X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

I'll admit that for the first hour or so, I really got into the game. It boasts the sort of action you expect to experience in a decent third person action adventure. The basic gameplay reminded me a lot of LucasArts Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden 2. That's just the problem; a lot of the action feels like a rehash of many older games.

You can easily make out that a lot of work went into character animation, background detail and visual effects. Whether you're lunging towards a chopper in mid-air or dashing through the snowy woods, this game delivers when it comes to visuals. The sound is another important layer, giving the right tone to the whole experience. The same goes for the voice acting.

Upgrading the main character, using diverse skills and fighting abilities, coupled with a range of impressive execution moves, make for an exciting combat system. We appreciated the combat variety, unlocking challenging bonus modes, etc. No matter how fun Wolverine's skills are in practice, they simply cannot conceal the game's monotony, which is exhibited through its recurring enemies (particularly bosses), repetitive level design and an altogether disjointed plot.

Raven Software is definitely keeping busy these days, what with projects like Singularity and Wolfenstien under way. Still, they didn't give much thought on how to make this game better. If you must play this, you're better off renting or trying out the demo before shelling out $59.99 for the full game.