Wolverine’s Revenge

Prepare To Meet Your Makers

NA release: 15th April 2003
EU release: 17th April 2003
JP release: N/A
Developer: GenePool Software
Publisher: Activision
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Mods Used: Widescreen Hack

While this was given the X2 or X-Men 2 tag (depending on region), Wolverine’s Revenge isn’t based on the X-Men 2 film. It isn’t even based on the movies at all, featuring a completely different continuity. There are a few nods to the films. Patrick Stewart voices Xavier (although the character in this game looks nothing like him, so it’s a bit unnerving) and you can unlock a costume based on X-Men 2. Wolverine is voiced by Mark Hamill, who does a great job. It’s blatant false advertising putting Hugh Jackman on the box.

Wolverine’s Revenge is a hack-n-slash game with stealth elements. The story revolves around a “kill switch” inside Logan that was implanted by the Weapon X program. Wolverine sets out to try and find a cure, but the main element is that it messes with Wolverine’s healing ability, especially later on in the game.

Most of the game is clawing at generic goons, mashing A with the occasional kick. You can also fight without claws (a few enemies require this), and having Wolverine’s claws retracted means he can heal, depending on where you are in the story. Wolverine also has special moves that are awkward to pull off as they rely on two enemies being in specific positions around him. Once they’re in place, the word “Strike” appears on-screen and you have to press X to pull off the move, as long as you’re not in the middle of attacking.

The other parts are stealth. Sometimes you can do it to avoid reinforcements, other times getting spotted will lead to a mission failure. Pressing the L button will activate both stealth and Wolverine’s “animal senses” (similar to the detective vision which is now very popular). You can now instantly kill enemies from around corners or behind them. That said, enemies that can be stealth killed seem to be pre-programmed as some enemies can’t be killed in this way.

The levels are a bit annoying to navigate, and the game doesn’t tell you everything you need. There’s a lot of going through similar doors looking for keys, and padding parts such as when you have to slowly follow a trail with your senses to find a scientist with a disk – twice. There’s plenty of hidden stuff to get background details (Wolverine’s first mission in this universe was to kill The Incredible Hulk) as well as costumes to unlock, including the classic comic costume. It’s a decent hack-n-slasher.

Fine

You regenerate at all time when your claws are in, and that’s a pretty major flaw. If you’re ever in trouble, just sit in a corner, turn the TV on to Antiques Roadshow, and flick back when you’re all better.
Tom Mayo, NGC Magazine #82

Remake or remaster?

Could be in some kind of X-Men collection.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Wolverine’s Revenge.