By IGN.com
X2: Wolverine's Revenge
March 04, 2003 - He's angry. He growls. And he looks a little like heavy metaler Glen Danzig on a bad hair day. Of course we're talking about Marvel Comics' Wolverine, or just Logan to those of us who know him. Over the years the superhero -- yellow spandex suit and all -- has garnered mainstream success, jumping from pen and paper to the silver screen with attitude and style totally intact.
Now Wolvy will try to claw his way to the very tip-top of videogame charts in an all-new action-adventure from developer GenePool and comic-king publisher Activision. The title, X2: Wolverine's Revenge hits all three next-generation platforms in no time flat so we recently took the near-final GameCube incarnation for a spin.
X2: Wolverine's Revenge perfectly describes the storyline of the game, which bears some resemblances to the forthcoming feature film X2. Logan, still wondering about his background -- and more precisely how exactly he was made, goes on a hunt for the information. Comic fans will be interested to know that Larry Hama, a veteran of so many classic Wolverine comics, is also responsible for the videogame tale. The game details Wolverine's past with more depth so that you'll actually travel back to the year 1968 -- to the beginnings of Weapon X -- and learn all about the deviously ambitious scientists who grafted the unbreakable metal to the mutant's bones. Here you'll also discover the deeper concept behind the game: that at the same time Logan was injected with the "Shiva" virus, a killer bug that has remained dormant until present day in the hero's existence. Now that it's active, Wolverine only has a limited amount of time to find the anti-virus or he's a goner. Along the way he may just yet learn about his mysterious upbringing.
The game flows through six different "acts" or worlds and some 23 unique levels, according to Activision, and there's quite a lot to do and see. It begins in Logan's past, just as he awakens to discover himself a guinea pig for an experiment gone awry. He's pissed, and there are lots of careless humans around to take his anger out on. Fights immediately ensue. Jaw-shattering punches and ferocious kicks are almost always accompanied by a satisfying growl of victory from the mutant hero. Wolverine's Revenge is, after all, essentially a beat-'em-up action game, but that's hardly all it is. Sure, the game revolves around fights with a countless number of enemy characters, and there's a great deal of different attack moves for you to dabble in to keep the entertainment fresh. But there's more, too. For instance, Wolvy can use his heightened senses to go into a quasi-stealth mode and here he can sneak unto enemies and "strike" them down with a series of special moves. There is, in keeping with the action norm, also a healthy selection of in-level puzzles, most of them as simple as pressing a switch in one room to trigger a door open in another.
It all sounds good and fine so stay with us as we detail how the GameCube version plays and looks. Wolvy is manipulated with the analog stick and while he runs and moves generally very fast, we've found that turning on the dime is a near impossibility as the process of slowing is sluggish. He can be made to run on all fours -- a necessity when trying to avoid some types of gunfire -- with the R button. Meanwhile, A button punches and B button kicks. Both, tapped several times, will serve up a limited combo move. The Y button makes Wolvy jump into the air. Now for the special moves. First is the L button, which activates the character's stealth mode. Here, the entire screen turns a shade of orange and the character can sneak up on enemies and take them out quietly. There's reasons for and against using stealth mode whenever possible. On the plus side, it works in conjunction with various strike moves (executed with the X button) so that if an enemy is unaware of Wolverine's presence, he can jump onto them and perform a special move. These are highly cinematic occasions filled with full acrobatics by the superhero, so they're definitely rewarding. Also, Wolvy can spot items in stealth mode that he would have otherwise missed; dangerous goodies like laser trip beams and mine fields. On the other hand, though, moving around is slow-going in stealth mode, so in a crowded room filled with enemy gunfire it's definitely the wrong choice. The balance there is well done, no doubt, and so far we've enjoyed going both routes.
More and more strike moves can be gained as Logan earns various dog tags -- and these can only be acquired by successfully busting out strike moves. It's a winning partnership, we say. The first 10 dog tags received raises Wolverine's strike level, and in turn his strikes become more powerful. By the time you've nabbed some 60 dog tags, your hero is going to be nearly unstoppable.
There's no manual lock-on system, an oddity given that so much of this game hinges on battles with single and multiple enemies at a time. Instead, the camera tries to lock on automatically when Wolverine nears an enemy. We wish we could water praise over the setup, but unfortunately this isn't the case. The simple truth is that it's unpredictable at best. In fact, the camera often gets in the way of or fails to shoot the action from the appropriate angle, and more times than not we find ourselves wishing that we could right it behind Wolverine's back with the tap of a button -- alas this is not an option.
Either Wolverine's Revenge is one of the more difficult games to be unleashed in some time or our own skills have dwindled considerably. We're not ruling out the latter, but it's hard for us being the oh-so-accomplished gamers that we are to sit back and watch as our character dies 10 or more times during the first level. This, because he was sniped by enemies from afar, or because he touched a switch and it blew up in his face, or because a toxic gas was released into the air and he choked to death on it -- all issues that could have been avoided had there been any substantial warning. Indeed, it took us 15 deaths to realize the benefit of running on all fours to avoid horribly unfair lighting bolt blasts from foes -- a detail that was never once explained during the advancement process. It's clear that some refinement is needed.
Wolverine can crash through boxes, bust through windows and destroy just about any piece of electric equipment in sight. The interactivity of the rooms in the game is a welcomed plus, no doubt. Logan can also man turrets and even control a robotic droid and here the view switches to first-person. Further, the character encounters a number of comic books levitating throughout the locales that unlock a number of secret items, including nine unique costumes that we're not yet allowed to detail. Other extras include cerebral files, or fully scalable 3D renders of the comic characters in the game.
Speaking of which, you'll see a wide assortment of familiar Marvel characters in the game. Professor X shares a link with Wolverine throughout the game. Other allies include Beast, Colossus and Rogue. Meanwhile, expect such nasty enemies and Wendigo, Sabretooth, Magneto, Omega Red and Lady Death Strike.
One element that needs no polishing is the presentation of the game. X2: Wolverine's Revenge delivers the dark and gritty universe of the franchise in full. From the way Wolverine himself looks -- exquisitely detailed and full of menace -- to the big, crisply textured environments he inhabits, you're going to be impressed. The first time we witnessed one of the strike moves our fingers itched immediately to grab hold of the controller and by the time we saw the stealth mode in action we couldn't resist giving it a spin. There are even some nice graphic effects -- some of the better particles in a game, for instance, and yes, even projected shadows from our hero that cast onto walls and refract. Everything runs at a speedy 60 frames per second, but sadly the game does not run in progressive scan mode.
Yes, it's true: Mark Hamill -- Luke Skywalker -- of Star Wars fame provides the voice of Wolverine in the game. You might be quick to laugh at the prospect, but don't forget that he's no stranger to audio work; he's also the voice of the Joker in the Batman animated series. He does a great job here, too. Wolverine delivers his lines with a grumbling and ferocity we've come to expect from the reluctant hero. In the game, though -- and you'll hear this in the movies we've provided -- some of his growls are way too overused. He screams with rage practically every time he punches a foe, which is highly annoying. Hopefully this is a taste of audio from what is clearly still a slightly incomplete product.
All in all, we're more than satisfied with the style and presentation of the game and certainly intrigued by the play mechanics. Activision and GenePool have one month to bring everything together. He's hoping the extra polish will make all the difference for what could be one of the more exciting comic book licenses turn videogame in a long while.
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Voor 6% gewijzigd door
NoTimeRemains op 05-03-2003 13:30
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) maar dat andere spel had ik nog niet van gehoord. maar de RE serie in de vorm van de singleplayer games van de ''gewone'' Re stijl zijn wel GC exclusive geworden
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En als je dat bedrag van insidegamer hier optelt dan kom je al op € 86,50 en reken daar ook nog maar eens € 10,- verzendkosten bij ofzo.. zit je al bijna aan de € 100,- en bij dvdboxoffice zou ik ongeveer € 25,- goedkoper uit zijn, dus daarom wil ik importeren! :strip_exif()/u/3981/icon.gif?f=community){kind=icon}
(had geen zin om een FRS te zoeken).
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Op het forum van Edge zijn ze daar nu druk mee, 't schijnt wel veel werk te zijn maar misschien ga ik daar ook maar eens mee aan de slag als ik de spelersnamen gefixed heb. Toch wel gaaf om de officiele vlaggen in het publiek te zien natuurlijk :strip_icc():strip_exif()/u/23110/spaceboy1.jpg?f=community)
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