Here begins my foray into X-Men movie tie-in games. Not a great start.

This isn’t the best way to start not only because Wolverine’s Revenge is only very loosely linked to the film universe, but it’s also not that good a game. Any review you care to read will echo my sentiments: it’s a basic licensed 3D action game where you spend most of your time in nondescript military bases fighting generic soldier goons; combat is dull, forced stealth sections are a bad idea, levels have no checkpoints so dying can send you back a long way indeed. Some of the slightly open levels can be cool to explore, and Wolverine has different states you have to juggle, but you always end up back button-mashing your way through more combat encounters.

I alleviated the misjudged difficulty curve with the handy cheat codes that Genepool had implemented. Unlocking all the “strike” moves (the key gimmick of the combat system, scripted takedown moves) didn’t seem to work but the level select let me bypass the awful stealth level, and invincibility mode meant I rarely had to worry about losing my progress by being sloppy or getting stunlocked by enemies. Another code gave you access to all the collectible unlocks, which admittedly have some fun bonuses attached, including costumes, a concept art gallery, and character bios, as well as some jokey bonus cutscenes.

So let’s talk about how this game links to the movies. The connection is about as strong as the previous fighting game Mutant Academy, whose character choice was perhaps influenced by the lineup of the first Fox X-Men film in 2000, and which had unlockable movie-style costumes for everyone. This one ostensibly ties in to the 2003 film X2 aka X-Men United. The original storyline here, penned by writer of some Wolverine comics Larry Hama, has Logan revisiting the Weapon X facility from his past and involves Lady Deathstrike, but is otherwise distant from the film continuity. The other connections (Hugh Jackman’s likeness on the cover, Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Professor X, the movie outfit being available, and the design of Cerebro) seem shoehorned into an otherwise comics-influenced game.

Still, it’s a fun superhero romp. Logan (voiced recognisably by Mark Hamill in this instance) snarkily growls his way through the game, and Stewart brings a touch of class to the corny scenarios and narration. Beast, Colossus, and Rogue show up briefly to say hi while you contend with Sabretooth (a few times), Wendigo, Juggernaut, Magneto, and Deathstrike in the awkward puzzly boss fights. Logan’s trying to cure a virus he’s had for 30 years and never bothered to bring up but which is suddenly going to kill him, and it turns out some of the characters you met were cyborgs sent by Deathstrike in a convoluted scheme, before it all ends on a sequel hook involving Omega Red, Mister Sinister, and Apocalypse that will never be picked up. I can’t say I’m too put out by this.