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March 25, 2009 | 10:32 PM PST
What the Game's About
Wanted is a divisive property; there are people who "get it" and the people who sadly just don't. Wanted: Weapons of Fate is aimed squarely at those who "get it" and want more. Packed with the same stylish action and unapologetically antisocial, nihilistic attitude that made the movie such a wicked guilty pleasure, Weapons of Fate features a variety of surprisingly unique gameplay mechanics and buries players under a ton of intelligent winks to the source material, not to mention scads of unlockable fan-service. It won't change any minds regarding the value of the subject matter and probably doesn't contain enough content for non-fans to get their $60 worth, so if you hated the movie or the comic then don't bother. If the natural, albeit questionably healthy appeal of curving bullets into the face of your enemies is not lost on you however, Weapons of Fate warrants your immediate attention.
What's Hot
Weapons of Fate picks up immediately after the last shot fired in the movie, and the transition is fairly seamless thanks to presentation values that perfectly capture the movie's distinct attitude. GRIN's graphics engine doesn't provide the best looking visuals on the market, but it does a good job of recreating the stylishly gritty tone of the movie through detailed character models, sordid environments, and lighting and particle effects. Slow-motion bullet-trails and splashes of blood against the screen are particularly nice exclamation points to moments of violence. The audio handily trumps the visuals though, with remixed versions of the dirty guitar riffs from Danny Elfman's movie score and dialogue that sells the characters perfectly. Now there are certain people -- certain rappers -- that should never be allowed to do voice-over in a game again, but most of the lines are delivered very well. Some members of the population, let's call them overly sensitive pretentious jerks for lack of a better term, will consider the unrepentant malevolence of the dialog to be obnoxious, but what they call obnoxious I call "delightfully subversive." Wesley and company aren't rambling or repeating the same lines throughout the entire game, they speak up and deliver wonderfully crass comments at the perfect moments.
A cover-based shooter at its heart, Weapons of Fate channels the unrestrained aggression of its source material by encouraging players to use the cover to push forward and attack, not cower and hide. The cover system recalls Gears of War, since a single button controls almost everything and you can quickly bounce from cover to cover in a variety of ways. The player character moves very quickly from cover to cover, sprinting, sliding, and diving between and over pieces of cover, all of which looks appropriately badass in motion. As you keep moving through cover your character starts moving faster and faster, to the point that enemies will completely lose track of you and continue focusing on the piece of cover you just left, allowing you to flank around. You can also loose enemies by using blind-fire to suppress them and force them behind cover where they can't see you, thereby allowing you to move unseen. It's incredibly useful, makes perfect sense, and ensures using cover doesn't slow down the pace too much. Other developers might want to think about "borrowing" the suppressive fire mechanic for their own shooters.
Taking out enemies build's up the player's adrenaline meter, which allows you to use "adrenaline time" and the bullet curving techniques. Adrenaline time is just Max Payne-style slow motion by another name, but now it's tied directly into the cover system. Using it will cause Wesley to dive, spin, or slide across a gap in slow motion, giving you plenty of time to take out two or three enemies in the process, which is very handy for some of the bigger set-piece battles, damn-near mandatory for the boss battles, and always a treat to watch. I will never get tired of pulling out two pistols and taking out three enemies while sliding on my knees across a table. Never. Speaking of a treat to watch, the game uses an innovative new take on quick-time-events to deliver the kind of over-the-top action sequences seen in the movie. Rather than splashing giant button icons on the screen, the game starts channeling "Time Crisis," taking control over the player's movement but leaving them in control of where they aim and shoot. The game effectively transforms into a third-person on-rails shooter, seamlessly interspersed with real-time sequences of Wesley being a badass, and the end result is fantastic. I'll take these sequences over the likes of Resident Evil's Simon-says cinemas any day.
Curving bullets in Weapons of Fate is insanely satisfying. The aiming mechanic has been balanced perfectly. You curve bullets by holding down one of the triggers to bring up the aiming arc, use the analog stick to rotate the arc until it turns from red to white to indicate a clear path, and then releasing the trigger to fire. In essence, you're basically recreating the firing motion seen the movies with a few fingers. It's intuitive enough that new players will immediately grasp what they're supposed to do, but there's enough depth to the technique that players will notice themselves getting faster and better over the course of the game. It's the shooting equivalent to the difference between driving a standard or automatic, and anyone who drives standard knows it's tough to go back to boring old auto. Lining up that flight-path, releasing the trigger and being treated to a slow-motion bullet-cam as the projectile carves through the air into the skull of the target is just awesome. Combining all of Wesley's abilities together against garrisons of fraternity assassins makes for unique and exciting shoot-outs, especially in some of the larger and more interesting environments. Shooting your way through a plane as it's crumbling around you and laying waste to enemies inside a cathedral stand as some of the more memorable battles I've experience in a long time.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fan service that Universal has packed into the game. In addition to a script that's respectful the source material, dialogue that's faithful to the established characters, and the inimitable vision of the "Killer" suit from the comics, the game offers tons of collectible assets and artwork, including two pieces of J.G. Jones material drawn specifically for the game. Multiple playthroughs give way to new gameplay modes and character models, and the developers have set up some really cool achievements/trophies that take advantage of those extras and provide additional winks to the subject matter. There's plenty here to keep Wanted fans playing past the 6-8 hour campaign length.
What's Not
Yes, Wanted is only 6-8 hours long. No, I'm not going to dock it points for that, because I don't think a game's quality has anything to do with the number of hours I have to play to see the credits roll. It's up to individual consumers to decide whether or not they think they're getting their money's worth from the experience, but I do think that there's a solid amount of content here for fans of the movie and the action genre. The only problem I have with the length of the game concerns the pacing of some of the levels. There are several areas, including two jaunts to the Chicago fraternity headquarters and a battle inside an office building, that end right as they're starting to pick up. The office building level is the biggest offender in this regard, as you slam headfirst into the boss battle after about two sections of action. The cubicles, stairs and server rooms make for some great cover-based combat sequences, especially with nice touches like the glass barriers between cubicles smashing as Wesley jumps through them in his cover-chaining sequence. These levels could have easily been stretched out a little longer without getting redundant, and it would have made the ultimate altercations all the more satisfying. Hell, get rid of the horrible sniping and turret sequences and give me a few more areas to shoot through in those levels, and that would have made a huge positive difference.
The major disappointment I have with Wanted: Weapons of Fate is that the developers have created a toolbox of great gameplay mechanics and failed to push them as hard or as far as they could have. Most of the battles in the game, while fun and sometimes tactical, don't reach the fever pitch necessary to impart the frenetic energy of the source material. In those rare instances when everything clicks and the energy level goes through the roof, instances like the entirety of the plane mission and several of the key battles in the later, European levels, you realize what the developers were aiming for and how they came up a little short everywhere else. The larger battles, the ones where the developers throw everything from standard gun-carrying thugs to shrieking sickle-bearing lunatics, to dead-aimed snipers, and powerful elites –- those are the most fun battles because they demand the most of the player's ability, their use of cover and special abilities, and they're also that battles that come closest to replicating the stylish mayhem from the movie. The skirmishes that occur between those set-pieces start to feel rote by the time you've experienced the game's heights.
Where are the assassins that are on my level, that will curve bullets against me and shoot my bullets out of the air? How much more interesting would combat be if you had to worry about getting a bullet curved around a corner into their face in addition to taking out the thugs attacking by more traditional means? Likewise, the QTEs in the game are criminally underused and while fun, those in the game are so much more limited in scope than they could be. Wesley's actions during these sequences aren't nearly as aggressive or stylish as those seen in the movie, but they could be if given the time. Likewise, the omission of a car-chase sequence, left out because GRIN had no experience with vehicular combat sequences, could have been achieved with one extended rail-shooting QTE. The only difference would be action displayed on-screen, the fact that the player was shooting from a car instead of on foot is irrelevant if the computer takes control of movement away from them. So why not take that extra step to really do the movie justice and offer players something fresh? It sure would have been a better idea than the turret and sniper sections (yes, I really hate those). Wanted: Weapons of Fate is a good action game, I just couldn't stop thinking of the little things that could have made it better.
Final Word
Attention Universal: This game demands a sequel! Not only does Wanted offer a stylishly sordid universe begging to be explored, all of the core gameplay mechanics have first-class potential and deserve to be pushed harder. Wanted: Weapons of Fate is destined to incite a predictable chorus of whiners who will deride the game for a perceived lack of value due to the omission of multiplayer or lack of genre-redefining gameplay elements. To them I say this: Wanted wasn't made for you in the first place. Universal has broken the movie-game curse for the third time by crafting a sleek, fun game that will undoubtedly satisfy fans of the wicked subject matter. What the fuck have YOU done lately?
Wanted is a divisive property; there are people who "get it" and the people who sadly just don't. Wanted: Weapons of Fate is aimed squarely at those who "get it" and want more. Packed with the same stylish action and unapologetically antisocial, nihilistic attitude that made the movie such a wicked guilty pleasure, Weapons of Fate features a variety of surprisingly unique gameplay mechanics and buries players under a ton of intelligent winks to the source material, not to mention scads of unlockable fan-service. It won't change any minds regarding the value of the subject matter and probably doesn't contain enough content for non-fans to get their $60 worth, so if you hated the movie or the comic then don't bother. If the natural, albeit questionably healthy appeal of curving bullets into the face of your enemies is not lost on you however, Weapons of Fate warrants your immediate attention.
What's Hot
Weapons of Fate picks up immediately after the last shot fired in the movie, and the transition is fairly seamless thanks to presentation values that perfectly capture the movie's distinct attitude. GRIN's graphics engine doesn't provide the best looking visuals on the market, but it does a good job of recreating the stylishly gritty tone of the movie through detailed character models, sordid environments, and lighting and particle effects. Slow-motion bullet-trails and splashes of blood against the screen are particularly nice exclamation points to moments of violence. The audio handily trumps the visuals though, with remixed versions of the dirty guitar riffs from Danny Elfman's movie score and dialogue that sells the characters perfectly. Now there are certain people -- certain rappers -- that should never be allowed to do voice-over in a game again, but most of the lines are delivered very well. Some members of the population, let's call them overly sensitive pretentious jerks for lack of a better term, will consider the unrepentant malevolence of the dialog to be obnoxious, but what they call obnoxious I call "delightfully subversive." Wesley and company aren't rambling or repeating the same lines throughout the entire game, they speak up and deliver wonderfully crass comments at the perfect moments.
A cover-based shooter at its heart, Weapons of Fate channels the unrestrained aggression of its source material by encouraging players to use the cover to push forward and attack, not cower and hide. The cover system recalls Gears of War, since a single button controls almost everything and you can quickly bounce from cover to cover in a variety of ways. The player character moves very quickly from cover to cover, sprinting, sliding, and diving between and over pieces of cover, all of which looks appropriately badass in motion. As you keep moving through cover your character starts moving faster and faster, to the point that enemies will completely lose track of you and continue focusing on the piece of cover you just left, allowing you to flank around. You can also loose enemies by using blind-fire to suppress them and force them behind cover where they can't see you, thereby allowing you to move unseen. It's incredibly useful, makes perfect sense, and ensures using cover doesn't slow down the pace too much. Other developers might want to think about "borrowing" the suppressive fire mechanic for their own shooters.
Taking out enemies build's up the player's adrenaline meter, which allows you to use "adrenaline time" and the bullet curving techniques. Adrenaline time is just Max Payne-style slow motion by another name, but now it's tied directly into the cover system. Using it will cause Wesley to dive, spin, or slide across a gap in slow motion, giving you plenty of time to take out two or three enemies in the process, which is very handy for some of the bigger set-piece battles, damn-near mandatory for the boss battles, and always a treat to watch. I will never get tired of pulling out two pistols and taking out three enemies while sliding on my knees across a table. Never. Speaking of a treat to watch, the game uses an innovative new take on quick-time-events to deliver the kind of over-the-top action sequences seen in the movie. Rather than splashing giant button icons on the screen, the game starts channeling "Time Crisis," taking control over the player's movement but leaving them in control of where they aim and shoot. The game effectively transforms into a third-person on-rails shooter, seamlessly interspersed with real-time sequences of Wesley being a badass, and the end result is fantastic. I'll take these sequences over the likes of Resident Evil's Simon-says cinemas any day.
Curving bullets in Weapons of Fate is insanely satisfying. The aiming mechanic has been balanced perfectly. You curve bullets by holding down one of the triggers to bring up the aiming arc, use the analog stick to rotate the arc until it turns from red to white to indicate a clear path, and then releasing the trigger to fire. In essence, you're basically recreating the firing motion seen the movies with a few fingers. It's intuitive enough that new players will immediately grasp what they're supposed to do, but there's enough depth to the technique that players will notice themselves getting faster and better over the course of the game. It's the shooting equivalent to the difference between driving a standard or automatic, and anyone who drives standard knows it's tough to go back to boring old auto. Lining up that flight-path, releasing the trigger and being treated to a slow-motion bullet-cam as the projectile carves through the air into the skull of the target is just awesome. Combining all of Wesley's abilities together against garrisons of fraternity assassins makes for unique and exciting shoot-outs, especially in some of the larger and more interesting environments. Shooting your way through a plane as it's crumbling around you and laying waste to enemies inside a cathedral stand as some of the more memorable battles I've experience in a long time.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fan service that Universal has packed into the game. In addition to a script that's respectful the source material, dialogue that's faithful to the established characters, and the inimitable vision of the "Killer" suit from the comics, the game offers tons of collectible assets and artwork, including two pieces of J.G. Jones material drawn specifically for the game. Multiple playthroughs give way to new gameplay modes and character models, and the developers have set up some really cool achievements/trophies that take advantage of those extras and provide additional winks to the subject matter. There's plenty here to keep Wanted fans playing past the 6-8 hour campaign length.
What's Not
Yes, Wanted is only 6-8 hours long. No, I'm not going to dock it points for that, because I don't think a game's quality has anything to do with the number of hours I have to play to see the credits roll. It's up to individual consumers to decide whether or not they think they're getting their money's worth from the experience, but I do think that there's a solid amount of content here for fans of the movie and the action genre. The only problem I have with the length of the game concerns the pacing of some of the levels. There are several areas, including two jaunts to the Chicago fraternity headquarters and a battle inside an office building, that end right as they're starting to pick up. The office building level is the biggest offender in this regard, as you slam headfirst into the boss battle after about two sections of action. The cubicles, stairs and server rooms make for some great cover-based combat sequences, especially with nice touches like the glass barriers between cubicles smashing as Wesley jumps through them in his cover-chaining sequence. These levels could have easily been stretched out a little longer without getting redundant, and it would have made the ultimate altercations all the more satisfying. Hell, get rid of the horrible sniping and turret sequences and give me a few more areas to shoot through in those levels, and that would have made a huge positive difference.
The major disappointment I have with Wanted: Weapons of Fate is that the developers have created a toolbox of great gameplay mechanics and failed to push them as hard or as far as they could have. Most of the battles in the game, while fun and sometimes tactical, don't reach the fever pitch necessary to impart the frenetic energy of the source material. In those rare instances when everything clicks and the energy level goes through the roof, instances like the entirety of the plane mission and several of the key battles in the later, European levels, you realize what the developers were aiming for and how they came up a little short everywhere else. The larger battles, the ones where the developers throw everything from standard gun-carrying thugs to shrieking sickle-bearing lunatics, to dead-aimed snipers, and powerful elites –- those are the most fun battles because they demand the most of the player's ability, their use of cover and special abilities, and they're also that battles that come closest to replicating the stylish mayhem from the movie. The skirmishes that occur between those set-pieces start to feel rote by the time you've experienced the game's heights.
Where are the assassins that are on my level, that will curve bullets against me and shoot my bullets out of the air? How much more interesting would combat be if you had to worry about getting a bullet curved around a corner into their face in addition to taking out the thugs attacking by more traditional means? Likewise, the QTEs in the game are criminally underused and while fun, those in the game are so much more limited in scope than they could be. Wesley's actions during these sequences aren't nearly as aggressive or stylish as those seen in the movie, but they could be if given the time. Likewise, the omission of a car-chase sequence, left out because GRIN had no experience with vehicular combat sequences, could have been achieved with one extended rail-shooting QTE. The only difference would be action displayed on-screen, the fact that the player was shooting from a car instead of on foot is irrelevant if the computer takes control of movement away from them. So why not take that extra step to really do the movie justice and offer players something fresh? It sure would have been a better idea than the turret and sniper sections (yes, I really hate those). Wanted: Weapons of Fate is a good action game, I just couldn't stop thinking of the little things that could have made it better.
Final Word
Attention Universal: This game demands a sequel! Not only does Wanted offer a stylishly sordid universe begging to be explored, all of the core gameplay mechanics have first-class potential and deserve to be pushed harder. Wanted: Weapons of Fate is destined to incite a predictable chorus of whiners who will deride the game for a perceived lack of value due to the omission of multiplayer or lack of genre-redefining gameplay elements. To them I say this: Wanted wasn't made for you in the first place. Universal has broken the movie-game curse for the third time by crafting a sleek, fun game that will undoubtedly satisfy fans of the wicked subject matter. What the fuck have YOU done lately?
February 8, 2010
