WET Xbox 360

Released on 18/09/2009

• WET Preview

  Wet & Wild

  If you’re of a nervous disposition you might want to avoid Wet. At all costs. You see the entire game is inspired by a single, extremely violent scene from Quentin Tarantino's blood-soaked revenge flick Kill Bill. And the idea of ultra violent, loud, stylised acrobatic combat has been stretched into an entire game.

  That doesn't mean it's a one trick pony though. There are plenty of features that will make Wet a rich and satisfying gaming experience. First of all there's the game's simple but striking story. The hero is a rather effective gun-for-hire called Rubi Malone who wields dual pistols, a sword and has acrobatic skills that make Lara Croft look like an arthritic old lady trying to hobble her way to a WI meeting.

  Betrayal and Revenge

  When Rubi is employed by a wealthy man to find and bring back his wayward son, she thinks it'll be a walk in the park. Unfortunately she is betrayed by her mysterious employer and from there on in, Wet turns into a story of revenge as Rubi hunts down the man who betrayed her, killing anybody who gets in her way.

  Wet turns into a story of revenge as Rubi hunts down the man who betrayed her, killing anybody who gets in her way.

  A great story then, and one that's well told thanks to the stellar cast employed to write and voice the game. Writing duties have fallen to Duppy Demitrius who, as fans will already know, worked on hit TV show 24. Providing voices for the characters are Eliza Dushku (who plays Rubi) and other acting luminaries include Brits Malcolm McDowell and Alan Cumming.

  Back to the 70s

  It's the look and sound of Wet, though, that most clearly demonstrate its creators' intentions. Graphically the game is pure Tarantino. There's a strong 70s vibe to the whole look and sound of the thing, from the way the characters are designed to locations and, just as importantly, the soundtrack.

  There are old-fashioned film effects, car chases, snappy dialogue and some superb songs

  The more you progress through the game and learn about Rubi's story, the more you'll appreciate the game's style. There are old-fashioned film effects, car chases, snappy dialogue, and some superb songs have been chosen to play behind specific set-pieces.

  Fight the Good Fight

  Style is just half the story. Substance comes in the form of some of the most over-the-top combat ever seen in a game. As already mentioned Rubi is pretty agile. She can flip, knee-slide, roll, and leap around the landscape, seamlessly moving from one acrobatic move to the next. And she needs to, because she's assailed on all sides by enemies intent on her destruction. Attacking those enemies is a blast. Rubi uses two guns, one which automatically targets enemies, and the other which you, the player, have to control. By moving the aiming reticle you can shift your view through a full 360 degrees.

  And when shooting isn't an option, Rubi can resort to swordplay, again relying on her agility to pull off some startling attacks. In fact the idea is, basically, to kill as many enemies as you can in as stylish a manner as possible. The more attacks, combos and kills you pull off, the more points you score and the more upgrades you get.

  Just when you think things are mad enough, there's rage mode, a sequence in which Rubi's face gets splattered in blood and the visuals switch to an even more stylised graphical mode - which could be described as viewing the world through blood-tinted spectacles. The killing goes up a notch with enemies exploding into a bloody mess as Rubi cuts a swathe through them.

  If you like your gaming casual and cute you might want to look elsewhere. But if you find ultra-violent combat cranked up this high an artform, you’ll love Wet.

  Preview by: Simon 'Bulletproof' Kirrane
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Preview Published: 27.08.09

  Published: 28/08/2009

• Wet Review

  Grindhouse grunge.

  Carnage! That is the best way to describe WET. After the first 2 minutes where it teaches you to shoot your dual pistols, jumping through the air or sliding along the floor, while hacking away with your katana sword, the carnage hits you at a hundred miles an hour and doesn't let up.

  WET has been compared to Tarantino's film Kill Bill, and while you definitely get that vibe, it has more in common with his and Rodriguez' more recent outing to the Grindhouse. This ultra stylised theme runs throughout WET, even with the addition of random b-movie style intermissions and kick-ass punky soundtrack.

  Rubi, Rubi, Rubi, Ahahahahhhh!

  You play as Rubi, a gun (and sword) for hire equipped with the acrobatic skill set of Lara Croft. After being hired by a drug king pin daddy with a son on the loose whose hanging out with some less than pleasant folk, you soon realise that all is not what it seems? The usual miss-placed loyalties and betrayal ensue leaving our damsel-not-really-in-distress Rubi on the run.

  With a plot that tries to be a bit too serious for what it is and a script that is at times so bad it's good you start to see where WET lets itself down. The characters are flat and undeveloped with an array of people introduced that are quickly forgotten. The clunky way in which WET weaves plot and anonymous henchmen for you to kill seems a bit random and messy.

  Killer combat or wet blanket?

  The gameplay itself seems to revolve around a cycle of sliding, jumping and swinging with a torrent of bad guys to make all of the above worth while. While performing any of these maneuvers, just start mashing the shoot button and you slip into slow mode. This then triggers a dual shooting mode where you auto-lock onto one bad guy while aim at others until time speeds up again and (hopefully) all the bad guys have stopped moving. While you can somewhat seamlessly combine these fighting techniques for a smooth combo kill, during the times when you aren't taking out the trash all these maneuvers seem a bit forced and awkward and somewhat limited.

  While this blood spilling routine is in itself some awesome mind-numbing entertainment, it soon gets very repetitive with injections of variety that seem to follow the same clunky, awkward feeling. From time to time you enter 'rage' mode where the screen takes a comic book sheen with block colours overlaying everything and it becomes a 'kill as many bad guys as you can' moment. After a while though, you realise that this is just the same, some what monotonous routine but with a new skin.

  As WET develops you get points for each kill and if you're not doing crazy acrobatics while doing this then you are probably doing it wrong. As always, points mean prizes! Upgrade Rubi's arsenal and skill set at the end of each chapter to get new abilities that mean you can shoot stuff while doing even more crazy acrobatics. These new abilities and weapons are lost in the fact that they aren't really that impressive.

  The Missing Reel.

  While the stylised film-grain, scratchy overlay adds even more to the desired atmosphere, if you look to close you will see that the graphics underneath are pretty poor. Blocky characters and un-inspiring environments make the sophisticated Grindhouse style feel like an extra feature rather than a basis for WET's look.

  With all this said and done, this game does grow on you. If you were expecting a deep plot and an emotional attachment to your characters then this isn't for you! But if you want a bit of mindless entertainment that doesn't require too much thought process with an almost endless amount of bad guys for you to take on then you're in the right place.

  Although I kind of felt that I wanted a bit more mayhem and a ridiculously implausible plot that would keep with the rest of the Grindhouse feel, what you get suffices as some high-octane entertainment. While not quite a cult classic, if you approach WET without expecting miracles or something that has a particularly long shelf life then you will have plenty of fun with it.

  Just don't show it to your children! Or any children for that matter...

  

  WET:
  + Easy to settle into gameplay.
  + Mind-blowing action carnage.
  + Sophisticated grindhouse style.

  SOGGY:
  - Poor graphics.
  - Gameplay can get a little monotonous.
  - Almost laughable script.