X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Rather than totally dissect the plot of the game, let's just say that it more or less follows the story of the film rather closely. That being said there are some liberties taken here and the stories presentation may be extremely convoluted at times. It jumps around between three different moments in Logan's life pre-X-Men as it attempts to tie all of the events together. From the frozen region around Alkali Lake to the jungles of Africa and even a massive Sentinel factory, there are many different locales to visit, which is nice, but the manner with which you're taken to these places can be kind of confusing. My suggestion is to ignore the cut scenes and don't bother with the story, the action is where it's at with this game, and my goodness is it fun!
Gameplay
It's worth mentioning right at the start for a little bit of reference that Wolverine plays like a comic book version of God of War. As Logan you tear through wave after wave of enemy, different styles of opponents warrant you to change up your techniques, and blood flies all over the place (my goodness does it fly). There are boss fights every now and then, and there's even an ample amount of puzzles that will force you to use your adamantium encase noggin.
When the game starts out you're given information about how to play it on the fly. So when you find yourself surrounded by gun-toting thugs, you're just going to mash on the attack buttons until they stop shooting. You'll soon discover that there are light and heavy attacks that can be brought together for some useful combinations. Stringing these hits together is crucial, but they aren't the only tool of destruction available to your razor sharp claws.
As you play you'll eventually get the hang of some of Wolverine's other moves. For starters he can double jump (yes, I know that's not one of his powers) and that's very effective as a platforming and defensive tool. While in the air you can attack enemies as well or slam yourself onto the ground to clear out groups of foes. Special Rage attacks become available to you as well throughout the game. There are four in all and they all range in terms of effectiveness, but the one you're going to use the most is probably Berserk, which basically speeds you up and makes you stronger for a short period of time. Wolverine can also throw enemies, launch counter-attacks, and throw himself across the screen with a nifty lunge move.
It's worth mentioning that even though the combat may sound rather stereotypical at a glance, it's anything but. The fighting here is fast and furious, and as you run from one group of enemies to the next you'll find that there's a nice variety to the way you dispatch enemies. Tearing them apart with your claws, impaling them on an object in the environment, and pulling off slick Quick Kills simply never gets old. You'll claw your way through thousands of enemies and never get bored with tearing them up. That's quite the achievement!
When you aren't carving through the meat put in your path, X-Men Origins: Wolverine actually throws some decent puzzles your way. Ok, I say "decent" but in all fairness we're talking about an action game here. There's nothing of Zelda quality in terms of brain-power, but you can expect a couple of moments where you'll have to pause and think about things for a couple of seconds.
The puzzles help break up the pacing of the game, but frankly this title didn't really need that. Fast paced from start to finish would be a fine thing, but a frequent amount of back-tracking and a certain few puzzles that slow things down definitely don't help matters. Even so it's nice to know that after a little break in the action you'll be back to gutting Sentinels, impaling Victor Creed, and slicing the hands off of evil scientists before you know it. The bottom line is that X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a blast to play and it breaks the mold of what you'd expect from a movie-themed game!
Achievements
The achievements for Wolverine are easy enough to obtain and they can more or less be done in one play through (with the exception of a few). You get automatic achievements for completing chapters and beating the game, but there are a few that you have to work towards. Racking up 2,000 kills takes a while, mastering your reflex meter requires a lot of killing, finding all 95 dog tags is near impossible without a guide, and beating the game on hard mode are the ones that will take you multiple plays. There are even hidden Easter eggs in the game as well that are tied to achievements. For instance you'll be able to find the hatch from Lots, Arthas's sword from Worlds of Warcraft, and the cake that is a lie from Portal. In short, the achievements are fairly easy to get and fun to chase.
Graphics
X-Men Origins: Wolverine plays great, there's really no denying that, and thankfully it looks pretty darned good as well, though the graphics aren't quite as solid as one would hope for. In game and with the action going full swing this is a sharp and stylish experience that really nails the look and feel of Wolverine. The character models are pretty good, the animation is fluid, and all around it's easy to look past the occasional glitch. Unfortunately the cut scenes are all over the map. Some pre-rendered ones look incredible with some high production values while others that move the story forward are abysmal. At the end of the day Wolverine is a solid look title and there are many moments that impress, but it's lacking polish in some key areas.
Sound
The sound is pretty decent as well with some nice use of the 5.1 soundstage and spot on dialogue and voice acting. Everything in game packs a punch and hits all of the right notes with some powerful rear channel effects. The dialogue is decently presented as well, though the default voice setting felt a tad low and there is no subtitle option for cut scenes. Those are nitpicky things though since all around this is a great package with a lot going for it!
Conclusion
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the real deal folks. It's a hard-hitting action game and a comic book movie tie-in all wrapped into one package that defies stereotypes. Sure Wolverine's healing factor makes things a tad easy, and yes there are some glitches and pacing issues here and there, but all around this is a fantastic game. Your first time through will take you at least ten hours and if you're looking for all of the achievements that will undoubtedly eek some more life out of the title. Consider it a highly recommended game to play!