Over the years, numerous Marvel Comics icons have made their way into the realm of gaming. Alongside such titans as Spider-Man and Iron Man is Wolverine, who has popped up in all kinds of widely-beloved titles.
The many mainline Marvel vs. Capcom games, the X-Men Legends duology, the Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise, and more all feature Logan prominently, giving gamers the chance to hack and slash through enemies with his adamantium claws at their leisure. At the same time, there are some Wolverine-including titles that have fallen by the wayside as time has gone on, chief among them being X2: Wolverine’s Revenge.
The Wolverine game that time forgot
Way back in the early 2000s, Marvel media was in a vastly different place. The Marvel Cinematic Universe had yet to launch, and comic book adaptations were far from “in.” Director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man series and the X-Men franchise from 20th Century Fox carried the torch for superhero cinema in this period, so these characters were some of the few to get the video game treatment.
Though many recognize 2006’s X-Men: The Official Game as the only X-Men movie tie-in game of this era, that’s not technically true. Wolverine’s Revenge was marketed as a tie-in to 2003’s X2: X-Men United, complete with Hugh Jackman as the title character on the cover and Sir Patrick Stewart as the voice of Professor Charles Xavier. In practice, though, this is a comic book-based game that has no substantial connection to the movies.
Wolverine’s Revenge follows a New X-Men-looking Wolverine (voiced by the iconic Mark Hamill) as he seeks a cure for a deadly illness called the Shiva Strain, which he was infected with during his time in the Weapon X program. With only two days to find the cure before it kills him, he traverses frozen tundras and mercenary-filled bases. Along the way, you’ll battle villains Magneto (Fred Tatasciore), Sabretooth (Tatasciore), and Lady Deathstrike (Gwendoline Yeo) and encounter fellow X-Men like Colossus (Ted Nordblum) and Rogue (Jennifer Hale).
In terms of gameplay, Wolverine’s Revenge is interesting. Despite Wolverine’s reputation for running around tearing his enemies to shreds, there’s quite a heavy emphasis on stealth here. You find yourself using heightened senses to do everything from track and stealth kill enemies to spot hidden landmines.
If you do try to brute force it from checkpoint to checkpoint, you’ll quickly be on the hunt for health pickups or in use of Wolverine’s healing factor.
Thankfully, enduring the tedious stealth and being mindful of your health does allow you to have some beat ’em up fun here and there. You can punch, kick, and claw your way through enemies, even throwing them around if you so choose. Wolverine also has a special Strike move capable of damaging one or more enemies with the push of a button.
As with all great games of the era, Wolverine does have a rage meter that fills up by attacking enemies and taking damage. When it’s full, Wolverine can temporarily enter Feral Rage mode. Movement speed and damage output will increase for the duration.
Why X2: Wolverine’s Revenge became a forgotten Marvel video game
So, what went wrong that led to Wolverine’s Revenge being in relative obscurity for over 20 years? For starters, the story isn’t the most captivating, and the overall presentation isn’t very enticing.
Much of the game is draped in a gray, black, and white color palette, so it’s not much to look at. Worse yet, the stealth and combat mechanics are clunky, which one could forgive if it wasn’t for the difficulty curve being so steep. Wolverine’s Revenge loves to throw enemies and harmful obstacles at you in spades, with health pickups and checkpoints frustratingly spaced out.
Simply put, there were better-looking and more enjoyable X-Men games out at the time of the game’s release, making it hard to put in the work to enjoy it. As its contemporaries soared to new heights, Wolverine’s Revenge became increasingly less impressive. Those who played it as kids way back when might have a soft spot for it, but if they pick it up today, it likely won’t take long for the nostalgia to wane.
Wolverine is an indisputable Marvel icon. After all, the opportunity for Jackman to go back on his Wolverine retirement for Deadpool & Wolverine likely wouldn’t have arisen if there wasn’t so much love and passion out there for the character.
Sadly, Wolverine’s Revenge didn’t quite live up to the titular hero’s legacy then, and it certainly doesn’t all these years later. Sure, there’s some fun to be had with it, but it’s far from the definitive Wolverine gaming experience. One can only hope that Insomniac’s Wolverine doesn’t follow a similar path to Wolverine’s Revenge, lest it become just another so-so Marvel game lost to time.
