I picked up X-Men Origins: Wolverine early yesterday - I was at my local Costco looking for patio furniture and there it was so I snagged it - got to the till and it of course came up as "not for sale" as it's release date is on Tuesday. I ended up getting the manager over and they pulled them all off the shelf ;( except for mine that is ;) mine came home with me.

Today after playing several hours into the game last night I feel I've played enough to at least have a preliminary opinion of the game; so here goes with my mini review.

Graphics:

The game looks great but it doesn't quite achieve that seamless integration that the best games do like GoW1 & 2 where you can't tell the character from the background so to speak. Wolverine always looks a little to outlined and bright to me and he doesn't blend as well as he should or could. Despite that the rest of the game is great, poly counts are solid, draw distances are excellent and other then some minor screen "tearing" once in awhile which I've come to expect from the unreal engine the graphics shine - several of the cut scenes I'm positive are digitized right off the celluloid of the film from the looks are they are extremely cinematic and life like but not "film"

7.5/10 Looks great but could be better on Wolverine himself

Controls and Game play:

Wolverine starts off with basic controls and the game really uses the first levels to teach you the many different ways you can use your various skills and attacks. There is an RPG element to the game in that everything you kill gives you xp and you level up adding skill points you get from each level into different attributes of wolverine so you have some flexibility on how you will / want to play - I'm sticking everything into "claws" as I'm playing like the true wolverine and it's all out attack, all the time! I'm not worried about defense or health or special abilities I want to get in and kill them and do it quickly - so far my strategy is working by how I've been allocating my points.

Judging from the 5 hours I've played I'm guessing the game will be between 20 and 30 hours it really is quite large if the next 4 chapters are equal to the first chapter I've played through.

Wolverine does control very well - the controls are "tight" like they should feel for a fighter and the only disappointments have been when I've been forced into some of the action sequences such as running a turret - those controls don't have the same level of control as the rest of the game and feel much looser in comparison.

They have collectibles in the variety of most games these days as well, there are dead soldiers scattered throughout the levels and if you find them you take their dog tags which give you various amounts of xp and of course a couple of achievements if you can collect them all!
Large boss battles are of course here - where if you don't have a strategy you're going to be restarting a lot!

I like the approach with the RPG elements and ability to replay levels you've already done them if you get stuck to "power up". Once you finish on easy or normal it looks like the standard "hard' skill level will unlock as it's not selectable right at the start.
There are also other collectibles in small statues of Wolverine in his many different marvel costumes scattered throughout the game in that I suspect once you collect enough of each type you do a bonus level and can unlock the "skin" to wear throughout the game.

There is no MP aspect the game only the SP adventure and the challenges that I've seen.

Gameplay and controls - 8/10 pretty solid and I'm ok with the lack of co-op or MP in the game it is after all Wolverine and he's a lone wolf sort of guy. The game play is reminiscent of the marvel alliance game in many respects just with a deeper fighting engine and more RPG elements and better more up close graphics and camera angles

Overall - 8/10 - I'm enjoying the new game which is a rarity for a movie based video game but Raven has done a decent job of the title and it's not quite polished enough to sparkle like a diamond but it is polished enough to be worth a look. If your a fan of the X-man and genre this is a game to buy if not and you like fighters with a blend of RPG"s elements like marvel alliance this game should be on your rental list to at least check out.

Cheers
CaLv1n1

Awesome, I can't wait.

Good to hear calv1n on the game as I am hopefully getting it from Gamefly right away. One important note I read is if you are going for the achievements like the 2000 kills or fully upgrade skills make sure not to start up a whole new game but just load chapters as your tallies COMPLETELY reset.

Thanks for the tip Schloob I was going to restart on Hard once I finished up on normal but I'll likely grind out those quantity achievements first on normal then move to hard to get that "finish the game on hard difficulty" achievement.

Cheers
Calvin

This game feels like one of those things where the developer worried about play-time so they artificially made it longer by dragging out levels. Its really fun to play and you really feel like you're a badass when you're playing. But it just isn't paced well enough. Levels go on waaay to long. How many times to I have to fight the same giant thing in the same level? Seriously.

Graphics are really nice. Has the awesome lighting and textures notorious of Unreal 3 engine without the blocky characters. Frame rate can stutter to levels I've rarely seen on next gen games.

I will have to check this one out.

This game is a lot of fun. I wasn't really expecting a lot from it but I tried the demo and had to buy the game after finishing it.

I'm almost done with Chapter 1 so I'll see if it can keep the pace.

Doesn't look like this thread gets lots of action but I wanted to ask a question regarding the graphics. I was playing the demo last night and I noticed that when I'm in the darker shadowy areas they have a bit of a blue tint. Is this normal? I played the demo on both the PS3 and 360 and they both showed the same thing. I'm wondering it might be the game because I haven't noticed it on any other game aside from Gears of War 1.

Doesn't look like this thread gets lots of action but I wanted to ask a question regarding the graphics. I was playing the demo last night and I noticed that when I'm in the darker shadowy areas they have a bit of a blue tint. Is this normal? I played the demo on both the PS3 and 360 and they both showed the same thing. I'm wondering it might be the game because I haven't noticed it on any other game aside from Gears of War 1.

I don't see any blue tint.

I know this discussion is about the game but did anyone feel like the story in the game was way better than the actual movie? I mean the opening scene was just awesome and bloody like a wolverine movie should be. Sad that IMO the game was a better interpretation than the actual movie.

I know this discussion is about the game but did anyone feel like the story in the game was way better than the actual movie? I mean the opening scene was just awesome and bloody like a wolverine movie should be. Sad that IMO the game was a better interpretation than the actual movie.

I've read the same in other forums. I haven't watched the movie though. And I haven't finished the game but so far so good. But yeah but people have said "I wish the movie was half as fun as the game!".

And no blue tint here either.

The opening CGI scene in Marvel Ultinate Alliance was awesome too! Wish they would do a CGI movie as well. I know its all about the artist and all but CGI is an artform as well.

Wolverine game > Movie - Awesome Awesome Awesome~~!

I bought the game a couple of weeks ago and have been having a ton of fun with it. Compared to most movie or comic book licenses, Wolverine leaves them in the dust. Really nice graphics, excellent control and tons of moves. The game also has a nice curve to it, gradually introducing new moves and abilities so you don't feel overwhelmed. The levels are really large and drawn out but the checkpoints are plentiful so there's very little backtracking. The game even incorporates some RPG style elements for managing and upgrading your abilities. The camera can get hung up and work against you slightly at times but that's a minor nitpick as it works well most of the time. I paid full price for the game and even though I haven't finished it yet (I have maybe 10 hours) I definitely feel I got my money's worth.

Yeah, good review TonyDP, the RPG element area really lite, but the game also have some platformer elements that work really great, nothing complex if you have played a few platformers but good enough to make you think just a little bit.