in sight. These things look to be incorporated into the game quite well, but it's the extra abilities that should make the title even more interesting.

Wolverine's enhanced sight and smell have also been integrated into the gameplay. Not a lot of info has been released on this thus far, but apparently you'll have the ability to see thermal signatures at any given time, allowing you to locate various dangers, such as mines or enemies. Additionally, you can track down people with your nostrils, which is indicated by a visual gas on the screen. As of now it's not known how deeply these abilities will play into the overall game, but there's a good chance they'll give the title some much-needed depth.

Lastly, rounded off Wolverine's various techniques is the stealth kill. I'm guessing it'll be something akin to the stealth kill you can do in Blood Omen 2, and probably just as gruesome. Not only is this important in getting easy kills, but doing so grants you dog tags that are used to level up your combos and abilities -- once again, a little depth to an otherwise simple game.

Visually, the game is looking to be quite crisp, with nicely detailed environments and character models. Don't however expect to see a lot of Xbox effects, as the game is appearing on all three major consoles, but overall the Xbox version should look the best of the bunch. The only thing I'm not really happy about on the visual front is the art used. I would have much rather preferred a Wolverine taken after Hugh Jackman (who plays him in the movie) rather than the beastly look he has in the game. Speaking of Hugh Jackman, he wasn't available to do voice acting when the casting was done, so instead we have Mark Hamil taking on the role. Yes, the Mark Hamil of Star Wars fame. Very odd choice if you ask me, and it's going to be very interesting to see how it works out. Additionally, Patrick Stewart is back once again, filling the role of Professor X.