Akting Out

How I hope this title heralds the end of bad-movie-based games. There were plenty of ways Raven could’ve effed up Wolverine, and blessedly, they avoided most of them. For Logan, aciton-game, and franchise fans, this may be the best sixty bucks you ever spend.

The game loosely follows the plot of the film, but doesn’t give anything away. Rather than stick to the blockbuster’s plot, the game branches off; you play through some of Weapon X’s missions, including an extensive escape sequence through the wintry Alkali Lake.

The audio/visual presentation is exemplary, in that they are gorgeous without being distracting. The screams of the dying (via one of Logan’s many methods) are horrifying, hilarious, and delicious.  Get to close to a woodland creature and it will scurry away–you’ll barely notice.You never get sick of the clean-sounding sound of Logan’s claws unsheathing, the transition between cutscene and gameplay is so difficult to discern that you’re not sure (until you start getting shot) when you’re back in control. Finally, if you really want to know how much trouble you’re in, you don’t have to watch your health gauge; the damage is physically reflected on Logan’s body with eerie detail.

The gameplay is really where Raven came through. Combat sequences are frenetically smooth, thanks to an intuitive control scheme. Wolverine kills people; tell him what you want him to do, and he’ll figure it out. And there are so many ways to kill people; enough to make Ryu Hayabusa look like a switchblade-wielding noob. Hack your opponents into tomato-like soup. Impale them on whatever happens to be in the area. Show them what a horrible mistake it was to engage you on high ground. Most impressive is the Lunge feature, which allows you to leap onto your opponents from a great distance and send them into the next world with a series of pummeling strikes. The scream as you land on them (they see you coming) is priceless.

You’d think with Wolverine’s healing factor, this game would quickly get boring. Guess again, and this is truly where Raven dug deep. As Wolverine takes damage, his health (and appearance) decreases. Take enough damage, and his vitals are exposed. When your vitals reach zero, you’re dead. This is where the gameplay strikes an excellent balance of hack-n-slash fun with simple strategy; kill them before they kill you. As you progress through the game, you unlock items and skills that allow you to boost the speed of your healing, and the damage of your special moves. Feral senses is a great way to find your way if you get lost, and should be incorporated into most adventure games.

The boss battles tend to get a bit repetitive, as it comes down to dodge-lunge-hack-repeat. The collision detection can be a little spotty at times, and I found myself handcuffed to debris every so often. Enemies can get lost behind scenery and hold you up from time to time. None of this keeps the title from being great.

Overall, this is a lightning-fast, beautiful action game that isn’t mindless. Easily a candidate for game of the year, and well worth the price of admission.

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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