One of the truths of being a video game fan is that movie-based titles often, well, suck.
And that’s a real shame because games today, with the amount of time, effort and money that goes into them, should certainly be aiming to carve a place for themselves as works of art. The stories on display in some titles, such as God of War, Dragon Age: Origins or even Grand Theft Auto’s Ballad of Gay Tony, not only rival, but surpass the entertainment value of many of today’s Hollywood films.
Which brings us to Wet, a new title from Bethesda Softworks for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, that offers a truly interesting cinematic visual style with a hot sword swinging, gun toting babe as its lead character.
Bethesda is best known for its hugely popular role-playing games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. Wet is an entirely different animal.
The game looks and feels like a 1970s grindhouse flick, which makes it a fitting time to tear into it given that Quentin Tarantino’s latest pulp movie, Inglorious Basterds, hits DVD on Dec. 15. Because if you’re a film fan, once you see the scratchy images, the simulated film grain and quick jump cuts Wet employs in telling its story, Tarantino’s name will quickly come to mind.
And if the visuals don’t clue you into the vibe, then the copious amounts of blood unleashed by lead hottie Rubi’s exploits certainly will. This game revels in red mist and blood geysers, so much so that it does lose its impact quickly, but give developer Artificial Mind and Movement credit for totally owning it.
The story centres on Rubi Malone, a gun-for-hire who uses swords and pistols, as well as acrobatic flair, to get the job done. She is hired to bring a rich guy’s son back home, but quickly finds out she’s been had and must now fight for her life while seeking him out in order to get a little payback.
At its heart, Wet is a third-person shooter and the gunplay mechanics are solid enough to not completely infuriate true genre fans. But truth be told, there’s more fun to be had cleaving baddies into bloody chunks of meat with her trusty blade.
You are rewarded for chaining together kills, which is often done through the use of bullet time – the slowing down of action, a la The Matrix.
Rubi can wield dual guns and as bullet time is triggered and you send her flying through the air or running along a wall thanks to her stylish acrobatics, you only have to aim the right gun at the various baddies. The game will aim the left pistol for you. Heck, it even lights up baddies with a reticule showing you exactly where to shoot them in order to maximize the style points you get for impressive kills. So, Wet is an easy title to pick up and play.
Unfortunately, the action never really accomplishes a whole lot. Wet is one of those games that’s best played in short spurts because it’s just so overly repetitive that every level feels like an extension of the one before it.
And the game features one of the weakest final boss battles since BioShock left gamers shaking their heads over just how ridiculously simple its climactic encounter played out. Not that Wet will ever be confused with the stunning BioShock.
Wet utilizes Hollywood actors Eliza Dushku, Malcolm McDowell and Alan Cumming in voiceover roles. Again, the dialogue is cheesy, but it’s entirely appropriate given the 1970s drive-in flick the developer was clearly paying homage to. Again, while it is grating at times, give them credit for completely owning it.
Unfortunately, they also have to own the fact Wet doesn’t satisfy the way a Tarantino movie does.
Rated M for mature.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
