Like Nostradario Jr. my mind is capable of floating
into the future. I foresee that 2009 will be a year of
upheaval.
As well as discovering a new fuel or power source
(which I predict will found by the Chinese who start mining operations
on the moon), a new type of bullet will be created by the Israeli
defense force, one that splits apart into three segments to maintain velocity.
It can only be fired by an expert sniper and only
on Wednesdays. But by Jove it will dazzle!
Evidenced in the Angelia Jolie action movie Wanted and now the
videogame of the same name - and confirming my paranormal powers of
prediction - this unique splitting ballistic also has "scratch n' sniff"
properties to give all long range kills the smell of success.
Naturally, I took one look at the premise, played the game
for five minutes and kicked myself in the teeth (I'm very
flexible).
The game is very linear and fairly basic to
control as only a few buttons are used: one to shoot, one to take cover
behind walls, one to reload and one to zoom the view. But that's not
the problem.
There's a strangely endearing quality about
playing the game, which combines lots of cut-scenes with
energetic gun battles and some cool gun mechanics.
It feels like few other games out there, perhaps the first truly hybrid film/game?
But this is why I wanted to kick myself in the jawbone: for the
life of me I couldn't understand what glock was going on...
So I 'rented' the movie (which is based on the
Mark Millar comic book) to see what the truck was going on in this high
tempo run-and-gun game.
And you want to know something? Hmm? Even
though the game isn't brilliant and won't win any awards, it motivated
me to watch a movie I never would have otherwise bothered with, which
in and of itself is testament to the game's appeal.
The story is pretty straightforward to begin with
and takes place about five hours after the Wanted movie
concludes, with you playing Wesley Gibson.
Like the film, there
some twists and turns and ultimately this game is
much more intriguing after watching the film.
Viewed from the third person perspective, you play
a number of different characters through the various stages of the game
(some of which are flashbacks) as you sprint from cover to cover,
vehemently dispatching foes in between.
Some levels you will play as the plucky young
protagonist from the film, Wesley, and sometimes you play as his
father, both of whom are assassins with much larger adrenal
glands than the Phascolarctos cinereus, or koala.
There are quite a few characters in the game and the controls are super simple, but I personally found that playing Wanted
on the medium difficulty was quite challenging.
There's not much ammo floating around and your
foes - while merely reactive as opposed to proactive - are numerous.
Thankfully you can perform cool knife-based
fatality moves when you're up close with an enemy or low on ammo, which
are equal parts gory and satisfying as the camera pans in for a
close-up.
Indeed,
one of the most satisfying moves in the game is being able to stab
enemies behind cover, lurching over a table or whatnot and loosing your
blade on a foe.
The game looks very good on the Xbox 360 (we
didn't test the PS3 version), as extra high-res textures are
bump-mapped into smooth serenity creating a fairly gritty-but-detailed
gameworld that looks and feels a bit like the Max Payne games, only sharper and smoother.
On that subject, you gain a number of skills as
you make your way through the game, such as Assassin Time (a.k.a bullet time),
where time slows down allowing you take down multiple targets as your
foes move sluggishly.
Along with being able to curve bullets around
corners (complete with an awesome bullet-cam that follows the
curving projectile to its grisly end) and being able to take hostages
to use as human shields, there's even some scenes where character
movement is automatic and the player only needs concentrate
on taking down dozens of enemies.
For the most part, the gunplay is enjoyable.
It's fast and frenetic and the special moves are
generally well implemented and easy to execute.
The cover system is also solid, but because you
can often sprint to the next set of cover by just pushing one button,
the game sometimes feels as though it's limited in scope, with only
basic manipulation needed by the player.
When I think about though, the cover
system works well and adds a fluidity to the gameplay so it's
not a deal breaker, but it can make the game easier (and therefore
shorter) at certain junctures.
Wanted:
Weapons of Fate is an entertaining game with very
accessible gameplay (gamers of all levels will be able to pick up and
play) but is perhaps made more tolerable thanks to the cut-scenes.
As well as the cool CGI scenes between levels,
there are plenty of dialogue-heavy cut scenes interspersing the action.
I will mention that the "eff bomb" is dropped probably 200 times in
this game too, so prudes and oligarchs need not apply.
The main character Wesley is voiced by Lyle the
Intern (David Letterman's troll) also known as Jimmi Simpson, who does
a pretty good job with what is a decent script -- for a videogame.
Oh, and the environments are destructible too,
which adds an extra sense of astonishment at various times, especially
when you're pinned down by the first end-boss who has
"inda-f**ken-structible" shield and is very hard to hit.
The concrete getting sheared off walls
looks nice with some good particle effects, but I must say I almost
quit playing the game after trying time and again to kill the first end
boss.
Even on the easy setting it's unreasonably
difficult, but once defeated the game settles in a more progressive
pattern of increasing challenge.
There's also a touch of variety as your progress
through the game, with some levels allowing you to
use handguns, others using sniper rifles or mounted
weapons and so on..
It's not the longest game ever made and barring
the maddeningly difficult first boss, most gamers will clock it in a
few days.
But those days will be fun, no doubt about
it.
It's a shame there's no online or co-op aspect but
there's plenty of unlockable stuff (new characters and the like) and
playing the game on the hardest difficulty is pretty demanding.
Final words? Simple but fun.
The more I played the game the more intrigued I
became, despite the
linear level design, the basic interaction and sometimes monotonous
killing.
It feels more like an interactive movie than a
traditional game, and though short it's packed with action.
Boasting excellent music, good sounds effects and
some brow-raising dialogue - plus some highly detailed graphics - the
mood created by developer GRIN is fairly absorbing.
You don't realise
it half the time, but Wanted
does suck you in.
It's got a broad appeal this one thanks in part to
the accessible controls and linear level design, but I reckon long time
gamers will also find parts of the game enjoyable.
If you liked the
movie or are more of a movie fan, this game will knock you jocks off.
The wisest say that if respect for the truth is behind the morality of
the virtuous, then the future of mankind is doomed. Doomed I tell thee!
I have seen the future...
That said, Wanted: Weapons of Fate
is a dandy little diversion that will serve nicely to kill time before
such calamity befalls mankind.
Game: Wanted: Weapons of Fate System: Xbox 360
Players: 1 Online: No Developer: GRIN
Distributor: Warner Bros. Interactive
