X-Men 2: Wolverine's Revenge

Published by Activision
Developed by Gene Pool
Platform: PlayStation 2
Released - Out Now
Price : £39.99

The latest X-Men game concentrates on the most aggressive member of the X-Men, Wolverine. The game begins at the start of the Wolverine story, when Logan (Wolverine) has been captured and has had the adamantium fused to his skeleton, in other words he is fully equipped with those deadly retractable claws that we are so used to seeing him use. The initial task in the game is to get Wolverine out of his captivity. Something tells me this isn't going to be easy as hoards or troops are all waiting for him and they are armed with all manner of weapons. Even after his escape Wolverine has a new problem when a deadly X-Virus is activated within him and he has 48 hours to find the antidote.

The game is full of combat; it is an action game after all. Wolverine has a variety of moves that he can use. As well as the usual kick and punch moves, Wolverine can build up his rage and strike opponents with his fearsome claws. He also has stealth ability where he can see/sense enemies and explosives that normally would be impossible to see. Should Wolverine become badly hurt, as indicated by a health bar, he can retract his claws to receive healing. The healing does take a long while though.

Which is just as well because the AI of your enemies is rather disappointing to say the least. Run into an area where there are about a dozen or so enemies and it's easy to pick them off one or two at a time. The awareness of the AI seems really slack with only the boss fights offering something of a challenge, that is of course until you figure out a pattern to defeat them and then it's all straightforward. The main enemies in the game are pleasing though and what you would expect. Enemies such as Wendigo, Juggernaut, Omega Red, Magneto and of course Sabretooth are all here to try and finish off Wolverine. To aid Wolverine, Professor Charles Xavier is on hand to give hints through a telepathic link.

Graphically Wolverine's revenge is quite good. The look and animations of Wolverine are what you would expect as are the look of the main enemies. The framerate remained smooth during hectic battles too, which is always a plus. The control system is also up to the task. As you perform moves for the first time you are notified how to perform the actions so there is no need to browse the manual in order to find out.

Wolverine's Revenge is for the most part a decidedly average game but for the deaf gamer the disappointment doesn't end there. There are no subtitles in the game and there is no way of enabling subtitles either. Mission objectives can be accessed from the pause menu and tutorial tips appear in text but once again we have a game where deaf gamers cannot enjoy the story. A lot of enemies are audible but there are no visual warnings of their presence that only add to the frustration. Out of the four bonus features only 3 are of any use as the Jukebox bonus is simply music tracks that appear in the game. Wolverine's Revenge is not really suitable for a deaf gamer.

With the game only being average, if it wasn't badged as an X-Men game then it probably wouldn't even be looked at, and generally deaf gamer unfriendly, it's fair to say that Wolverine's Revenge is not really suitable for a deaf gamer. Yes it is possible to struggle through albeit very frustrating especially as the game drops you back at the beginning of the level if you get killed which makes things really irritating.

Overall Game Rating: 4.5/10
Decidely poor gameplay and no subtitles mean this isn't one of the better action games we've seen over the years.

Deaf Gamers comment:
There are no subtitles but mission objectives and tutorial hints are in text.