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Genre: Action

Format: CD

Mac Publisher: Aspyr

Minimum System Requirements: 733MHz G4, Mac OS X 10.2.6, 256 MB of RAM, 1.7 GB hard drive space, AGP video card
with 32 MB of video memory (VRAM) (ATI Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce 2 series)

Network Feature: No

3D Support: Required

Price: $39.99

ESRB Rating: T for Teen (blood, violence)

Availability: Out now

Official website: [url=http://www.wolverinesrevenge.com]http://www.wolverinesrevenge.com[/url]

Ah, Wolverine. He and I go way back, to a time when it was unusual for a psychopathic killer to be a super hero. Ah, childhood.

For those of you who don't read comic books, have children, see multimillion-dollar summer blockbuster movies, or turn on the TV, Wolverine is a member of the X-Men, a band of super powered mutants who are hated by normal humans just because they were born different, watch Dr. Who marathons, and can quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail from memory. Essentially the embodiment of the juvenile power fantasy, Wolverine has unbreakable metal bones, foot long razor-sharp claws, and regenerates faster than Rasputin.

The plot of X2: Wolverine's Revenge (WR) hinges on Wolverine's search for the government agency (which, strangely, seems to be Canadian) which gave him the skeleton and claws after abducting and brainwashing him. It was an attempt to either make him the perfect soldier, or to get him to repay his student loans, and since they injected him with a virus that's going to kill him in 48 hours, I'm tempted to think it's the latter.

The game is based on Wolverine sneaking (and I mean that in the bloodiest, most violent sense) back into the base to find the cure. WR is a console-type fighter, which means you'll probably want a game pad to play it. After working my way through the game using the keyboard, I can tell you it's possible, but somewhat awkward. Wolverine moves with the WASD keys, but that movement is relative to your point of view. The problem is that the camera moves of it's own accord, rather than staying anchored, say, over Wolvie's back. Another problem comes when using WASD to turn; he'll run in large circles, rather than simply turn in the direction you want to face. Your right hand controls Wolverine's fighting actions using the number pad. You could use the mouse to control the camera and the fighting moves, but I couldn't get WR to recognize my mouse's extra buttons.

Wolverine has two primary combat movies, punch and kick. In addition, he has those wrist claws, which do massive damage, but disable his regeneration when they're extended. You can also pull off strike combos, if your enemies are in the right position. Finally, you can bring Wolverine's enhanced senses into play. He'll move slower, but he'll be able to detect things invisible to the human eye: mines, infrared laser triggers, and perhaps most importantly, scent trails of foes lurking around the corner. This mode also allows Wolverine to sneak up on opponents, and possibly perform stealth strikes—killing silently, without alerting other opponents. Stealth strikes also have the added bonus of giving you "dog tags." Collect enough of them, and you'll unlock new strike maneuvers.

Combat in WR is quick and vicious. Enemy soldiers use rifles, but all of Wolverine's attacks are melee. Foot soldiers don't give you too much trouble, but it's not terribly long before you start coming across genetic freaks and level bosses like Sabertooth whom you can't just run at full steam. In fact, one of the surprising aspects of WR is how much variety there is in the gameplay. Plenty of plain ol' combat, sure, but how about a level where Wolverine's healing factor is disabled, and you have to find a way into the base while avoiding a patrolling helicopter gunship? Even when fighting Sabertooth, you can't just hack him to bits, but have to figure out how to use your combos to knock him out. There's a lot more interaction with the environment than you'd expect, as well. Some locked doors are opened with keys, but others require more roundabout solutions, like causing an explosion or short circuiting the power...with your own body.

The game is solid, graphically. The combat comes off as beautifully choreographed, and the combos are spectacular. Enemies leave footprints in the snow (and even leave "heat tracks" in your enhanced senses mode), and there are nice touches like snow accumulating on your "camera" if you stand still. All the characters from the comic look great, with the exception of Professor X, who looks like a Grey alien. Professor X is voiced by Patrick Stewart, who played him in the films, and Wolverine is of course voiced by...Mark Hammil. Hammil always does a great job both creating his own feel for the character while capturing the spirit of the original, whether he's doing the voice for the Joker in the Batman series, or Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars games.

All in all, X2: Wolverine's Revenge is not the mindless killing game I expected. Oh, there's lots of mindless killing in there, but they've also packed in some adventure and puzzles. All of this blends together to create one of the more all-around entertaining games of the year. Quite a feat for a character who's biggest personality trait is calling people "bub."

Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.