A new trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine has hit today. It’s the final trailer before the game releases on the same day as the film (May 1st) like a good little videogame tie-in. And it looks pretty fun.
I played the game during a preview event for Activision just before the NYCC this year, and was impressed with what I saw. It’s nothing that’s going to break down the walls of gaming or be some must-buy instant classic, but it was fun enough. Raven Software is behind it (the folks behind X-Men Legends, and also the upcoming Wolfenstein game) so you know there’s some talent behind it.
The first level is shown in the trailer, the jungle level- which has you fighting enemies as disverse as “Bad guy with machete” and “Bad guy with flaming machete”. The game’s about what you’d expect- you’re killing off bad guy after bad guy with various combos. You can upgrade them and gain new moves over the course of the game. Here you have a cool long-range leap attack that allows you to pick off baddies that are shooting at you from a distance. But it’s hack and slash through and through… and a pretty violent one, at that. He ain’t taking prisoners here, after all- his enemies will be left in pieces after you’re done with them.
By far the coolest aspect of the game is that Wolvie takes real-time damage. Bullets punch holes in him wherever they hit him, going through his body and leaving exit wounds. Machetes slash him up depending on where he’s hit as well, revealing the metal bones underneath in the worst cases. He takes some pretty gnarly damage before finally succombing to death, but of course you can just hang back and let him heal up- which happens as you watch! It definitely looks great and adds a lot more to the experience of playing as this superhero.
Course, I only played this one level, and it was already getting repetitive near the end. There were a few standout parts, one of which was the Temple of Doom ripoff fight on the ladder overlooking the chasm. Near the end of the level you fight a helicopter just like in the movie (it’s supposed to follow it pretty faithfully) and it’s a trip to quick time event city, just hitting button after button to break the glass, pull the pilot out and behead him Dawn of the Dead-style in the helicopter blades.
It will definitely be a fun diversion at the very least, and judging from the latest film trailer, could easily end up being more entertaining than the movie itself. If you’re thinking about pre-ordering it, you might want to get it from Gamestop, because those that do will get four exclusive rooms. Pretty lame that they’re not going to be in the full game, because they seem pretty fun.
Through the first door is the Dismemberment Room. Using a control panel, this room lets players select various limbs and body parts on a holographic soldier. Once the selections are locked in, the soldier appears in a tiled room viewed through a glass wall. The selected limbs are severed with spectacular results.
The second room is the Environmental Kill room. This large room features small set-ups of each of the various environments found within the main game. A jungle. A laboratory. A ruined temple. All of these environments contain sharp objects on which Wolverine can impale his enemies. By pushing a red button, players can teleport in a group of soldiers and hurl them against the sharp objects to see them creatively skewered.
The third room is the Ladder Challenge room, which features an array of teleportation disks against the far wall. Pushing a red button will cause a group of enemies to beam into the room. Each time the red button is pushed, the enemies get tougher and more numerous, laddering up the challenge for Wolverine.
The fourth room is the Custom Combat Arena. This huge space lets players select any combination of enemies from within the game, beam them into the arena, and attempt to defeat them. Face ten hulking Leviathans or a blend of towering W.E.N.D.I.G.O. Prototypes, Machete Champions, and Machine gunners. It gives players endless permutations of exciting battles.
Check the official site out for more info.