In 2003, “X2: X-Men United” came out. Earning positive reviews from critics, fans and movie goers alike. Prior to the film’s release, a video game tie-in with Wolverine was released a month before on Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2. It received mixed reviews from critics, fans and gamers alike.
Insomniac Games (Spider-Man on PS4/PS5, the Ratchet And Clank series) announced they are working on a Wolverine video game. It’ll be released in the future. A reboot of the “X-Men” film series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU for short is currently in development alongside a reboot of “Fantastic Four.” Before the upcoming Wolverine game comes out, I wanna share my thoughts on my favorite Marvel hero in his own video game.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. It’s not canon to the films. Wolverine’s Revenge is it’s own thing.
Spotless & Messy Elements
Spotless: Mark Hamill did a decent job for his voiceover performance as Wolverine.
Patrick Stewart reprises his role as Professor X. He also did a decent job for his voiceover performance. He also participated in the first two “X-Men Legends” games.
Gameplay elements is presented as a third-person beat em’ up stealth game. You play as Wolvie beating the crud out of baddies standing in your way with your trusty claws, super senses and healing factor.
Combat is impressive. If you’re surrounded by a small group of enemies, you have the opportunity by performing acrobatic strike attacks. You can also use stealth takedowns on a foe.
If you perform a stealth attack, you collect dog tags. Boss fights give you more to collect and a Cerebro file about the enemy’s info/attributes.
Graphics at the time were pretty good in 2003.
Sabertooth, Wendigo, Juggernaut, Magneto & Lady Deathstrike serve as bosses. My favorite fight is Juggernaut.
Although non-canon, Beast, Colossus & Rogue retain their comic based appearance.
Bonus Content contains character biographies, instrumental tracks, outtakes, concept art, costumes for Wolvie including the black suit from the movies and his signature yellow and blue suit.
You can Google cheat codes. I remember putting them in, because I got stuck in several levels.
Loading Screens are beautiful to look at.
The game is presented in six acts.
The game’s story focuses on Wolvie searching for a cure to stop a virus slowly killing him. He searches for the right ingredients.
2003 was a trend for characters prone to getting angry. Besides Wolvie, many hotheads were featured in movies/shows/video games like David Buznik from “Anger Management,” Eric Bana’s “Hulk,” Stitch in “Stitch The Movie,” Raven from the original “Teen Titans,” Yusuke from “Yu Yu Hakusho,” Homer Simpson in “The Simpsons: Hit And Run” Jak in “Jak II,” Willie from “Bad Santa,” Raphael in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003,” Tasmanian Devil, Marvin The Martian and Yosemite Sam in “Looney Tunes: Back In Action,” Goku and Vegeta in “Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2” & Gimil in “The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.” That’s enough to fill in a group therapy.
Lady Deathstrike is the actual antagonist of the game. If you’re fully aware of her backstory from the comics or 90s cartoon, Wolvie & Deathstrike were lovers. She accused him of stealing her father’s adamantium. Deathstrike installed cybernetics in her body to seek revenge against Wolvie.
Apocalypse & Mr. Sinister make cameo appearances at the end. They observe Wolvie, intending to use him as a pawn. A sequel to Wolverine’s Revenge never happened. Luckily, Apocalypse & Mr. Sinister later show up in “X-Men Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse.”
The Final Scene shows Wolvie reflecting back at his mission in Act IV. He forgot about Omega Red. Again, a sequel to Wolverine’s Revenge never happened. Omega Red eventually appeared as a boss in X-Men: Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse.
I vividly remember a free ticket inside the case. I miss the good ol’ days when video games promoting a movie gave kids a free ticket. I’m grateful for Activision allowing me to see a movie for free. Back when they didn’t become corporate sellouts relying on microtransactions.
Messy: Despite giving Mark Hamill praise, Hugh Jackman himself, didn’t reprise his role or provided his likeness in the game. Why the heck is Hugh on the cover? Obviously marketing X2: X-Men United. Hugh later provided his likeness and voice in “X-Men: The Official Game” & “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” based on the botched solo film.
The game is very difficult. When I was a kid, I got stuck in Acts 3-5. Thankfully, YouTube walkthrough videos are a one way ticket getting out of a sticky situation.
There’s no checkpoint system. You’ll have to replay a specific level all over again.
The Final Verdict: B-
X2: Wolverine’s Revenge is an average game. Despite blemishes, I still enjoy playing it. If you wanna prepare for Insomniac Games’ upcoming iteration of my favorite Marvel hero, give Wolverine’s Revenge a try.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 