X-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Cover art used for PlayStation 3, Windows and Xbox 360 versions
Developer(s)	Raven Software
Publisher(s)	Activision
Distributor(s)	Activision
Director(s)	Margaret Tang
Writer(s)	Marc Guggenheim
Composer(s)	Paul Haslinger
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Nintendo DS PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation Portable Wii Xbox 360
Release date(s)	May 1, 2009
Genre(s)	Hack and slash, Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 hack and slash action-adventure game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed primarily by Raven Software through the use of Unreal Engine technology. Amaze Entertainment developed the Wii and PS2 ports and Griptonite Games developed the PSP and DS ports. The Entertainment Software Rating Board rated Mature the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, and Teen the content of Nintendo DS and PSP.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, along with most other games published by Activision that had used the Marvel licence, was de-listed and removed from all digital storefronts on January 1, 2014.^[1]

Gameplay

Origins takes influences from games such as God of War and Devil May Cry.^[2] The Uncaged version also features a large amount of blood and gore. Enemies can be dismembered in several ways in addition to the graphic display of Wolverine's healing factor.^[3]

Combat relies on three options - light attacks, heavy attacks, and grabs. Another form of attack is the lunge, which allows Wolverine to quickly close the distance to an enemy. Wolverine can also use the environment to his advantage, such as by impaling foes on spikes. During combat, Wolverine's rage meter builds up, and when full allows him to use more devastating attacks, like the claw spin and a berserker mode, which increases Wolverine's claw strength until his Rage Meter empties.^[4] Experience (XP) is collected from defeating enemies, destroying elements and accumulating collectibles.^[5] The XP is used to level up, and each new level results in gaining skill points, which are used to purchase upgrades.

The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions are less graphic, with less language and slightly different combat.^[6][7] Feral senses are still obtained, which can detect doors, traps, enemies and sentinel observers, and lunges must be performed at closer distances.^[7]

Synopsis

The story is a combination of the Wolverine backstory explored in the film and an original plot created by Raven Software,^[8] which was influenced by major events in the X-Men comic series.

Plot

A prologue shows Wolverine hunting/being hunted by a group of soldiers in a bleak urban environment. He is wearing a shredded uniform reminiscent of the costume seen in the X-Men films, indicating that this may take place in a later time. His thoughts drift to a forgotten past.

The game begins in Africa, which is implied to be Wakanda, due to Stryker's interest in meteorite deposits in the regions. The Africa missions, which are presented as flashbacks, chronicle the events which lead to Logan disbanding from Team X, showing that his own morals conflict with what Team X is ordered to do (i.e. massacres of innocents for strategic purposes).

Wolverine lunges toward an enemy helicopter.

Three years later, when Logan has settled in Canada with his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox, his brother Victor Creed reappears at a local bar where he and Logan battle. Creed emerges victorious, breaks Logan's bone claws and knocks him unconscious. Upon waking up, Logan finds Kayla dead. Col. William Stryker arrives, offering Logan a chance at revenge. Logan accepts and undergoes a procedure that bonds adamantium, an indestructible metal processed from the meteorite deposits, with his bones. As the procedure ends, Logan overhears that Stryker wants him terminated, and becomes enraged and breaks out of the Alkali Lake facility, killing many of Stryker's men in the process, including Agent Zero.

Logan travels to the Project: Wideawake site searching for John Wraith, where he has a confrontation with Bolivar Trask and his mutant hunting Sentinel. After being freed, Wraith leads Logan to Fred Dukes, who in turn leads Logan to Remy Lebeau, who mistakes Logan as one of Stryker's agents. Logan pursues Lebeau to the roof of the building, where he convinces Lebeau to take him to Stryker's island base. Arriving at the island, Logan learns that Silverfox is alive and her "death" was a ploy to get Logan to volunteer for Weapon X. Devastated by the truth, Logan accepts Stryker's offer to erase his memory, but changes his mind after Creed takes Silverfox hostage. Following Creed and Logan's fight, Stryker's Weapon XI, Deadpool, is sent to kill Wolverine, and after the ensuing battle, Logan's memories are damaged when he is shot by an adamantium bullet from Stryker's handgun.

In the epilogue, Bolivar Trask, who has perfected the recreation of human body parts via robotic replacements, has taken Logan hostage. Logan breaks free of his chains, but Trask flees. An army of Sentinels are seen in the distance in a ruined city, destroying everything in sight with Logan quoting :"this world may be broken, but I've got the tools to fix it".

Characters

• Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine:^[9] A mutant and soldier with powers of regeneration, animalistic instincts, enhanced strength, unbreakable bones and six retractable adamantium claws (Bone claws before the adamantium transfusion).
• Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed:^[9] Wolverine's half-brother and fellow soldier who has a healing factor, animalistic instincts, and retractable claws.
• Dave Florek as William Stryker:^[9] A Colonel of the military who formed Team X, and is a major part of the Weapon X Program.
• April Stewart as Kayla Silverfox:^[9] Logan's lover; she has the ability of tactile hypnosis: the ability to control someone as long as she is touching them.
• will.i.am as John Wraith:^[9] A member of the Weapon X Program. Wraith has the mutant power of Teleportation.
• Robert Wu as Agent Zero:^[9] A member of the Weapon X Program, Stryker's second-in-command. Zero possesses expert tracking skills and is a lethal marksman.
• Gregg Berger as Fred J. Dukes / The Blob:^[9] A mutant and former member of Stryker's mutant strike team. Fred has an indestructible layer of skin. After leaving Stryker and the team, he developed an eating disorder and became obese.
• Chris Edgerly as Remy LeBeau / Gambit:^[9] A former prisoner of Stryker who can manipulate kinetic energy.
• Steven Blum as Wade Wilson:^[9] The "merc with a mouth" Wade is a highly trained mercenary who was the annoyance of the team.
  • Weapon XI / Deadpool: The altered Wade Wilson is the mutant killer. He was given a healing factor, teleportation, and optic blast powers and had his mouth forced shut. Stryker also had adamantium blades surgically implanted into his arms.
• Anna Graves as Raven Darkholme:^[9] A female mutant with shapeshifting abilities and a CIA operative who was working in conjunction with Stryker's team in Africa. She later encounters Wolverine when they both are searching for Wraith. She is Wraith's lover and the mother of his child.
• Bumper Robinson as Dr. Bolivar Trask:^[9] Creator of the Sentinels. He kidnaps Wraith to use him in his study of the mutant gene for sentinel programming. His hand is cut off by Wolverine, he later replaces it with a prosthetic hand. In the future as shown in the game, he appears to be the one directing the soldiers attacking Wolverine in an attempt to capture him.

Development

On May 2009, Raven Software set up a developers blog^[10] Blur Studio, who also worked with Raven on X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, provided all of the CGI cutscenes for the game.^[11] From January to March 2009, the developers published a large number of 3D screenshots.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} The music for the game was composed by Paul Haslinger, who composed the score for the Underworld film series and such games as Need For Speed: Undercover, Rainbow Six: Vegas and its sequel, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2.^[17] Raven worked with publisher Activision to provide easter eggs from other games to be found, such as the Lich King's sword from World of Warcraft^[18] and the cake mentioned in the game Portal.^[19]

Downloadable content

In June 2009, Activions released a DLC for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system, featuring Custom Combat Arena, Ladder Challenge, and Environmental Simulator.^[20]

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 54.83% (DS)[21] 76.45% (X360)[22] 78.50% (PC)[23] 48% (PS2)[24] 75.17% (PS3)[25] 62.20% (PSP)[26] 51.83% (Wii)[27] Metacritic 55/100 (DS)[28] 75/100 (X360)[29] 77/100 (PC)[30] 56/100 (PS2)[31] 73/100 (PS3)[32] 60/100 (PSP)[33] 53/100 (Wii)[34] Review scores Publication Score Destructoid 7.5/10 (X360)[35] Eurogamer 5/10 (PS3, X360)[36] Game Informer 8/10 (PS3)[37] GamePro (X360)[8] Game Revolution B+[38] GameSpot 7/10 (PC)[39] 7/10 (PS3)[40] GameSpy (PS3)[41] GameTrailers 7.2/10[42] GameZone 8.3/10 (PC)[43] 7.4/10 (PS3)[44] Giant Bomb (X360)[45] IGN 7.8/10[46] 6.9/10 (AU)[47] 5/10 (DS)[48] 4.5/10 (PS2)[6] 5.1/10 (PSP)[49] 4.8/10 (Wii)[50] Nintendo Power 5/10 (Wii)[51] OXM 8/10 (X360)[52]

The Uncaged Edition version received generally positive reviews, whereas other versions of the game attained mostly mixed to negative reviews. In general, strong points has been identified in the violence consistent with the comic version of the character and the aesthetic value, whereas the shortness of the campaign, the lack of replay value and the repetitiveness of action have been criticized.

IGN's Greg Miller stated the Uncaged Edition version of the game is an "awesome guilty pleasure", despite criticisms of fights repetitiveness.^[46] Miller appreciated the cinematic of the game, as well its bloody sights. Overall, the visuals received a mixed review from IGN, stating "the game looks great sometimes and shoddy other times".^[46] Miller further criticized that the only noteworthy sounds are Hugh Jackman's voice and the claws sound.^[46] Whilst the game was marked with an overall 7.8/10 ('good'), the PS2 and Wii were marked respectively 4.5^[6] ('bad') and 4.8 ('poor').^[50] The shortcomings of the two ports lay, among others, in the general lack of music during fights, poor controls and bad textures.^[6][50]

The different reception based on the game port was confirmed by the review aggregators GameRankings and Metacritic. While the ranking for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on both aggregators was around 75/100, the Nintendo DS', PlayStation 2's, and Wii's rankings stood significantly behind, with the PSP port ranked around the middle.

GameSpot gave the game a 7/10, praising the variety of enemies, the brutal action and the representation of Wolverine's power, yet criticising the poor replay value and the disappointing boss fights.^[40] Overall, the game was defined "one of the better movie tie-ins released recently".^[40] Destructoid's review, which gave the game a 7.5/10, focused on similar points, by finding fault with boss fights, poor replay value and sloppy plot and identifying as strong points the quality of the aesthetic and the brutal action.^[35]

Eurogamer gave the game a 5/10, by stating: "X-Men Origins: Wolverine may be unapologetically violent, but it's also unapologetically repetitive, and it's the one apology that needs to be made".^[36] Game Informer, even though disapproved the repetitiveness, stated that the "game is nearly impossible to put down".^[37] GamePro stated that "Its repetitive gameplay, mundane puzzle design and eye-twitching platforming segments really cuts into Origins' fun and yet, for fans of the franchise, it's a solid title that's worth playing through".^[8]

Accolades

In the ScrewAttack 'Top 10 Movie-Based Games', the Uncaged Edition of this game came in sixth.^[53] At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, the game was awarded the 'Best Cast' award as well as Hugh Jackman receiving the 'Best Performance By A Human Male' award as Wolverine.^[54] In IGN's 'Top 5 Favorite Wolverine Games', the Uncaged Edition of the game came in first.^[55] In GameSpy's 'Top 10 Best Superhero PC Games', the Uncaged Edition of the game came in tenth.^[56]

References

1. Futter, Mike (January 1, 2014). "[Update] Deadpool And Other Marvel Games Disappear From Steam, Xbox Live, And PSN]". Game Informer. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
2. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
3. Ramsay, Randolph (15 January 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Impressions". Gamespot. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
4. Vondrak, Dan (7 March 2009). "Raven Q&A: Volume 1". Raven Software. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
5. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Games Radar. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
6. Miller, Greg (4 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
7. Brown, Adam. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review". Cheat Code Central. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
8. Herring, Will (1 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine (360)". GamePro. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009.
9. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009 Video Game) Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
10. Vondrak, Dan (16 May 2009). "Insights from Gustavo Rasche, senior artist on X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Raven Software. Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
11. Vondrak, Dan (16 May 2009). "Inside Look: Blur Cinematics". Raven Software. Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
12. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine 3D Screen". Gamers Hell. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
13. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Website Launched". Gamers Hell. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
14. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Screens". Gamers Hell. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
15. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Screens #2". Gamers Hell. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
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17. Vondrak, Dan (24 March 2009). "Wolverine Developer Q&A – Round 2". Raven Software. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
18. Fahey, Mike (1 May 2009). "Wow, Check Out One Of Wolverine's Secret Places". Kotaku. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
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33. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
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35. Sterling, Jim (8 May 2009). "Destructoid review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Destructoid. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
36. Bramwell, Tom (5 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Eurogamer. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
37. Reiner, Andrew (June 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Game Informer (194). Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
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40. Ramsay, Randolph (1 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review (PS3)". GameSpot. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
41. McGarvey, Sterling (7 May 2009). "The Consensus: X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
42. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review". GameTrailers. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
43. Lafferty, Michael (30 April 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
44. Grabowski, Dakota (30 April 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition - PS3 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
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47. Kolan, Patrick (29 April 2015). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine AU Game Review (PS3, X360)". IGN. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
48. Bishop, Sam (7 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review (DS)". IGN. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
49. Miller, Greg (4 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review (PSP)". IGN. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
50. Miller, Greg (4 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review (Wii)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07.
51. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Wii)". Nintendo Power 242: 90. July 2009.
52. Blyth, Jon (1 May 2009). "X-Men Origins: Wolverine review". Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
53. "Top 10 Movie Based Games". ScrewAttack. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
54. Video Game Awards (13 December 2011). "Every VGA winner from years past". Spike. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
55. "IGN's Top 5 Favorite Wolverine Games". IGN. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
56. Osborn, Chuck (16 March 2012). "The Top 10 Best Superhero PC Games". GameSpy. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

External links

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine at the Internet Movie Database
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine at MobyGames
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Nintendo DS) at MobyGames