X-MEN Origins: Wolverine - Uncaged Edition

Let me just get this out of the way. The Uncaged Edition is out for PS3 and 360; is rated M for mature, and is made by Raven Software. The other version is out for Wii, PS2, PSP, and DS, is rated T for teen (except for the DS version which is E10), and is made by Amaze Entertainment. Raven's version is a bloodfest featuring beheadings, tearing limbs, and gruesome environmental kills (more on that later), while Amaze's version is a standard beat em up with little blood and no real visual damage done on the enemies or Wolverine. From what I heard, the 360 and PS3 will not get the clean version and vise versa; the Uncaged Edition will be the only version you can play for 360 and PS3. For the people who may be wondering, Raven has been making this game for 2 and a half years, and started maybe months before the movie started production. They wanted to make a bloodly game that's true to the character because bloody combat was what the Wolverine comics were all about. This game wasn't intended to be a movie tie-in, but things change. Luckily, they let Raven continue with what they planned on doing, which explains why there's a rated M game for a PG-13 movie. As for Amaze Entertainment, my guess is they got the job last minute, which is why their version is like so many movie tie-in games: shitty.
Good. Now let's get to the sexy, sexy violence.

Before I continue, let me make the following announcement: I promise I will not use the word "Bub" at any moment in this review. I can't promise though that I won't use the phrase "I'm the best at what I do" because that line is fuckin catchy. Moving on.

The average person may be fooled into buying a game based on a movie because the movie kicks ass, so they think the game must kick ass too. For seasoned gamers, we know better than that. Most games are rushed through production to meet the deadline so they can be released when the movie comes out, and play like shit because of it. There are only 2 examples of kick-ass games that were released with their respective movies: Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine. I was very surprised by how fuckin awesome this game turned out, and even more surprised by how long the game is (8 - 10 hours). I'm gonna say it right now: get this game.

Do you REALLY wanna find this guy?

If you want a story, go see the movie. I'm not going into any details about the story because it might just ruin the movie for anyone planning to see it (I haven't seen it myself either). I will say that the story in this game jumps back and forth between the past and the present, and it got a little annoying for me, but that's neither here nor there. What's really important is the satisfying combat. The controls are simple enough: light attack, heavy attack, grab, jump, block, lock-on. This normally breaks down to button mashing, but since you're playing as an unstoppable badass, does it fuckin matter? Besides, it's little more complicated than that. Like I say in the Ninja Blade review, you better make sure the enemies are worth a damn, and Wolverine does just that. A lot of the enemies act as cannon fodder, but there's usually A LOT of them onsceen shooting at you. These guys like to chip away your health while the better fighters confront Logan (Wolverine's name) up close. The other guys aren't exactly easy to beat, at least not at first, and it took me a while to figure out the quickest way to beat them. Of course, you can always grab them and pull off an execution. When you grab an enemy, press the attack button to watch Logan pull his fist back and claws shine. Once his claws start shining, press the attack button again quick to do an execution. These are always cool to look at, and surprisingly it never gets old. One finisher has Logan putting both claws at the base of some dude's spine, and he ripped him in half.....AWESOME! Against tougher enemies, you will have to beat them up alot before you can do an execution, but the reward is soooo sweet. I even turned some guy's own shotgun against his head. With that said, gunplay would have been cool, but claws are good enough. Your best attack in the game is definitely the lunge attack. This attack let's you close the gap on any opponent too far away for normal attacks. Logan will pounce on whoever you're locked-on to and proceed to tear the enemiy apart. It's good for stopping pussies from shooting at you from like 3 blocks away. There are also environmental kills for those who like to be creative with their killing. Picking guys up and impaling them on somethng is fun, or throwing people into explosives is always funny.

The dude in white needs to start shooting

You know how in action games when you get attacked, there's no damage done to your body. Seriously, you would get attacked by swords and you wouldn't have so much as a rip in your shirts. That doesn't happen here. When you attack enemies, you will see claw marks on them. Likewise, when you take damage, you'll see it on your skin, which leads to the coolest aspect of the game: the healing factor. See, Wolverine can heal from practically anything, which makes him virtually unkillable. Whenever he takes damage, like a shotgun blast to the gut, that hole in his body will just simply close up. There are times where Logan's body was completely jacked up. On one stage, I took 2 missiles and an explosive barrel, and I was basically a walking skeleton. As I was walking to my next objective, I was watching the meat grow back, and then the skin closed up. KICK....ASS! Some of you are probably wondering "Well if he heals, how does he die?" To the dismay of Marvel fans, Logan can die. When you take too much damage, your vitals will be exposed. If they take too much of a beating before your healing can activate, You're dead. Marvel fans...don't hit me up about how wrong that is. I don't care.

A transformer!? Optimus mother fuckin Prime!

This game does have it's issue though. Any video game geek can tell you that the Unreal engine has it's problems. There are times where people look really smooth, as if their bodies have no textures on them whatsoever. I have no idea how to explain that better. Logan will sometimes float in mid-air, and enemies can sometimes get stuck behind stuff. This didn't happen that much with me, but I heard other people having these problems. After a while, the combat gets repetitive, but what beat em up game doesn't. The biggest problem with this game is the boss fights. Here's how you win: lunge. No matter who you face, it's nothing lunging can't solve, even the final boss. Boss fight are usually boring, which is a shame because the rest of the package is great. Ah well, at least there's no Moon Knight.

Why is that other guy in mid-air?

A quick question to the developers: How does Logan's tank top regenerates? I didn't realized he had powers over cotton. I don't know why, but it really bothers me to see his shirt magically reappear. Anyway, this game is fun, pure and simple. If you like blood and violence, then you have to check this game out. No, it's not in my hall of fame, but it's good enough to justify the money, and that's something I haven't said in a long time.

Rating: Fuckin Awesome

NOTE: Seriously Marvel fans, I don't want to hear shit about Wolverine. Also, I told you I wouldn't say those lines.