Believe it or not, there used to be a time when Call of Duty developer Raven Software made other games. Star Wars: Jedi Knight, Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance are just three bangers in its library. On May 1, 2009, the studio launched X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Based on the Marvel movie of the same name, it set the standard for Wolverine's gaming outings. However, unlike most players, my first taste of the game came in the form of the PSP version.
You see, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is quite a unique Marvel game. Rather than release one version across all platforms, the PSP, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo Wii ports aren't the same. In fact, they're often seen as inferior ways to play. That's because PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC users could jump into the Uncaged Edition. Boasting more violence, gnarly gore, and grit than other versions, it's the game that most players hope Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine can capture the spirit of later this year.
Even without that added brutality, Wolverine's PSP adventure is still an absolute banger. I've got very fond memories of playing it abroad on holiday, letting the PSP's small screen illuminate me as the sun went down and the adults talked. In place of shredding people into chunks, there's an amplified focus on embracing the wilder side of Marvel. Instead of dropping down to eradicate soldiers like the PS3 port, it begins with Wolverine fighting off The Hand - the same ninja assassins seen in the Daredevil TV show.
Recounting his memories through electric shock therapy, it leads to a dojo battle. That's just the first 30 minutes or so. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is full of these flourishes, doing what the best movie games do: adding creative spins to the story you already know. Before Treyarch also got pulled into the endless Call of Duty factory, it mastered this approach with Spider-Man 2. Whereas Spidey fends off Mysterio and other rogue gallery highlights outside of the movie's plot, Wolverine finds himself battling a few little-known baddies.
I think part of the game's passion for the more niche side of Marvel is important, but it might not have happened for one key reason. That's because the game went into development before the movie was announced. At the time of release, senior producer Brian Pass told Worthplaying that "this is a project that Raven [Software] started on right after they finished Marvel: Ultimate Alliance […] it's a character that they've always wanted to bring to life in a game and do an experience that's tailored toward him."
The project seems almost aligned in the stars, as Pass adds that Raven Software "wanted to tell the origin story, and then we found out that Fox is going to make a film, and it's going to tell the origin story, so we were already moving down that pathway."
X-Men Origins: Wolverine shares a lot of DNA with X-Men Legends. It's unashamedly outlandish and doesn't outstay its welcome. Is it one of the best PSP games ever? Not quite, but it certainly deserves a reappraisal. That's a hard thing to do these days, sadly. Outside of owning a copy of the PSP UMD, you won't find any version of it listed digitally. The PSP version is going for upwards of $50 second-hand and even more for the Uncaged Edition on other platforms.
I'd love to see either version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine get the same kind of love that Tomb Raider receives from Aspyr. Focusing mostly on remasters, the developer remastered Raven Software's Star Wars: Jedi Knight for the Nintendo Switch in 2020. With a bit of luck and some leniency from the Marvel overlords, we could see some Marvel titles get some love down the line.