X-Men 2: Wolverine's Revenge (PS2)

Do not let the title worry you. This is not some shamelessly dissappointing movie tie in (Spiderman the movie?) but an origional X-Men adventure.

The story goes that during the operation to insert his adamantium claws and skeleton at the hands of the nefarious department H, the Weapon x programmes also installed a failsafe in all of their subjects - the deadly Shiva virus. Switch to present day and Wolverines virus has just become full-blown active and he has but 48 hours to find a cure or die!

Wolverines adventures take him to several well known locations in the X-Men universe. The opening level provides a prequal as you recreate Wolverines escape from Weapon X many years ago. Other locations include 'the void' maximum security mutant prison and 'return to department H.

Wolverines list of enemies is also impressive and includes his arch nemesis Sabretooth, Wendigo, Juggernaut, Magneto and Lady Deathstrike. Each enemy has a unique way in which they can be defeated which is not always obvious at first.

Graphically the game is brilliant, it doesnt attempt the 'realistic' graphics of other movie tie ins but rather adopts a 'cartoon' feel that looks straight out of the comic book. The sound is also spot on. Voice acting for Wolverine is provided by Mark Hammil of StarWars fame and he is suprisingly excellent in this role. The musical score is atmospheric and sound effects include all of those you would expect as well as a satisfying 'snikt' each time you pop your claws!

The game includes several 'must have' aspects of wolverines character including his healing factor, unbreakable bones which allow you to fall from any height without injury as well as the ability to combat enemies with or without your adamantium claws. Perhaps most pleasing however are wolverines 'senses'. Pressing the L1 button will activate these senses and Wolverines world will change to one where he can see thermal footprints on the floor, vapour trails, infrared beams and tripwires, camera beams and other traps. These senses can be used along with a 'stealth' mode which allows Wolverine to navigate his environment and dispatch his enemies undetected, a pleasing addition that reminds us what an effective killer the character is.

Throughout the game Wolverine will collect dog tags which allow the player to unlock hidden concept art, alternate costumes and character profiles all of which can be viewed from the main menu. There is also a jukebox and movie viewer availible.

This game has very few weak points, however camera angles can on occasion ruin gameplay and some levels are so criminally hard that they will have you hurling the joypad down in frustration. Do not let this disuade you though as 'Wolverines Revenge' is a brilliant, challanging, visually pleasing game which is a pleasure to play and is guaranteed to keep you occupied for a long while.