X2: Wolverine's Revenge (GameCube)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.8 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Ryan Davis
• Reviewed on: 04/21/2003
• Released on: 04/14/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: X2: Wolverine's Revenge (GameCube) Review

X2: Wolverine's Revenge is a third-person action adventure game starring Marvel's adamantium-clawed mutant that features basic hand-to-hand combat and a healthy helping of stealth action. The fundamentals of Wolverine's Revenge are solid, but just about everything seems to fall apart in the execution. The kinds of problems the game suffers from give rise to the sneaking suspicion that it would have been a significantly better game if its release didn't have to coincide with the premiere of the new X-Men motion picture.

Though the game bears the endorsement, as well as some of the talent, of the X-Men movie sequel, its story is not related to that of the film. Wolverine's Revenge begins in 1968, with Wolvie breaking out of the Weapon X program and learning about the dormant Shiva virus that was planted inside him. Jump forward to modern times, when you learn that you have but 48 hours to find the Shiva antidote before it finally kills Wolverine. The course of this adventure will put you up against a collection of X-Men bad-guy all-stars, such as Sabretooth, Juggernaut, and good old Magneto, as well as wave after wave of faceless, disposable goons. Several other X-Men make cameo appearances, most notably Professor X, who acts as your own personal Obi-Wan Kenobi, offering tips on what to do next throughout the game.

The action in Wolverine's Revenge basically boils down to beating up anonymous thugs, sneaking up on anonymous thugs, flipping switches or finding keycards, and engaging in boss fights. The beating of bad guys simply requires you to mash on the punch button and occasionally block. Thanks to the game's dull-witted and predictable AI, just about all your fights will turn into the same fight, over and over again. When you have an opponent on the brink of death, or if there are several opponents coming in on you at once, the word "Strike!" will appear in the corner of the screen. If you press the action button in time, you'll be treated to a quick little sequence of Wolverine jumping around and beating the bad guys up with some style. As you progress through the game, more types of strikes become available to you, and they get progressively more visually impressive and outrageous. Unfortunately, the fighting that you'll actually have control over stays exactly the same from beginning to end, and the novelty of these canned kill animations isn't enough to make up for the otherwise shallow combat system.

Wolverine also has a rage meter that fills up bit by bit whenever you engage in combat or sustain some kind of damage. When the rage meter fills up, Wolverine can punch harder and run faster than usual for a few short seconds. But you can't go into stealth mode or perform simple tasks like flipping switches when you're in this heightened state. And since you have no real control over when Wolverine's rage will be triggered, there will be plenty of times when you'll just be standing around, waiting for the rage effect to subside so you can go about your business.

The stealth action in Wolverine's Revenge isn't much better. Activating the stealth mode gives Wolverine a sneaky stance and changes the color palette of your surroundings. Bad guys give off a glowing red aura, have arrows over their heads showing which direction they're facing, and give off a funky green smokelike "scent" wherever they go. In the stealth mode you can also see various laser trip wires, the field of vision of security cameras and automatic sentries, and the placement of mines. Pulling off stealth kills requires you to sneak up behind an enemy and hit the action button when the word "Strike!" appears in the corner of the screen. The real problem with the stealth action is that there's no variety, and the mechanics themselves often feel unfinished. Though you can sense the field of vision for security cameras and such while in stealth mode, there's no way of telling how far your live opponents can see. Also, Wolverine can sidle up against walls and peek around corners, but he'll also regularly sidle up against nothing at all, and it can be difficult to get him out of such a position.

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