Dated visuals and a few minor control issues can't hold a good game down!
The gameplay relies heavily on stylish combat, especially shooting. Rubi (the protagonist) can perform slow motion shooting stunts in midair, while doing a backflip off a wall, while running on a wall, while sliding on the floor, while sliding down ladders, while swinging from poles, etc. These moves are awesome to pull off and many times can have jaw dropping results. The problem with this, however is that Wet is just a generic shooter without this mechanic and doesn't anything else particularly well (but it is a neat trick never the less). I mean it does also feature the Assassin's Creed style platforming and wall jumping but that's still nothing amazing. Another issue that I personally had with this mechanic is that, once Rubi start heading in one direction in slow motion, its hard to manuver her away if need. Countless times, I've found myself unintentionally falling backwards off a cliff to my death in the midst of a gun battle because of this. So, even the controls for the core gimmick of the game needs a bit tweeking. My last final criticism of Wet gameplay revolves around the sections of the game when Rubi goes into a blind rage. Think "Kill Bill" when every time Beatrix sees one of the assassin's who betrayed her and everything goes red while the "Ironside" theme is playing. Its almost the same thing that happens here except the screen stays red, all the enemies and platforms turn black and the blood you spill (which on occassion lands on the screen, lol) turns white. This segment in themselves are actually pretty awesome and artistically laid out but my criticism is the difficulty this change to the enviornment makes when platforming is involved. Some times where to go or what's a safe area to jump to is unclear due to either how the colors visually alter the enviornment or just the vague clues as to where to go. Regardless, there is a decest arsenal of upgradable weapons and skills made available to purchase with the style points gained from killing enemies. I also liked how the pistols have infinate ammo and every time a new weapon is unlock (always done in the story), you're taken to a training course which is designed to familiarize you with the weapon in combat.
I've personally seen bad story telling but I've also seen worst. It lacks depth but does fit well with the central "bad-ass" and sexy appeal. A few of the characters (such as Rubi) are a bit eccentric and definately add to the game's overall theme of being an old school exploitation film. Without giving much of the story away...Wet is about Rubi who is a "fixer" (if you have a problem, she'll fix it for you...for the right price of course) who is betrayed during a routine mission for a shady client. So, the majority of the game is her quest for revenge and discovering why see was set up to begin with. Like I said, its a interesting (and kind of a cliched) plot but its execution could have been a bit better. Besides the storytelling, my only other complaint about story-related content in this game is ****SPOILER WARNING**** There isn't really a final boss battle at the end. Sure, what Rubi does once she gets her hands on the people responsible for whole mess is pretty awesome, it would have been better to do so in an actual fight than watching.****END SPOILERS****
My Breakdown:
What's Good:
- Stylish slow motion combat
- An extremely sexy central character
- The old school explotation film theme
- Funny and random commercials that appear throughout the game
- CHAPTER 6!!! (That's all I'm saying)
- The car chases
- Rage mode
- Awesome soundtrack
- Decent variety of guns to use and the samauri sword was definately a nice touch
- Samauri sword finishers!
What's Not-So-Good:
- Navigating Rubi during some of chapters' rage mode sections
- On occassions, the sounds could have been better
- The game depended a little too much on the stylish combat core mechanic
- The storytelling could have been better
- Should have been able to do more with the samauri sword in mid combat
What's Bad:
- Dated visuals
- Controlling Rubi while performing slow motion stunts in narrow areas
In all, Wet definately has its flaws but its a great game to play for anyone who's an action junky or a fan of anything Quinton Tarantino.