Next: Wolverine on PSP, another separate game under this name… unlike the Wii version, it’s quite good!
Amaze let me down a bit, but Griptonite handled the PSP and DS (review incoming) games tying into this mess of a movie… keeping all the different versions straight is starting to become a mess in itself! Anyway, the brawling-with-cinematic-takedowns setup is similar but they’ve managed to make the combat fun! It flows smoothly, with decent enemy variety, and it’s exploitable if you want to take it easy.
Lunging is back as a viable technique with a simple press of Circle whenever a prompt appears, and it can be used for a quick strike, a midair grab, or to pummel a downed foe. Otherwise there’s a few simple combos that end in a grab, a toss-up, etc. Dodging is the easiest and most useful it’s been, and grabbing is decent again, with only the option for a basic throw but it being useful against particular enemies. All these games have a rage meter—built more efficiently with certain attacks or by taking damage—but here it’s the most necessary for the later damage sponge enemies, putting you in slow motion and briefly amplifying your damage. The main thing with combat is it’s quick, snappy, and satisfying, albeit more limited than the HD outing.
Rather than hidden collectibles, this game has optional objectives, anything from kill X enemies to finish in Y minutes, or destroy Z objects. These unlock stuff in the menu; concept art, costumes, audio logs (reused from the HD game, which means some of them relate to subplots not present in this one), etc. Otherwise you automatically get a slight boost to one of your stats with each level, which makes things a bit easier if you want to go back for any of these side tasks after finishing. I went and did them all because I was enjoying the game; the bonus challenge fights were on too strict a timer for me to complete, though.
The levels are short but varied. They cover some of the plot points of the film, although strangely it skips Blob and Gambit entirely. This puts more focus on the Weapon X bases (the usual stuff) and the Africa flashback, which has a more involved and exciting mine infiltration, and a collapse escape. Otherwise, to my pleasure there was a big chunk of new stuff, an additional Team X flashback subplot with Logan (and occasionally Victor) tracking the Hand ninja clan from the comics to Japan and facing their robot/mech army in an abandoned but high-tech US military base. One briefing also rapidly mentions Logan doing other stuff offscreen in a Las Vegas casino (Wii Blob fight?), the Wideawake base (PS3 sentinel chapter), and a New Mexico facility (???) which is a fun/cop-out acknowledgement of stuff that didn’t make it into this version.
The events play out even more disjointedly than they did on PS3 though, as there’s a new framing device where every level plays as a flashback while Logan is in the memory machine from the climax (I honestly don’t remember if this is in the movie or not). Every level you see him getting electrified and Stryker gives a monologue about the memory he’s re-experiencing. It’s kind of unnecessary and leads to some events being inserted out of order, so it’s an odd choice.
Otherwise this game does include the pre-rendered FMV from Raven’s game, in the form of the censored versions I saw on Wii (although I noticed this time that the Africa inserts in the Adamantium bonding scene actually still have the blood in them, while the actual Africa scene doesn’t). This time the additional framing sequence in the Sentinel-overrun future is included, but it’s been edited too, with shots of Logan injuring his hand to escape manacles removed, and the soldiers in the opening being replaced by robots(!)—complete with new sparking effects—to soften the violence… except they forgot to also make them robots in the epilogue! Also, Trask in this epilogue comes out of nowhere because that sub-plot isn’t in this version of the game!
There are robots in-game, though: some drones, some big Sentinel-ish ones. A few recurring mutant-type enemies too: a fire guy, a large “crystal bruiser” with gem-skin armour, and a similar reptilian brute who can regenerate. Plus, all the types of ninjas and soldiers! A late-game stage in a holodeck lets them throw all these types at you in a row, although it’s not shy about doing that anyway no matter the stage you’re in. This can get tedious with the larger enemies soaking up your hits and not able to be tossed around, but smart use of the rage meter can help. There’s also a mechanic where some damage types inhibit your regeneration, which adds a bit of strategy.
As an alternative to the HD game, Griptonite have done an admirable job even with the limitations of the PSP. It’s certainly more fun than the Wii version, which did less with more. I noticed some reused cutscene dialogue between this and the Wii game, but admittedly you don’t have as much mid-level VO here. However, one point where this particular version outshines its companions is subtitle support, which in a regrettable oversight was missing on PS3 and Wii. Otherwise, it’s a fun little game and a worthy companion to its more robust HD mate.