The deluge of summer blockbuster tie-in games has begun with "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

Surprisingly, it's not that bad. In fact, while I haven't seen the movie yet, I've heard the game's better.

In the movies, Wolverine has been grouchy and powerful, but not overly violent. The game lets Wolverine loose, and he makes full use of those razor-sharp claws. This is a violent, bloody game - and that's a lot of the fun.

The storyline roughly follows and expands on that of the movie. At times, I found it a little confusing. But, frankly, I didn't care. This is a third-person action game with a bloody bent - storyline isn't so important.

Wolverine (aka Logan) has a host of attacks at his disposal. There are the basic light and heavy claw attacks, which can be strung together for combos. He can jump and attack, or lunge to an enemy from quite a distance.

In addition, there are skills to be unlocked. As Logan levels up (by killing enemies), points can be placed into certain areas, such as his health, his claws or the rage meter, which lets him unleash strong attacks.

Plus, you can find mutagens, which can be equipped to give Wolverine special abilities, such as more experience from kills or health that regenerates more quickly.

Logan is really hard to kill because of that regeneration, and it's nice that the developers took that into account when designing him. As he takes damage, his appearance changes. By the time he's near death, he looks like a zombie, with giant holes in his body and his ribs sticking out. As you watch, though, his skin will repair itself. It's an appreciated effort.

"Wolverine" has some legs to stand on, but in the end it's pulled down by the typical issues facing a movie-based game. The gameplay is too easy and straightforward; it can be completed in probably 10 hours, and there's not a lot of reason to replay (unless you want to unlock a handful of alternate costumes). Boss fights are overly simple and sometimes cheap. Wolverine's character model looks nice, but the environments tend toward bland and repetitive.

Overall, "Wolverine" is a surprisingly entertaining and bloody romp, but it's not worth buying. Rent it and enjoy it.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

By: Activision, for Xbox 360 (also for PlayStation 3, PC; other-rated versions for Wii, PlayStation 2, DS, PSP)

Rated: Mature

Cost: $59.99

Score: 7/10