Review: Wolverine’s Revenge

WOLVERINE’S REVENGE

Developer: GenePool
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PS2
# of Players: 1

Wolverine discovers that the scientists who created him implanted a “fail-safe” device inside his body, a viral time bomb. With 48 hours to stop the device from going off, his only chance is to meet his maker. The story is actually well thought out courtesy of long time X-Men writer Larry Hama. Mark Hammil’s gruff voice acting fits like a glove, and Patrick Stewart also lends his vocal talents. Despite feeling rushed at times, the 3rd person fighting moves are slick. The problem though, is trying to pull them off. The controls are mucho frustrating. I bit the dust about five times on the very first board and almost gave up completely until I watched my girlfriend do it in one try. (Stop Laughing!) The problem is that this is a game where button mashing should be a requirement. Instead, only two buttons throw blows, and combos are only available during the STRIKE option. But you’re only allowed to STRIKE at certain points in the fight, sometimes a fleeting millisecond, and in the time it takes to position yourself you end up catching a roundhouse to the head. Fortunately, that’s the worst of it. Combos allow you to tackle multiple enemies at once, where you receive dog tags for cool moves. These then allow you to unlock more combos. But the best part is that you can fling your claws out whenever you want. Another nice feature is the Stealth option. Sure, you can charge in guns blazing, but a better way is to hug the wall, use your mutant abilities to sniff the air for gas or look for enemy heat signatures through walls. Then position yourself for a STRIKE as the enemy comes around the bend. Once you’ve built up enough anger, you can always enter the Rage mode and go slicey slicey on everybody. Wolvie fans will dig it.