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"Attention, my X-Men!" Professor Charles Xavier's telepathically proclaims. "I sense a good Wolverine game in our future."
The buzz is that the X-Men Origins: Wolverine game might be something we rarely see – a good movie tie-in game. The movie was pushed back from its original release date, giving developer Raven Software extra time that licensed movie games usually don't get. What's even more rare is its unflinching portrayal of Wolverine. Notoriously one of the most violent characters in Marvel Comics, Wolverine's attacks in previous games weren't any more brutal then a punch from Colossus. X-Men Origins: Wolverine on the other hand easily deserves it's M-rating with hacking, slashing, and dismemberments.
Following the format of the movie, which will reveal the feral mutant's past, Games Abyss is going to explore the hero's videogame history. Wolverine, a.k.a. Logan, has had a long history in videogames from X-Men titles, to his own games, to cameos in other Marvel superhero games. Listed below are the six best games from Wolverine's mysterious past – one for each indestructible adamantium claw.
X2: WOLVERINE'S REVENGE – Gamecube, PC, PS2, Xbox
The best Wolverine game (until now), is also a movie tie-in. X2: Wolverine's Revenge bridges the gap of what happened to Logan between the end of the first X-Men movie and the beginning of X2: X-men United. Players control Wolverine as he struggles to find a cure for the Shiva Virus, a disease even his mutant healing factor can't beat. Along the way, Logan discovers clues about his mysterious past. The game plays up Wolverine's sneak attacks by challenging gamers to use stealth to get as close to his target as possible before unleashing viscous attacks. You could say it was influenced in some ways by the Splinter Cell series – which was a huge hit at the time – but more action packed and with superpowers. The game gained comic book cred with writing by longtime Wolverine scribe Larry Hama and voice acting by Mark Hamill and Patrick Stewart.
Wolverine's Take: "Sure I throw down better than anyone, but people forget I can even sneak up on ninjas. They're surprised… but not for long. This game really plays up that part of me. The scary part."
X-MEN: THE ARCADE GAME
The 90s arcade scene was crazy with left-to-right beat-‘em-ups like Double Dragon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One of the best in that genre was Konami's X-Men arcade game. The game allowed four player co-op play but some machines featured six player controls (and nifty Jim Lee art on the cabinet). There was nothing quite like the energy of X-Men fans gathered around the multi-screen display, pumping in quarters, trying to get to the final boss, Magneto. The Wolverine animation was better than that era's TV cartoon. Wearing the fan-favorite brown costume designed by John Byrne, Wolverine stood hunched over, waiting to attack. Players could see him breathing hard trying to control his fury. That is until Wolvie unleashes it with his special attack. But half the fun was setting up an enemy so that teammates could beat up an enemy from both sides.
Wolverine's Take: "I've been described as a loner. Funny. I've been part Weapon X, Alpha Flight, the X-Men, and even the mom-and-apple-pie Avengers. This adventure shows off my teamwork skills. After a few brews, I'm a social kinda guy."
X-MEN: LEGENDS – Gamecube, PS2, Xbox
Today's World of Warcraft fans would feel very comfortable playing this action role-playing game. Players control a squad of four X-Men of their choosing. Well, three, because only a foolish gamer doesn't add Wolverine to every squad. His healing factor saves on health packs and attacks like Brutal Slash, Claw Fury and Savage Rampage are among the strongest in the game. Any character with strength can also toss Wolverine for his trademark Fastball Special attack. The original game edged out its sequel X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse because it starts with a Wolverine solo mission featuring Logan using his enhanced senses to track the Blob through New York City.
Wolverine's Take: "The school's students that study X-Men history got all tight in the pants playing this game. Lots of adventures from our comics and more detailed info than what's in Cerebro's files. I'm told that's the M.O. of a good RPG. The only RPGs I know are the ones Genoshan soldiers fire at me."
X-MEN 2: CLONE WARS – Sega Genesis
After the quick intro level, players could choose which X-Men they wanted to be to fight the hordes of the Phalanx aliens in this 2D action platformer. Essentially you could make this a whole Wolverine adventure if you wanted to. Wolverine could heal, use his claws for more powerful attacks, or double jump. That's right. Wolverine could jump, then jump again in midair. Betcha didn't know one of his powers was breaking the laws of gravity.
Wolverine's Take: "I'm the best there is at what I do. You could choose Psylocke or Gambit or Beast. Or even pretty boy Cyclops. But when you're shot up, do you want to hope for a health pack? I've got this mutant healing factor. Slice me, dice me. I'll keep coming at you until one of us is dead. And Bub, it ain't goin' to be me."
MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2 – Arcade, Dreamcast, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360
Capcom is the undisputed champion of 2D fighting games. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is one of their best with crazy combos, over the top fighting, and 58 characters from the Marvel and Capcom libraries. If you have any doubts, this game has been a big deal on the competitive gaming circuit for almost a decade. It was recently announced for re-release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 downloadable services. Nothing will make fans feel better than having Wolverine beat up not only the likes of Juggernaut but Mega Man and Street Fighter's Ryu. Comic fans will smirk when playing with Wolverine's alternate costume featuring the infamous bone claws.
Wolverine's Take: "The curse of my mutant powers is that I can't control my berserker rages. Sometimes I lose control and fight anyone with everything I got. That's what this game is like – non-stop fighting with attacks coming from every side. C'mon! Show me what you got!"
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE – Gameboy Advanced, PS2, PS3, PC, PSP, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360
In many ways this is like the X-Men: Legends series of games but with better graphics and internet play. Wolverine is still one of the toughest characters with a vast array of attacks and powers to choose from, but players can also choose four different costumes: civilian clothes Logan, Ultimate X-Men Wolverine, Astonishing X-Men Wolverine, or the John Byrne brown costume. What makes this one of the best Wolverine games of all time are the cut scenes. Yes, the cut scenes. They're so good they would make Hugh Jackman jealous. Fans let out an approving laugh when Wolverine mouths off to Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor, "What are you girls looking at?" capturing the Wolverine attitude perfectly.
Wolverine's Take: "Some people like long range attacks, shooting from a distance like Iron Man. Or jumping around like that spaz Spider-Man. But if you like mixing it up right in the thick of things, you choose me for this game. I'm the brawler and I won't apologize for that. Ever."
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – For featuring a Venom-ized version of Wolverine.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 – Because Wolverine had a cameo. Riding a skateboard. Really.
X-Men (NES) – Just for being the first game to ever feature Wolverine. Nothing else. This game was awful.
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