The X-Men are an exclusive group. Only those with special abilities (read: genetic freaks) need apply. Cyclops emits a laser beam from his eyes, Storm controls the force of the weather, Rogue can absorb the life force and powers of others and so the list goes on. It's doubtful then that entry would be allowed for "best at drinking beer," or "loudest bodily noises," therefore ruling out the majority and effectively ruining the chances of the hopeful "Chess Boy™". Activision have played it safe for their second movie tie-in from the series, selecting fan-favourite Wolverine as the main character in a third person beat-em-up action game.

Waking up in a science lab, our hero Logan finds himself strapped down and heavily guarded with nowhere to go. Shocked and angry, he discovers that he has gained superhuman strength and breaks free. He notices that his wounds and bruises are healing at an unnatural rate and that his whole body has been glazed with a solid steel coating surrounding his muscles. And so Wolverine is born, destined to become one of the most powerful members of a strange group known as the X-Men.

It all adds up to what becomes an excellent setting for a videogame, with a great deal of scope and near limitless possibilities. X-Men comics have a long and varied history, offering many characters and settings, all excellent material for potential interaction. The way is open for levels set in mazelike laboratories, sprawling outside sections, as well as underground dungeon like lairs and the variety of locations does not disappoint.

Set in wintertime, a cold and vulnerable feel is convincingly achieved. While functional and certainly never beautiful, the graphical style offers a refreshing alternative to a genre saturated with brown and grey. The storyline takes advantage of the compelling X-Men universe too, although perhaps a little too much. Little imagination is used to create an interesting premise and as a result the cut-scenes become more of a chore than a reward. The sound effects, again, are efficient, standard fare but sadly nothing more.

Wolverine is a great character and his essence has been captured extremely well. The animation is convincing and occasionally excellent and the likeness will satisfy fans of the clawed beast. He moves with a certain grace and to begin with, at least, is a joy to control. Unfortunately, the same polish is not lavished onto Wolverines' combatants; your enemies are standard fare, beginning with identikit human opponents, before moving onto more interesting mutant creatures, albeit ones with little more imagination and the differences between foes are often nothing more than aesthetic. The presentation is impeccable and while the graphics are merely functional, menus and main characters are lovingly designed. And although some cut-scenes seem terribly Metal Gear Solid-lite in context, their overall quality cannot be denied.

Whilst the game focuses on hand-to-hand combat, Wolverine also has a knack for stealth (which is handy, seeing as almost every games has a dose of silent action nowadays). Using his thermal vision, he is able to spot enemies through walls and take out each unsuspecting grunt without alerting suspicion. Control during these sections is occasionally fiddly and wall hugging can often be a frustrating pastime. However, as you would expect, outwitting an unwary enemy can be very satisfying. Whilst hardly matching peer Metal Gear Solid 2 for tricks, it's a worthy addition that breaks up the repetitive nature of the combat.

Upon approaching an alert enemy, Wolverine locks onto the character and prepares to fight. Using a combination of swipes, kicks, blocks and jumps, goons are despatched quickly, resulting in an alarming body count. At any time up to four enemies may surround you, forcing frantic movement to keep them at bay. Fortunately, our hero possesses the ability to strike vulnerable enemies with a lethal blow; you can manipulate an enemy's weak position and perform a satisfying instant death move. Whilst being essential to Wolverine's arsenal and easy on the eye, this feature often feels tacked on and its execution is very hit or miss.

Unfortunately, the combat system as a whole is less than a joy to behold. Swipes and kicks are hard to link together and blocks are awkward to perform, resulting in some frustrating moments. Button bashing moments of hit and hope are often necessary due to a mix of an erratic camera, together with slightly clunky controls. Complaints must also be made regarding the sometimes less than inspired level design. New ideas are few and far between and dreaded switch pulling makes an unwelcome return to this reviewer's gaming life. Enemies are sometimes scattered almost randomly, ultimately detracting from the games' atmosphere, and perhaps more importantly adding again to frustrating repetition.

One important gameplay issue arises when you discover that Wolverine heals automatically when inactive. Whilst this may sound like an excellent idea for a game, effectively removing the need for health pickups, it can effect the pacing of the title quite significantly. For example, after despatching all enemies in a room you may find that Wolverine has little health. In this case there are three options: carry on to the next fight (suicide), find a health pickup (very rare), or, much more commonly, wait for our hero to heal. The last option causes a lot of waiting around and quickly breaks any tension or pace the game holds.

Perhaps the most frustrating factor of all is the saving system. Whilst save points is generally a better option than a save anywhere scheme, they must be carefully placed and be frequently available. In this case, however, save points are often a considerable distance apart with a lot of action between them. As a result large sections of maps must be replayed several times, with everything the same each time. Again this adds to the already repetitive nature of the game, and can obviously be very frustrating.

While this game does have some quite obvious flaws, it is undoubtedly an enjoyable experience if appreciated for what it is. Wolverine is an excellent gritty character, well animated with several costumes to choose from. The new ideas included, whilst few in number, can be a joy to experience. For example, the boss characters are highlights, forcing the player to use unorthodox tactics to overcome the challenge they present. The hardest sections of the game successfully achieve that "one more go" factor missing from so many games recently. For example, without wanting to give too much away, Sabretooth is too strong to be beaten with brute force. Slashing can only get his energy bar down a certain amount. Alternative tactics must be considered to have any chance of progressing. Making the player use his imagination is a wise move but is unfortunately used all too little in other parts of the game.

With all the above considered, it is hard to recommend this. Although the game is of high quality in places and does offer some vastly enjoyable moments, it is spoilt by some glaring flaws, thrusting the game to the wrong side of frustrating. Perhaps crucially, too many aspects of the game are standard. Sound, graphics and more importantly gameplay, are never anything more than acceptable. The combat system didn't receive enough attention, resulting in a game only a shadow of what it could have been. Put simply, X-Men 2: Wolverine's Revenge simply lacks ambition in its execution and is happy to join the ever-growing pile of 3D action adventure games that are little more than average. And there's no sign of Chess Boy™ either.

Reviewed by Tim Owen for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).