“Hey, I didn’t know Quentin
Tarantino made a video game!”
This is what I hear from one
of my roommates passing by as a rockabilly tune plays at just the right moment
when Rubi Malone, the protagonist of Wet for the Xbox 360, runs up a
wall, does a back flip and slices an armed thug’s legs clean off in a spray of
blood. She then runs and slides across the floor pumping bullets into the rest
of the men who think they can stop a woman hell-bent on getting her revenge.
Yes, the inspiration for the game is an obvious nod to Tarantino and the
director’s love for ‘70s grind house action flicks.
Complete with scratchy old
film look that Tarantino and Rodriguez included in their films, “Death Proof”
and “Planet Terror,” Wet has all the visual style of the old-school
B-movie action flick of an era when blood splattered in outrageous ways. Its
star, Rubi, is a professional gun-for-hire who makes the mistake of doing a job
for William Ackers, head of a respected criminal syndicate. Even after Rubi
saves the man’s life, Ackers sends her on another job that ends up with her
getting a blade right through her waist. Angry in ready for vengeance, Rubi
Malone sets out to kill Ackers and his loyal henchmen.
The game begins with a
tutorial that allows you to get comfortable with the controls and the shooting
and slashing mechanics. You see, Rubi doesn’t only favor using her guns but she
also carries a sword for those moments when she wants to get really close to her
enemies. Rubi has the ability to dive and shoot like Max Payne and has
the acrobatic skills of Tomb Raider Lara Croft. She can glide across the
floor on her knees and deliver grimace-worthy “low blows” in slow-mo. She can
always upgrade her skills to perform new moves as well as upgrade your weapons (Rubi
starts out with handguns but later uses shotguns and submachine guns).
The levels take you through
a few exotic locales whether you find yourself shooting Chinese gangsters in
Hong Kong, well-armed goons in England or playing through a number of challenges
in Rubi’s junkyard headquarters. The levels certainly offer a variety of chances
to shoot your way in or out of places as well as perform platformer-styled
acrobatics that have you going down zip lines or swinging from flagpole to
flagpole. Occasionally you’ll find an environment that just isn’t fit for
acrobatics, which leaves you resorting to just running and gunning your way
through to the next checkpoint.
Oh, but when this game
shines it really shines thanks to segments in the game that are just so
over-the-top ridiculous that it throws realism out the window. Incidentally,
these are the moments that will have you smiling all the way through. In one
level, you’re hoping from car to car in a freeway chase and in another you’re
fighting for a parachute in mid-air as you try to avoid the debris of an
airplane that just blew up. During these levels you’ll even go through some
quick-time events where you’ll be pressing buttons when said button icon flashes
on the screen.
Unfortunately, Rage Mode
simply isn’t as well polished as the games it borrows its style and appearance
from when the mode is triggered. When Rubi’s face is splattered with blood, she
goes into a killing rage that turns the world into a visually artistic cross
between MadWorld and Killer 7. This mode could have been cool but
the visual style is simply a hindrance in places that require platform jumping.
Wet is also a challenging
game even in the normal difficulty setting and the many times you will meet your
demise is from getting overwhelmed during levels where you are asked to destroy
icons that will keep enemies from running out of doors. There are no health
items except for the bottles of hooch you find in-between levels and you can
regain some health by performing combos and chain your attacks by keeping the
body count going.
On the visual front, Wet
isn’t anything too spectacular but what does set it apart is the old film
scratch look and the Rage Mode moments that is seen through a red, white and
black filter. The character models look good during cut scenes as well, but more
attention was clearly placed on Rubi and the bosses in the game. Rubi interacts
flawlessly with her environment and the enemies as well. On top of that, the
moves look slick and the visual effects are just astonishingly cinematic. Even
the cut scenes have that retro cinema B-move feel.
The voice acting is not bad
at all, mainly due to the celebrity voices that handle the dialogue perfectly.
My biggest complain, though, is that Eliza Dushku’s one-liners are repeated
often to the point that they will get tiresome. At least the soundtracks is
really good seeing as it’s filled with 70’s inspired rock tunes that compliments
the action well.
Wet for the Xbox 360 oozes
cool and there are some truly memorable action-packed moments but it is far from
the perfect shooter. Those crazy action sequences that make the game so fun are
short and those platform acrobatics just aren’t as good as they could have been
in this game. Still, even with the few problems this is a fun action game you’ll
definitely want to check out.
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Gameplay: 7.5
Rubi Malone is as
brutal as “Lady Snowblood” is and as sexy as “Foxy Brown” and watching her slide
and shoot her way through a crowded room filled with armed thugs is a blast.
There are times when you’ll wish they left out the Prince of Persia-styled
platform gameplay and more style to the sword fighting but there is no shortage
of cool in this game.
Graphics: 7.5
While the game
isn’t the prettiest Xbox 360 game even without the film scratch effects, the
action flows smoothly and there are enough visually dazzling scenes to would
make B-movie action directors jealous.
Sound: 8.0
There’s a good
voice cast the includes Malcolm McDowell and Eliza Dushku but the star of the
show is the catchy rockabilly tunes that would make Tarantino proud. There are
also decent sound effects as well.
Difficulty: Medium
There are some
trail-and-error moments in the game and oftentimes the enemy can overwhelm you
in confined spaces. Some of the boss battles will give you hard time but it’s
nothing that will have you too frustrated.
Concept: 7.5
Rubi is a stone
cold professional with plenty of slick moves but Lara Croft she is not and it
shows. Still, the more outrageous the level the more extreme the action gets and
there are plenty of upgrades to unleash on the goon squad you will go up
against. There are unlockable challenges when you finish the game.
Overall: 7.5
Like the
grindhouse action flicks of the ’70s, Wet is a wild ride packed with
enough blood, bullets, and ridiculous over-the-top action to make it worth your
while. Sure, some gameplay elements could have used polishing and the
trail-and-error moments a bit aggravating at times but the truly best moments in
the game shine brightly like Rubi’s sharp blade.
