X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a hack-and-slash action-adventure video game based on the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009, for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. A version of the game was also released for mobile phones. The game was developed primarily by Raven Software through the use of Unreal Engine technology. The standard version was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii (which is rated T) and for Nintendo DS (which is rated E10+), while the Uncaged Edition is for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows (which is rated M for more violence).
Following the expiration of Activision's licensing deal with Marvel, the game was de-listed and removed from all digital storefronts on January 1, 2014. It was the final Wolverine game published by Activision before the license expired in 2014. It was also the last standalone Wolverine video game to be released until the announcement of Marvel's Wolverine, currently being developed by Insomniac Games and to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 5.
Gameplay
X-Men Origins takes influences from games such as God of War and Devil May Cry with a third person perspective. The Uncaged Edition also features a large amount of blood and gore. Enemies can be slain in several ways in addition to the graphic display of Wolverine's healing factor.
Combat relies on three options - light attacks, heavy attacks, and grabs. Another form of attack is the lunge, which allows Wolverine to quickly close the distance to an enemy. Wolverine can also use the environment to his advantage, such as by impaling foes on spikes. During combat, Wolverine's rage meter builds up, and when full allows him to use more devastating attacks, like the claw spin and a berserker mode, which increases Wolverine's claw strength until his Rage Meter empties. Experience (XP) is collected from defeating enemies, destroying elements and accumulating collectibles. The XP is used to level up, and each new level results in gaining skill points, which are used to purchase upgrades.
The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions are less graphic, with less language and slightly different combat. Feral senses are still obtained, which can detect doors, traps, enemies and sentinel observers, and lunges must be performed at closer distances.
Synopsis
The story is a combination of the Wolverine (voiced by Hugh Jackman) backstory explored in the film and an original plot created by Raven Software, which was influenced by major events in the X-Men comic series.
Plot
In the prologue, set in a bleak urban environment, Wolverine kills a group of soldiers sent to kill him. His thoughts drift to a forgotten past.
The game begins in Angola, Africa, chronicling the final mission of Team X, led by Col. Stryker and his soldiers: James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine, Logan's brother Victor Creed/Sabretooth, Wade Wilson, John Wraith, and Nord, to locate a village that holds the secret to a valuable mineral deposit (implied to be adamantium). Travelling through the jungle and ancient temples, they come across and slaughter numerous mercenaries and mutants attempting to stop them. When Raven, their CIA liaison, objects to Stryker harming innocent civilians, Stryker orders her terminated and Wraith seemingly kills her. Eventually, Team X locates the village but the villagers refuse to cooperate and Stryker threatens their lives. Logan turns on his teammates but he is subdued and knocked out before he can prevent the massacre of the villagers.
Three years later, Team X has mostly disbanded. Logan has settled in Canada with his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox, when Creed surprises Logan at a bar and engages him in battle. Creed emerges victorious, breaks Logan's bone claws and knocks him unconscious. Logan awakens to find Kayla dead. Stryker arrives, telling Logan that Creed is killing his former comrades in revenge for Stryker firing him. He offers Logan a chance at revenge, via a procedure to bond the indestructible metal adamantium to his skeleton. Logan accepts, but when the procedure ends, he overhears Stryker order him to be terminated. He breaks out of the Alkali Lake facility in a rage, killing many of Stryker's men attempting to stop him, including Nord, and vowing to kill Stryker and Creed.