The game includes a number of massive set pieces and big boss battles. Two such unrelated scenes involve skirting machine gun fire from a helicopter as Wolverine makes an escape from Alkali Lake; the other pits him against a gigantic Sentinel. The former pulls the camera back to the point of almost turning play into a side-scroller. As the helicopter fires down on Wolverine, you're prompted to evade the bullets and then attack it head-on. The other scene puts Wolverine face-to-foot against a Sentinel. Not even coming up to the machine's ankle, you're prompted to engage Wolverine's feral sense to identify its weak points. Highlighted objects are interactive; in the case of the Sentinel, the sole of its foot lights up as a weak spot. Slashing at it whittles away stamina until it decides to jet into the air, at which point Wolverine grabs on for the ride. A mid-air battle ensues that's completely over-the-top.

Whenever he's not assaulting an enemy or being attacked, Wolverine's health is slowly restored. Damage is displayed in real-time on Wolverine's body, so a swipe to his right abdomen shows up in the precise spot at which he was attacked. Four layers of tissue: clothing, skin, muscle, and bone appear realistically as Wolverine takes a beating. Without glancing over at the health bar, you're able to discern how badly he's hurt based on whether you can see his skin or underlying muscle and bone. Even his clothes rip and tear in a believable way. It doesn't take long for Wolverine to lose his shirt in the course of combat, although he (strangely enough) gains it back upon leveling.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, despite its movie tie design, actually looks pretty good. While some of the big set pieces don't engender the same slick appeal as the close-quarters combat, hopefully they aren't featured as heavily in the final game. By sticking to the visceral action and making it mesh with a half-decent story, this could end up being one of those rare enjoyable movie tie-ins when it ships next month. Stay tuned for a full review.

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