Solutions for X-Men Origin : Wolverine crashes, sound & gameplay issues

Earlier we reported about the release of X-Men Origin : Wolverine (hereby referred to as XMO:W) which is an action adventure game based on the movie of the same name. The game was developed for the PC by Raven software and published by Activision. Personally i think the devs did a good job on creating a polished PC game that is loads of fun to play. However it’s not a perfect, 100% error free title (which game is, btw?). This article discusses both technical and non technical gameplay issues you may encounter with XMO:W - we have tried our best to include solutions that may help you alleviate such issues.

Note: This article is a Work-In-Progress. It will be updated as we discover more issues/solutions for XMO:W. If you run across something new, feel free to post it in the comments section.

Technical Issues

How to play XMO : Wolverine with a game controller or a gamepad (XBOX360 controller, Logitech gamepads, etc)?

If you run into any problems trying to attach a 3rd party gamepad/controller into the game (certain functions in the gamepad don’t work, freezing, etc) , you can try using the XBOX360 controller emulator to fix these. Download links and instructions can be found here (the game exe means the folder where the main executable for your game is located – in this case paste dinput8.dll, xinput1_3.dll and xbox360cemu.ini in the /Binaries dir inside your XMO:W install location). You might need to tweak xbox360cemu.ini file a bit if you are using something other than an X360 controller (for example, here is a config file optimized for Logitech gamepads). If you get an XInput Test error message, edit your xbox360cemu.ini so that it has the line UseForceFeedback=0 in place of the string UseForceFeedback=1. If you still experience issues try powering on the controller before you launch the game.

How to run X-Men Origin : Wolverine in Windowed mode?

To get most recent games to run in Windowed mode, you needed to edit some config file. But no such hassle with XMO : W – just hit Alt + Enter and the game will switch to windowed mode.

How do I change advanced graphics options in X-Men Origin : Wolverine?

The graphics options menu in XMO : W has only around two options – not very good news for those who like to tweak games to perfection. However, advanced graphics settings can be changed by editing the configuration file – you will be able to change lots of graphics options such as motion blur, bloom, dynamic lights, shadows, vsync, resolution and more.

  1. Go to your game installation dir. Default is Program Files/Activision/X-Men Origins Wolverine.
  2. Open the "Engine" folder and then the "Config" folder.
  3. Inside Config folder there should be a file named BaseEngine.ini. Open this file with a text editor such as notepad.
  4. You will see a lot of configuration options. Advanced graphics settings are located below the [SystemSettings] string (do a text find on SystemSettings).

Note: Edit the configuration file at your own risk. Setting incorrect values can cause the game to not run or become unplayable.

How to enable VSync and Anti Aliasing (AA) in XMO : W?

In the graphics settings menu, you will not find an option to do either of these. You can however enable Vsync by editing the configuration file (see above). Just set UseVsync=False to UseVsync = True in the BaseEngine.ini. I have still not managed to find a way to force AA via config file editing. However I tried forcing AA from NVIDIA control panel and it seems to work well. Should work with ATI hardware as well but I have not tested it – you might need to rename the wolverine exe to something else that uses Unreal Engine 3 such as masseffect.exe or bioshock.exe if forcing via ATI control panel.

How to manually change screen resolution of the game?

It seems that some screen resolutions including several widescreen resolutions are missing in the XMO – W options menu. Missing resolutions can be set by editing the BaseEngine.ini configuration file (see above). The values next to strings ResX and ResY represent width and height, respectively.

For example ResX=800 and ResY=600 represents a screen resolution of 800x600.

Black screen at startup, ‘X Men Origin Wolverine has encountered a problem and needs to close’ errors, no sound or stuttering audio, display glitches and other technical issues

Although some users have reported having such errors on various gaming forums, I couldn’t find a major fault with the game which triggered these. The errors seem to be random or present only on certain hardware/OS configurations (machine specific) so only general advice can be given on troubleshooting. Following are some steps you can take to reduce the possibility of crashes and other errors in X-Men Origin : Wolverine:

  1. Update your video drivers
    ATI Drivers: Download the latest ATI Catalyst drivers from this link: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx
    NVIDIA Drivers: Download latest official NVIDIA drivers from this link: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
    For Beta ATI/NVIDIA drivers for Windows 7, XP and Vista, check out this page: http://downloads.guru3d.com/
  2. Update DirectX – This is very important if you are using Windows XP. Not having the latest monthly DirectX updated could cause all sorts of problems ranging from missing dll file errors to crashes or ‘needs to close’ error messages. Latest monthly runtime can be found here.
  3. Update sound card and motherboard drivers - Click Here to download 3DP Chip for Windows Vista/XP – This program will automatically detect your hardware (video card, sound card and motherboard) and find available driver updates.

Note that there is no guarantee that following steps above will make your problems vanish. However they are basic yet important tips that many chose to ignore. IMHO the updating drivers/directx should be done as frequently as possible (or as soon as updates are available).

GamePlay issues

What is the difference between X:Men Origins : Wolverine Uncaged Edition and regular edition?

Uncaged edition is the name given for PC/XBOX360/PS3 versions of the game – these are rated M (mature). XMO : W for the Wii/PS2 does not have the ‘Uncaged’ tag and are rated T (Teen).

How to unlock and change the costume for the character (Logan)?

First you need to unlock the challenges for each costume. This is done by collecting costume figurines that are scatted around in the game. Collect at least two statues of the same type and a challenge will be unlocked. Then go to Main Menu –> Bonus and complete the challenge. You will then be able to select the costume at the start of game. If you are wondering what’s the big hype about unlockable costumes, well they automatically regenerate.

Towards the end of the jungle, there are three statue platforms one needs to jump on to get to the other side. How do you do this?

  1. Destroy wooden support structure on two of the statues. Now go to the wheel and turn it.
  2. You should now be able to jump from the first platform onto the second. You can grab the extra health if you time the jump just when the status begins to move.
  3. Go to the 3rd statue, jump on the stone ledge and jump to the platform and do another jump.

In the Lab mission, just after you fight off the ghosts (sector 4) you need a power cell to active the elevator. But I cannot find a power cell anywhere?

  1. You should have found a power cell and used it to unlock the door to sector 4. Well you are going to use the same cell again.
  2. Head back to where you inserted the first power cell. The door should be open now.
  3. There should be a crate between the two large doors. Push that create in between the doors you just opened with the cell.
  4. Pull the power cell out from where you originally inserted it. The doors will shut but the create will jam them so you can still sneak through with the power cell.
  5. Use the power cell on elevator door.

How to perform fatalities (finishing moves) in X-Men Origin : Wolverine ?

You need to press the following action keys in the given order: Press Grab, then press heavy attack and once the fists glow press heavy attack again.

Article will be updated when/if new issues or tips are found.