X2: Wolverine's Revenge

Written by Tim Ritenour  on May 13, 2002

First Impressions: Feel free to insert your own X-Pun here

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As everyone knows by now, Spider-Man has absolutely shattered box office records last weekend. This goes to prove one thing, if you make something quality with a recognizable icon, it will sell well. At least that's what Activision seems to be hoping for. They've started work on a game featuring another Marvel icon, the original bad boy anti-hero himself Ц Wolverine.

This new game, developed by Gene Pool and Warthog is entitled X-Men: Wolverine's Revenge. And as the title implies, the player takes control of everyone's favorite berserker as he sets about doing what he does best, carnage (no, not the lame Spider-Man villain). Wolverine has his sights set upon Department H (no relation to preparation), a covert Canadian agency. As anyone whose read the comics knows, Department H is the agency that sponsored the Weapon X program that gave birth to Wolverine. And now they're behind a new program that deals with the Shiva Virus that threatens the very world.

Once we've stopped laughing at the notion that anything Canadian could actually threaten the world (although Celine Dion does come close), we can take a look at the game play. Predictably the style is third person on an action platform, but the images that have been released so far look sweet. The shading and coloration of the atmosphere is smooth and clear, and gives a nice feeling of the danger that surrounds Wolverine in this mission. Another factor is that Wolverine appears to be at his feral best in this game, he's not pulling any clawed punches. Odds are that the graphic violence itself will be on the low side though, since Wolverine is a kid favorite.

The graphics themselves seem to have a rough angular appearance to them, akin to Kain in the new Blood Omen game. It's all sharp lines and smooth plains. These might be toned a bit as the game is further developed, but the attention to detail itself is impressive. Wolverine himself seems to have access to a variety of costumes, from the classic blue and yellow, to his old leathers, the new uniform in New X-Men, and even some army fatigues from his Weapon X game.

A full list of the roster in this game has not been released, but you can expect to see Omega Red, Shiva, and other Wolverine baddies in action. And of course Sabretooth, no Wolverine game could be complete without Sabretooth. As far the X-men go, there is mention of Xavier, but other then that Logan appears to be on his own. Which is just the way he likes it.