Dr. Smirnoff Reviews: Wolverine (Xbox 360)

I've not read the X-Men comics (or any variation thereof) for a good few years. And yet even I know that Wolverine has, to date, been portrayed in both video games and movies as a watered down version of the very old, very bitter and ruthlessly violent bastard he's intended to be.

And it's clear to all that Hugh Jackman is essentially an overly handsome Australian who prefers his adamantium claws on the end of a nice pair of jazz-hands.

But the stoopidly titled X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, UNCAGED EDITION (is there any other edition one wonders?) is a clear attempt to convince fans that Jackman is indeed ‘the man’ - the cover is nothing but his face.

However - and more importantly for us horror fans - the other lesson to be learned here is that indestructible claws protruding from the knuckle are indeed pretty sharp and incredibly deadly.

Playing as the titular (ha! - I typed 'tit') mutant, the game sees you dismember, decapitate and castrate hundreds of enemies in glorious high definition in your bid for freedom and revenge. Although in reality you can only do two of those three things.

On to game-play… Accessible and well executed combat allows Wolverine to carve his way through a screen full of bad-guys without too much effort. For far-away enemies, ‘Lunge’ moves allow the player to target an individual and dramatically dive across the screen before landing claw-first on the target’s chest or face. Get up-close and there’s no difficulty in subjecting a world of pain on those in your path.

Wolverine isn’t spared punishment of course, and his body visibly disintegrates with each hit he takes. This can sometimes result in Logan running round with his spine, ribs and (presumably knackered) liver on show. But worry not faithful fans, for his annoyingly toned physique regenerates during each few seconds of downtime.

Production values are as high as one would expect from a movie tie-in game, which usually have barrels of cash thrown in their general direction. Both Hugh and Liev lend their voice talent and whilst all other cast members from the movie are missing, the vocals are impressive regardless. Graphics are also high calibre (um… did he mean calibER? –Mike). In-game visuals for both character models and environments are impressive but a selected number of cinematics obviously received extra attention, being ultra-slick and spookily lifelike.

Complaints could include the eventual repetitiveness of gameplay, linear level design and lack of multi-player. But this is like complaining that your indestructible skeleton is the wrong shade of silver for your liking.

In short, this game is pleasantly accessible, surprisingly bloody and very, very satisfying. Buy it. Buy it now.