X-Men Origins: Wolverine

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for X-Men Origins: Wolverine for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Seph]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was one of the biggest surprises of its era as, what could have been a rubbish tie-in for a terrible film turned out to be a really fun hack-and-slash adventure that almost seemed embarrassed to be carrying its dud of a name. It's not a perfect game, but if you want a mindless action adventure to see you through a weekend, I think you can't go wrong by giving this a go. But aim for the Uncaged Edition. I've not played the standard version of the game or any of the other ports, and I don't want to.

I think what made me realise this was different from the usual cash grab fodder was the fact the UK edition of the PS3/Xbox 360 version had a big BBFC 18 rating slapped on the front. I don't think I've ever seen a game based on a milquetoast, family baiting film go so far in the other direction and actually do something interesting. The rating is definitely deserved, as limps fly and blood spurts, especially when going into rage mode. It's still surprising that the developers took this violent route, but given the film's poor reputation I guess there was no harm in going all out.

The gameplay is a bit repetitive, but it's fine for what it is. It lacks God of War depth, but how many games actually hit that level? The main problem I remember having is having to fight the camera at times, but this was common with 3D games in this era. I don't remember much else in terms of story and music, but given the film it's based on that's probably for the best. I think I might have even skipped or ignored the cutscenes.

[AndrewElmore]

I remember this title being touted as a "better than you might expect" sort of experience in its day, but I never actually played it until somewhat recently, when I was revisiting a lot of Western action games and shooters from the 360/PS3 catalogues earlier on in the pandemic. I'm not interested in comics or anything, but I _am_ interested in the works of one Raven Software, one of my favorite studios until they were cruelly collapsed into the Call of Duty machine one day, never to return. I found a PS3 copy at Pink Gorilla Games here in Seattle for a decent price (this game has climbed back up towards its original retail price in recent years, it turns out!) and took it for a few spins. It's not the best (nor most performant) game in the world, and you can see all the rough edges imposed by the restrictions of shipping a game to coincide with the release date of a film (a task that has become functionally impossible now) on display for all. It's unpolished, framey, and repetitive, but it's also satisfying and appropriately vicious.

X-Men: Oranges: Wolverine: The Comic Book: The Movie: The Video Game is a textbook example of an exceptionally talented team put in a position where they just aren't able to deliver their best work. There's an air of super-competence under the uneven surface of dark, choppy waters. I'd love to see a version of this game that got an extra 6-12 months of time in the oven with Raven at the height of their power. I do want to check out the PSP conversion now, though. I bet it's probably not great, but I'm open to being pleasantly surprised!