Another pretty cool feature is Wolverine’s leaping ability. By pushing R1 to target an enemy, then pushing L1, Wolverine will lunge at the enemy with his claws. Knowing how to block is key as well, seeing as there are enemies that will rush Wolverine with their very own blades or even rockets. Blocking someone using blades deflects their attack and gives the opportunity to unleash a counterattack, and blocking a rocket at the correct time will deflect the rocket back at the enemy.
The rest of the combat consists of a combination of heavy attacks and light attacks. The light attacks are a lot quicker and do a good amount of damage. The heavy attacks of course do more damage, but they take longer to pull off, and they can also be charged to deliver extra damage to enemies. There are also special attacks that can be unlocked as players progress through the game. For example, Wolverine can go into a beserk mode, as well as doing a corkscrew attack that shreds enemies apart.
The game also features many platforming elements to it and even some stealth tactics at times, so it’s not always about the combat. There are even some puzzles that occasionally need to be solved to progress into the next area of a level. They are not overly difficult, and can usually be accomplished with ease. There are also a few moments in the game where Wolverine has lost his power of regeneration, so the player must progress more carefully.
The game revolves a lot around the regeneraton ability. Considering it is Wolverine’s main mutant ability, this makes sense. Wolverine has two different health bars; the first one that decreases is his regeneration bar. Once this bar has been depleted, the second bar of health will begin to decrease. If the enemy is able to fully deplete this bar, then Wolverine will be knocked out and will be captured, thus making the user have to reload the last checkpoint and reattempt the area.
Taking out enemies nets players experience that allows Wolverine to level up and gain more abilities. Items scattered around the game such as dogtags can also give EXP to Wolverine. Levelling up awards attribute points that can be assigned as wanted. Individual moves can be upgraded, or broader things such as the claw attack and health can be upgraded. Another notable customization is the mutagens found throughout the game. They can be assigned to three available slots in the customization menu, and include things like extra health, dealing more damage, and gaining health from dealing damage. There are many of these mutagens available to customize Wolverine’s fighting style.
Graphically the game is pretty good overall. Both the character detail and environment details are great. The most impressive effects are the damages to Wolverine’s character within the game. Considering he has healing abilities, he can literally walk on almost nothing but the skeletal portion of his leg, resulting from a grenade explosion, and it will slowly regenerate. At one point, I got bombarded with artillery shells on Alkali Lake, and Wolverine was literally missing part of his face and most of his torso.
