Consumer Review - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I finally got around to renting X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition for the Xbox 360. I was expecting a mediocre film based game and was surprised with an action-packed, exhilarating, well-crafted action game.

The game follows the film fairly well, adding a bit more action and leaving out a few sequences. You start out in Africa, three years previous to the main game, on a mission with your elite team of mutants. The action begins quickly, as you plummet from an exploding chopper right into some machete and gun wielding baddies. Let the bloodbath begin.

The game realizes the devastation a man with blades protruding from his hands can impact on enemies. Bad guys are often left dismembered, beheaded, impaled, and more. It definitely lives up to its title of the Uncaged Edition. Wolverine takes damage too and one of the coolest parts of the game is watching his flesh heal itself over his adamantium skeleton.

From Africa, the story jumps around through time. Many levels are played as flashbacks that reveal more of the story. All said, you play through jungles, high tech facility corridors, winter forests, casinos, what appears to be a nuclear facility, labs, and more that I'm forgetting. Many have their own small puzzles to figure out and unique environmental hazards to help dispense opponents.

The game is filled with plenty of over-the-top sequences that were like nothing I had ever seen previously. It was literally a blast to play through.

The game does have its flaws. I ran into one glitch where a boss enemy got stuck in a wall and I couldn't advance. The checkpoints are never too far apart though, so I just restarted. The camera angles can be a bit tricky at times, but also great at other times. There are a few other issues, but nothing that hinders the gameplay enough to matter a lot.

I recommend a play through of X-Men Origins: Wolverine to any fan of Wolverine or action games. This game truly gives you the feel of being the unstoppable Wolverine and it is fun. Definitely not for the faint of heart though. I would say it is worth a rental, but lacks enough replay value to warrant purchasing for full price.