X-men Origins Wolverine achieves the impossible - It's a good movie tie-in game!
Except this one doesn't.
Somehow Raven have broken free of the stipulation that all movie-based games be insipid, uninspired drivel and produced a title that is actually worth buying and playing.
Players take the role of Wolverine and engage in multiple levels of brutal hack and slash combat that roughly follow the storyline of the latest X-men film.
This is perhaps the games biggest fault, albeit an unavoidable one. The plot of the game, like the film, is rather weak and doesnt do much to grip the player. That said the gameplay and execution more than make up for it.
We finally have a game where Wolverines true talents are used and to beautiful effect.
As Wolverine takes damage, it is reflected on the character model to wonderous effect. Take a grenade to the chest, and you will soon see Wolvie's shiny metal ribcage poking through. As you regenerate your health so too does Wolverines body heal. This mechanism does two things. Firstly it shows off Wolvie's amazing regenerative qualities - we are not just told he is tough we are shown. Secondly it shows just how much effort Raven has put into this game. They could have taken the easy approach followed by most movie tie-in developers and just used a healthbar, instead they have shown a desire to do the character justice, something that should be rewarded.
Wolverine also has access to enhanced senses. By tapping up on the D-pad, players can activate these senses. Cleverly this replaces the need for a minimap and instead guides players where they need to go. It also allows the player to see invisible enemies and reveals which elements of the environment can be used to hurt your foes.
Lastly the game is an 18 rated title, and Raven have used this to their advantage and finally given us a Wolverine that slices and dices with the best of them. In the past games have tended to do Wolvie a disservice, despite having six razorsharp claws he appears to pummel his opponents in most games. Not so in Ravens effort. His claws are used to deadly and gruesome effect, be it slashing off arms, heads and other miscellaneous limbs or impaling an enemy after leaping onto him.
Combat gameplay is simple yet effective. Whilst only the face buttons are used, they allow detailed combo's that show off Wolverines unique capabilities. QTE's are also used to great effect, allowing the take down of helicopters and other foes in a variety of entertaining ways.
Overall the game has a massive amount to offer. The graphics are fantastic and the gameplay is exciting and addictive. Where it not shackled with the lacklustre plot of the film, X-men Origins Wolverine could be argued to be one of the best superhero games. As it is Raven just has to settle for creating the best movie tie-in game ever made. So reward their effort and buy the dang thing.