X2: Wolverine's Revenge

"Bad game, but a good try"

Although most super hero video games stink it looks like Activision tried to stay true to the character of Wolverine.They failed in a few areas and ultimately made a bad game, but maybe they will get it right on their next try.

GAMEPLAY:
Well to my surprise Wolverine really feels like Wolverine. There is no meter that runs down when you have your claws out, and you can use your claws or have them out almost indefinitely. The only hiccup is that if you raise your beserk meter (which only rises when you use your claws), you go berserk, and after a short period of being in the berserk state (hightened strength and damage), you pause for few seconds to rest and retract your claws. Also Wolverine can only heal when his claws are retracted, which according to his true character is not true. Nonetheless it is nice to be able to regenerate without wasting any special points or meters. In short his claw and regenative abilities are pretty intact. The only big problem with Wolverine himself is that he is a big wimp in this game. I can remember reading his comics where he would kill hundreds of people in one swoop, but in this game it takes about six to eight hits to kill one low level grunt. It looks like Wolverine's admantium claws were not put in the game and rather replaced with really strong steel claws. It is utterly pathetic how long it takes to kill the in-level grunts. And when it comes to the bosses forget about it! Wolverine is as helpless as a little girl. It doesn't make any sense when sabertooth can take off a quarter of your health in one hit and you ,with your admantium claws, only take of a fifth. It's like your claws are made of plastic in this game. I am not looking for pure realism, but Wolverine's claws are way too weak. One of the bosses is a guy who wears a fire suit and shoots fire at you. That's it! He is just a regular guy who shoots fire and when you hit him you barely take off a sliver of damage, but when he hits you with his fire he practically kills you in one blow. I mean come on!

Anyway, In spite of the aforementioned the game is a little fun because of the coolness of Wolverine. He does get new moves along the way like the ability to stick to walls and slide. At one point you even use your scent tracking abilities.

The Game also tries to stress being stealthy which is absolutely ludacris because of the very linear levels. Hiding from someone means that you are not too close to him even though he is looking right at you. Also your stealthy attack is a karate chop that kills the enemy in one shot. Why can you kill an enemy in one karate chop, but not with one swipe of your claws that are made up of the strongest metal in the whole world? Sigh!

Overall though the game is quite lacking and it becomes nothing more than a merchandising tool.

GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION:
The in-game graphics are nicely done. Wolverine looks a bit too tall, but he looks cool. The game has a lot of cut scene artwork that seems to be based on both the comic and the movie which gives it a weird look. The animations are good especially when wolverine sticks to a wall and slowly slides down as his claws shoot off sparks. The menus are straightforward and clear, and the text is easy to read.

MUSIC/SOUND:
The music seems to come from the X-Men movie and the sounds are typical. There are some sounds missing like when you slide down a wall there is no screeching noise.

SUMMARY:
This game is all about getting people to play for the coolness of Wolverine. The game stinks and there is no point in playing other than seeing Wolveine try to do his cool moves or to see the cutscene artwork.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/03, Updated 04/20/03