wolv-frontSince his first comic book appearance in 1974, Wolverine has achieved a rise in popularity that none of his X-Men counterparts could hope to compete with. Fresh on the heels of the latest film adaptation based on the origins of the clawed mutant, games based on the movie have landed on almost every platform known to mankind.

But how does the Wii version of the latest Wolverine game hold up to scrutiny? Watch now as I attempt to graft adamantium to the skeleton of Activision’s latest offering.

The first thing I noticed when loading up X-Men Origins: Wolverine was the poor quality of the loading screen text, which looks like it could have been pulled directly from DOS (or maybe, MODOK’s memory banks). An extremely basic menu houses the standard “options” screen (which contains no real options to speak of), as well as an area for extras that become unlocked as you progress through the game.

The mission briefing screen is similarly uninspiring. Wolvie mutters a few pertinent words while the screen fills with a wall of text. For a title based on the intellectual property of a company that’s renowned for its visual flair, this is an unforgiving faux pas. It’s quickly forgotten, however, when the game begins and you assume control of a flannel shirt wearing Wolverine (at this point, still called Logan). The game immediately throws you into the action; which largely consists of enemies rushing at you blindly.

Thankfully, developer Amaze Entertainment, understands the need for gamers to rest their tired arms occasionally, and the amount of required waggling is kept to a minimum, particularly during combat. Wolverine attacks with presses of the B and Z buttons, while changing the order of your button presses unleashes a variety of special moves and combos. The D-pad is used for dodging and the C button is used to block.

The Wii Remote gestures are mainly used to pull open doors and break out of holds. The ‘hold’ sections usually consist of simply waving the remote in the direction indicated on-screen, and they work well. Some areas require to you “interact” with objects by pressing Z; frustratingly the Z button is often unresponsive in these sections, requiring you to adjust Wolverine’s position before the event will trigger.

The guy lying down tried to make a move on Wolvie. We can all see how that ended.

As well as the standard green health meter, there is a red “Rage Meter” that fills up as you destroy enemies. Once this meter is full you can waggle the remote and nunchuck to enter “Rage Mode”, during which your attacks will deal increased damage.

My main issue with the game’s combat is the lack of any real sense of power behind Wolverine’s attacks. Instead of tearing enemies apart, Wolverine’s claws just make enemies fall over. This is compounded by an almost total lack of blood. I’m certainly not advocating that games require gore, but to hear enemies scream that there’s “so much blood” without a drop of the stuff in sight is jarring.

Defeated enemies drop “orbs”, which can be used to upgrade Wolverine’s skills. This is one of the highlights of the title and the system will be familiar to anyone who has played other recent comic book to game adaptations. Available upgrades take the form of new moves to perform, as well as options to boost Wolverine’s overall health, the speed of his regeneration and even his defense against specific types of attacks.

You’ll periodically face boss fights that attempt to change up gameplay by requiring you to perform contextual button presses (and motions) according to on-screen prompts. These sections can be unforgiving, as pressing the wrong button usually results in instant death and an unapologetic “Game Over” screen. This seems little more than a cheap way to extend the lifetime of the title under the pretense of increased difficulty. Thankfully, when you die, it lets you pick up from pretty much where you left off.

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night,' for some reason this videogame version of the song doesn't have the same effect on me as the original did...

Over the course of the game you will traverse a range of different environments as Logan uncovers the truth about his past and faces off against familiar faces from the Marvel Universe, including Sabretooth, Gambit and Deadpool. Don’t be fooled by the changing scenery, however, as the action is much the same in the Canadian Wilderness as it is in Africa.

Environments are divided into small, linear sections. Occasionally you’ll be required to jump a ledge or solve a moving block puzzle in order to bridge a gap or create new path. Wolverine can make use of “Feral Senses” mode in order to reveal interactive objects and scent trails on the ground that lead to the next objective.
The player has no control over the camera, which can sometimes make it difficult to work out where you’re supposed to go next. You’ll also encounter pools of deadly water (Wolverine can’t swim?) and tiny steps that are impossible to cross without jumping. These problems are little more than minor annoyances, but do detract from the overall feeling of immersion.

Upon reaching a new area, you will be assaulted by a stream of enemies that must be defeated before you can progress. This game mechanic feels extremely dated, and you will often be stuck waiting around for the next wave of enemies to appear before you can move forward in the game.

The environments feature a variety of destructible objects and there’s clearly some sort of physics at work, as light fixtures will sway as you move beneath them and objects will bounce off walls. Disappointingly, many of the destructible objects disappear shortly after you smash them, leaving most battlegrounds sparse after only a few seconds.

Wolverine was no match for the giant floating Wii-mote and nunchuk. RIP

The story is revealed mostly through mission briefings, delivered as text. Occasional cut-scenes help to build a sense of drama, but there doesn’t seem to be an option to replay them, so make sure you don’t blink or you might miss them altogether. Also, during each mission the action is frequently interrupted by short in-game scenes that unnecessarily slow the game’s pace.

Overall, the graphics look like something from the last gaming generation, which is somewhat unsurprising when you realise that the Wii version shares development with the team responsible for the PS2 version. Textures are blurry and the colour palette is muted. In contrast, the main character models are quite well realised and the faces from the film look fairly realistic—which could be either a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

Also worth a mention are the problems with the game’s sound. Enemies utter the same death cries over and over and characters frequently speak at inopportune moments during boss fights. The speaker in the Wii Remote is not utilised at all, which is disappointing; I would have loved to have been able to waggle the remote to extend Wolverine’s claws and hear Marvel’s trademarked “Snikt!” from the remote speaker.
There is fun to be had with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, especially if you’re a comics fan. Right in the heat of battle, when you’re mashing buttons and collecting experience orbs, the linear level design and shoddy presentation doesn’t seem to matter as much.

At the end of the day though, the many shortcomings of the title are too obvious to ignore. Even worse is the knowledge that PS3, Xbox 360 and PC gamers received a far superior version of the game, which was developed by Raven software.

Let’s hope that Marvel’s upcoming Super Hero Squad finally gives comic book fans the Wii game they deserve.

By Himmathand

Graphics: C

Grubby. Blurry textures, poorly defined enemy models and numerous clipping issues drag the experience down. Main character models and faces are well realised.

Sound: D

Sloppy. Enemies repeat the same lines over and over, main characters often speak out of context. Oh, and sometimes the music just… stops.

Gameplay: C

If all you want to do is slice and dice, buy a set of knives instead.

Overall: D

Yet another lazy movie-to-game adaptation.