X-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 hack and slash action-adventure game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed primarily by Raven Software, who used Unreal engine technology to develop the game. Amaze Entertainment developed the Wii and PS2 ports and Griptonite Games developed the PSP and DS ports. Origins was published by Activision.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, along with most other games published by Activision that had used the Marvel licence, was de-listed and removed from all digital storefronts on January 1, 2014.

Gameplay
Origins takes influences from games such as God of War and Devil May Cry. The Uncaged version also features a large amount of blood and gore. Enemies can be dismembered in several ways in addition to the graphic display of Wolverine's healing factor.

Combat relies on three options - light attacks, heavy attacks, and grabs. Another form of attack is the lunge, which allows Wolverine to quickly close the distance to an enemy. Wolverine can also use the environment to his advantage, such as by impaling foes on spikes. During combat, Wolverine's rage meter builds up, and when full allows him to use more devastating attacks, like the claw spin and a berserker mode, which increases Wolverine's claw strength until his Rage Meter empties.

The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions are less graphic, with less language and slightly different combat. Feral senses are still obtained, which can detect doors, traps, enemies and sentinel observers. Lunges must be performed at closer distances. Experience (XP) is collected from defeating enemies, completing missions, defeating all enemies, destroying all turrets, and defeating bosses within a certain time frame. The XP is used to purchase upgrades.

Synopsis
The story is a combination of the Wolverine backstory explored in the film and an original plot created by Raven Software, which was influenced by major events in the X-Men comic series.

Plot
A prologue shows Wolverine hunting/being hunted by a group of soldiers in a bleak urban environment. He is wearing a shredded uniform reminiscent of the costume seen in the X-Men films, indicating that this may take place in a later time. His thoughts drift to a forgotten past.

The game begins in Africa, which is implied to be Wakanda, due to Stryker's interest in meteorite deposits in the regions. The Africa missions, which are presented as flashbacks, chronicle the events which lead to Logan disbanding from Team X, showing that his own morals conflict with what Team X is ordered to do (i.e. massacres of innocents for strategic purposes).

Three years later, when Logan has settled in Canada with his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox, his brother Victor Creed reappears at a local bar where he and Logan battle. Creed emerges victorious, breaks Logan's bone claws and knocks him unconscious. Upon waking up, Logan finds Kayla dead. Col. William Stryker arrives, offering Logan a chance at revenge. Logan accepts and undergoes a procedure that bonds adamantium, an indestructible metal processed from the meteorite deposits, with his bones. As the procedure ends, Logan overhears that Stryker wants him terminated, and becomes enraged and breaks out of the Alkali Lake facility, killing many of Stryker's men in the process, including Agent Zero.

Logan travels to the Project: Wideawake site searching for John Wraith, where he has a confrontation with Bolivar Trask and his mutant hunting Sentinel. After being freed, Wraith leads Logan to Fred Dukes, who in turn leads Logan to Remy Lebeau, who mistakes Logan as one of Stryker's agents. Logan pursues Lebeau to the roof of the building, where he convinces Lebeau to take him to Stryker's island base. Arriving at the island, Logan learns that Silverfox is alive and her "death" was a ploy to get Logan to volunteer for Weapon X. Devastated by the truth, Logan accepts Stryker's offer to erase his memory, but changes his mind after Creed takes Silverfox hostage. Following Creed and Logan's fight, Stryker's Weapon XI, Deadpool, is sent to kill Wolverine, and after the ensuing battle, Logan's memories are damaged when he is shot by an adamantium bullet from Stryker's handgun.

In the epilogue, Bolivar Trask, who has perfected the recreation of human body parts via robotic replacements, has taken Logan hostage. Logan breaks free of his chains, but Trask flees. An army of Sentinels are seen in the distance in a ruined city, destroying everything in sight and Logan also quoting that "this world may be broken, but I've got the tools (his claws) to fix it".

Characters

 * Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine: A mutant and soldier with powers of regeneration, animalistic instincts, enhanced strength, unbreakable bones and six retractable adamantium claws (Bone claws before the adamantium transfusion).
 * Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed: Wolverine's half-brother and fellow soldier who has a healing factor, animalistic instincts, and retractable claws.
 * Dave Florek as William Stryker: A Colonel of the military who formed Team X, and is a major part of the Weapon X Program.
 * April Stewart as Kayla Silverfox: Logan's lover; she has the ability of tactile hypnosis: the ability to control someone as long as she is touching them.
 * will.i.am as John Wraith: A member of the Weapon X Program. Wraith has the mutant power of Teleportation.
 * Robert Wu as David Nord / Agent Zero: A member of the Weapon X Program, Stryker's second-in-command. Zero possesses expert tracking skills and is a lethal marksman.
 * Gregg Berger as Fred J. Dukes / The Blob: A mutant and former member of Stryker's mutant strike team. Fred has an indestructible layer of skin. After leaving Stryker and the team, he developed an eating disorder and became obese.
 * Chris Edgerly as Remy LeBeau / Gambit: A former prisoner of Stryker who can manipulate kinetic energy.
 * Steven Blum as Wade Wilson: The "merc with a mouth" Wade is a highly trained mercenary who was the annoyance of the team.
 * Weapon XI / Deadpool: The altered Wade Wilson is the mutant killer. He was given a healing factor, teleportation, and optic blast powers and had his mouth forced shut. Stryker also had adamantium blades surgically implanted into his arms.
 * Anna Graves as Raven Darkholme: A female mutant with shapeshifting abilities and a CIA operative who was working in conjunction with Stryker's team in Africa. She later encounters Wolverine when they both are searching for Wraith. She is Wraith's lover and the mother of his child.
 * Bumper Robinson as Dr. Bolivar Trask: Creator of the Sentinels. He kidnaps Wraith to use him in his study of the mutant gene for sentinel programming. His hand is cut off by Wolverine, he later replaces it with a prosthetic hand. In the future as shown in the game, he appears to be the one directing the soldiers attacking Wolverine in an attempt to capture him.

Development
Raven Software set up a developers blog and project lead Dan Vondrak also set up a Twitter account to post updates and impressions on the game. Blur Studio, who also worked with Raven on X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance provided all of the cgi cutscenes for the game. The developers published a large number of 3D screenshots, virtual three-dimensional renders of a particular setting that could be viewed in a web browser. The music for the game was composed by Paul Haslinger, who composed the music for the Underworld film series and such games as Need For Speed: Undercover, Rainbow Six: Vegas and its sequel, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. Raven worked with publisher Activision to provide easter eggs from other games to be found, such as the Lich King's sword from World of Warcraft and the cake mentioned in the game Portal.

Reception
The Uncaged Edition version received mostly positive reviews, the other versions attained mostly mixed to negative reviews. IGN's Greg Miller stated the Uncaged Edition version of the game is an "awesome guilty pleasure", despite criticisms of boss repetitiveness and others. Miller loved the cinematics of the game, as well as loved the bloody sights of the game. The visuals received a mixed review from IGN, stating the game looks great sometimes and shoddy other times. Miller further criticized that the only sounds that sound good are Hugh Jackman's voice and claw sounds.

He also criticized the Wii and PS2 version's presentation. IGN also didn't like boxes in the game, Wolverine's burly chest, and the framey part of the PS2 version. They say that voices are repetitive and there is lack of music. They say that "you will get pissed at the PS2's controls" and "you will never really love or hate the experience" of the Wii. The PS2 got a 4.5 and the Wii a 4.8.

He stated in the PSP version that the presentation is not exciting nor confusing. He also criticized the bland environment, but stated, "The title runs smoothly for the most part and the character models look good enough." They also praised the music. They say that the claws don't really "feel sharp". The version got a 5.1.

IGN's Sam Bishop says the DS version is not what he really expected from Griptonite Games. He says that not much enjoyment is presented, like no voice and long levels. The characters, he says, have nice comic book animations, but it is repetitive. He also didn't really expect minimal sound effects. He liked the secret collectives. He stated that the combat had its bright moments, but "they're almost always during segments where you're not taking on three hulking creatures at once." The version got a 5.

In the ScrewAttack top ten 'Top 10 Movie-Based Games' the Uncaged Edition of this game came in sixth. At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, the game was awarded the Best Cast award as well as Hugh Jackman receiving the Best Performance By A Human Male award as Wolverine. In IGN's 'Top 5 Favorite Wolverine Games,' the Uncaged Edition of this game came in first.