Review

Wet, perhaps the oddest title to bestow a console release, is another one of those titles that seems to appear on the out of nowhere. Is it an extreme water sports title? Or perhaps a video game attempt at a wet t-shirt competition? Well it’s neither, instead combine Stranglehold’s slow motion action with Prince of Persia’s movement mechanic and finish it off with visual styles of Quentin Tarintino’s ode to 1970’s exploitation films, and the result is Wet.

Style-wise Wet is fantastic; the 70’s film B-movie theme is apparent throughout. Menu screens have stylised collages filled with caricatures, old movie clips play in between levels, even the screen flickers like an antique movie. The theme continues into the in-game action, the environments the plot takes our protagonist Rubi Malone too are dank and unappealing like the seedy crime underworld each attempts to portray. Wet’s soundtrack is also fitting to its general theme, although composed by Brian LeBarton is feels as though Tarintino himself has hand picked the obscure rock tracks that sit beneath the action. It’s such a shame then that said action spoils the soundtrack, as the incessant gunfire drowns out some fantastic and distinctive tracks.

The same can’t be said for the dialogue, which is on par with the 70’s Grind House movies that game is based on, complete with excessive swearing of course. Although the dialogue itself is quite well acted, with voice talent coming from the likes of Elisha Dushku and Malcolm MacDowell, the script is poor and even the excellent presentation does nothing to save the cut scenes.

As mentioned, Wet borrows much of its gameplay from other titles. Rubi’s movements are much akin to the Prince’s in the most recent Prince Of Persia title. She can climb, slide, jump and swing on objects in order to reach the next section. Unlike Prince Of Persia the environments are restricted to modern cityscapes, so much of the movement is restricted. Also much of the puzzle element is removed through the highlight feature that shows whether or not objects can be climbed, which sort of defeats to purpose of an action adventure title.

Gun-toting action takes much, if not all of its inspiration from Stranglehold. Firing when jumping, sliding or running against walls will result in a slow motion mechanic that makes enemies easier to kill and Rubi more difficult, which is fortunate, as Rubi couldn’t shoot fish in a barrel without it. During slow motion Rubi also has the ability to shoot multiple targets, here one gun will auto-aim while the other can be targeted to the users will. It is has been implemented well and it’s uncomplicated use does not detract from fire fights. For an aspect that takes up much of the gameplay it is fortunate that it works well, to some extent it can be fun as Rubi bend to impressive acrobatic angles, blowing the heads of enemies in violent glory. Still the reliance on this system is its downfall and before too long it starts to become monotonous. Developers Artificial Mind And Movement has added an arcade element to proceeding through the points scoring system. Kills, often coming with names like ‘skull crusher’ and ‘ball breaker’ are worth points, which can be increased through the multiplier (built up through a stringing kills together). These points can then be used to purchase skills and/or increase attributes on weapons, the majority of which allow Rubi to shoot in more outlandish scenarios.

Levels are divided between climbing through the environments and fighting multiple enemies in large areas, these sections are known as ‘arenas’. Here the aim is to block enemies’ entry points, stopping them overwhelming our hero before killing them off. Wet is not a difficult game per se, but the frequency at these arena show up, added to the increased difficulty as the game progresses i.e. enemies flood the area and entry points become difficult to get to, make the arenas one of the most frustrating gameplay addition. Occasionally, Wet throws something different altogether into the mix. A car chase or two, or maybe a plain crash sees Rubi jumping between wreckage with context sensitive buttons. While apparently getting blood on her face causes Rubi to explode into a violent rage, at this point the usual dank environments are replaced by block shades of red, black and white. On a visual front it makes for one of the best parts of Wet, which on the other hand doesn’t say too much for the main visuals. Despite the outrageous and over the top nature these scenarios prove entertaining.

Wet is over the top, even with the gratuitous gore it almost borders on camp at some points. However it seems as though Wet is a case of style over substance, because while it’s style is innovative and original, it’s gameplay is quite the opposite. Action, although borrowed from other titles works, is not enough to see it past a few hours of gameplay. Add that to a poor story mode and few features outside of that mean that Wet is a bit of damp squid.