X2: Wolverine’s Revenge
Greg Orlando
Beware the claws that catch, and the gameplay inspiring you to walk to the fridge and make a sandwich. X2: Wolverine’s Revenge will take hours from your life and your dedication will be rewarded with unwanted flab.
Activision and Genepool have translated the psychotic X-Man Wolverine perfectly for the 3D adventure X2: Wolverine’s Revenge, and every one of the crazy, clawed, Canadian’s powers are accessible. This, however, presents Revenge’s tragic flaw: Wolverine’s powers allow him to heal himself slowly and, for most of the game, he can retract his claws and restore any lost health. After a tough fight, it’s possible to park Wolverine and wait until he’s fighting fit. It’s true to the character, sure, but it also means you’ll be pulled from gameplay at regular intervals.
Revenge relies heavily on brawling, and this presents some problems, too; even the lowliest enemy can withstand three or four swipes from Wolverine’s powerful Adamantium claws. When fighting the boss Sabretooth, our hero can slice away—with claws that could cut through a bank vault door, for chrissake—for 20 minutes at his opponent without killing him.
A decent story and some excellent stealth-based play prevent Revenge from sinking head-long into a hole of suck. It’s great fun to creep up on an enemy and then execute a special Stealth Strike attack wherein Wolverine pops his claws and does suitably evil things. It’s just too bad that here, X marks the spot for mediocrity.
Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Xbox Nation.
