Review: Wet (Xbox 360)
Author: Tigervamp | Date: October 8, 2009
This title comes straight from the exploitation Grindhouse mould and even the least knowledgeable of the genre will notice obvious similarities with Tarantino’s Kill Bill. As a fan of Grindhouse movies I am pleased to see that Bethesda have joined Sega, who recently published both Madworld and House of the Dead: Overkill, in helping to bring this overlooked genre into the realm of videogames.
You play a character named Rubi Malone who is smoking hot and incredibly sexy. Not much is known about Rubi when the game starts apart from the aforementioned sexiness and that she also kicks ass in a very stylish manner. This game mixes the grindhouse/exploitation craziness, with the slow-mo/bullet-time style of Max Payne and Stranglehold, and the energetic acrobatics found in Tomb Raider and Uncharted.
I like the graphics in this game, especially the moments when Rubi goes into rage mode and everything turns a film-noir red and black, and the main character models certainly look the part. The music is fantastic with some great high tempo tracks to get the adrenaline pumping as you swing around the levels gunning down villains like a half monkey half serial killer…but probably in a much sexier way than you just imagined.
A couple of back-to-back training sequences, masquerading as integral parts of the plot, take place in the junk-yard which doubles as Rubi’s humble abode. I enjoyed these sections but take issue with being forced to complete them in order to unlock a cut-scene and continue the game when they are no more than the optional training section “Lara’s Home” found in Tomb Raider II.
The script is deliberately over the top and in keeping with those unrealistic but clearly influential grindhouse movies. Eliza Dushku, Malcom McDowell, and Alan Cumming are the most notable voice talent on offer and as always they do a great job. Dushku is arguably best known for playing the confident and sassy Faith in the Buffy series and here she makes great use of that experience. McDowell has apparently discovered that videogame voice acting can earn him a comfortable living and there’s no complaints here as he has a wonderful voice. Cumming does a good job but to me he will always be Boris Grishenko from Goldeneye with his unforgettable line “I am invincible!”.
This game is not without minor annoyances. I can now add Wet to the list of titles which play havoc with my motion sickness. Bashing the X button when prising doors open with your sword wears thin very quickly as does the same short cut-scene triggered each time you take a swig of alcohol to replenish some health.
In a reviewing first for me, I provide you with an “in the moment” reaction to an issue I found in Chapter 8 of the game, below is a word for word message I sent to someone at the time. Warning: “foul” language used.
“There’s a fucking glitch in this Wet game, can’t get through a door, and it won’t allow me to start the chapter again, only the last fucking checkpoint, and that is right before the glitch, so can’t play the rest of the fucking game without starting all over again, I’ve been playing this for hours and there are some really frustrating stages to go through, really fucking pissed off!!!”
I reloaded that checkpoint around a dozen times and every single attempt had the same result – the door would not open. I left it for a few days, to give myself time to cool off and get prepared for the journey ahead, and I returned with the intention of starting from the beginning but decided to give it one more chance. I started from the checkpoint once more. I did exactly the same thing as there is only one method of reaching that particular door. I stood over the icon. The Y symbol appeared. I was shocked. One press of the Y followed by a short X bashing and the door swung open. I could not believe it. I was free to play the rest of the game!
It was a damn good thing I could play from that point as the ending of Wet is pretty awesome and totally in keeping with the over the top action found throughout the game. Just prior to the conclusion there is an enjoyable battle which looks and feels a lot like the one between Thurman and Liu in Kill Bill. Apart from that annoying glitch which had me slamming a clenched fist down onto my bed, and to be fair it was one of those unfortunate random events, Wet provided some of the most fun I have had in any game for some time.
It probably goes without saying that I highly recommend this to any fans of the grindhouse/exploitation genre as this is a great videogame version of those corny but highly entertaining movies. I grew tired of some aspects of the game such as the repetitive door opening sequences especially the one which caused me so much bother. There are also some incredibly frustrating moments such as trying to dodge pieces of aeroplane while being shot at as you fall out of the sky. Regardless of the few niggling factors this is a very enjoyable game and one I would happily play again.
8.5/10
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think the score should be 7/10 at best. I enjoy the grindhouse type movies for their over the top violence and humour but this when you take away the novelty is I am afraid just another average mix of things borrowed from other games and wrapped up as something new which it isn’t. It isn’t bad but it isn’t in my opinion worthy of a 8.5 score either.
That’s a fair enough comment but sometimes the novelty factor is what pulls a game from a 7/10 (“good” by my standards) to an 8.5 (between “very good” and “great”) and this is one of the few games I’ve played in recent times which I’d happily play through again.
I judge games on many things but borrowing from other titles isn’t really one of them. I would have a huge problem if this borrowed from a bunch of poor games but that’s not the case. I had a great deal of fun with this game and believe, above everything else, that’s what should really matter.
Yes, unfortunately the games industry has been going so long and has achieved so much that it’s very hard to come up with a truly 100% original game these days. Pretty much everything borrows from everything else. Not that that’s a bad thing – look at the Halo games for example, pretty generic shooters with lots of elements borrowed from previous shooters, but very good games in their own right.
yeah but to give this such a high rating is to say it’s up there with fable 2, farcry2 etc which it isn’t. I have never seen a rating over 7 for it on the net and some even gave it 6/10 including gamescentral on teletext. it’s a decent enough game, but for me it’s a rental as the shortness and repetitiveness of it doesn’t for me make it a definite purchase as the review suggests.
I reviewed both Fable 2 and Farcry 2. I gave Fable 2 9.5/10 and Farcry 2 8/10.
Wet’s 8.5/10 means it’s short of being “great” and Fable 2′s 9.5/10 means that is just short of being “excellent”. I feel that Wet is a better game than Farcry 2 which had a fantastic map editor, plus lovely visuals and sound, but fell really short on what they were trying to achieve which was a realistic game. I gave my reasons why I believe Farcry 2 failed to hit the heights they were aiming for. Wet, on the other hand, does exactly what I was expecting from the game and that was to give me a hell of a lot of enjoyment.
I honestly do not care what other reviewers think of Wet or their reasons for giving it a lower score than the one I have. I have a huge issue with reviewers, especially on the net, not showing their hand until reading other opinions and then following that line. It is incredibly pathetic and I’ll have nothing to do with that.
My reviews are entirely based on my own opinions and that is how all reviews should be written. That is not the case. I have a lot of time for GameCentral on Teletext but what you must remember is that not everyone is going to like every game.
I appreciate your opinions but at the end of the day I can only give my own and I have done so. The review suggests that it’s a definite purchase for a certain group of individuals. I think it is very egotistical and dangerous to pretend I can speak for everyone who reads my reviews and I am not about to do so. Would I fork out £40 for this game? Yes, and I would play it more than once.
I am in the middle of writing my review for Operation Flashpoint 2 and I have heard from a friend that someone on IGN (though not certain who wrote it) was moaning about the less than photo-realistic trees. I will distance myself from such nonsense as much as I can. If that person, or any of their readers, want to focus on how trees look in a tactical FPS game (by the way, the trees look fine) they can do so but I am sure as hell not about to follow in their moronic footsteps.
” I have a huge issue with reviewers, especially on the net, not showing their hand until reading other opinions and then following that line. It is incredibly pathetic and I’ll have nothing to do with that.
My reviews are entirely based on my own opinions and that is how all reviews should be written.”
I totally agree, hence my highly controversial 10/10 Monkey Island review. To be honest, it’s more the textual (is that a word?) content of the review than the arbitrary score out of ten at the end that actually counts anyway.
Also, I think that to say that a 9/10 game is better than an 8/10 game fails to see the bigger picture – a game should be reviewed as a “package” entirely in its own right (or against other games in the same series – which doesn’t apply here).
The score should just serve as a very quick summary of that particular reviewer’s experience of that particular game for the people who are too lazy to read the actual text of the review.
i take your points and everybody is entitled to their opinion but I do read the full reviews and although I agree this game is fun and by no means is bad I still feel it is short and repetitive and I am willing to forgive repetitiveness when it happens in a longer game but not in a short game. I also feel some of the inventiveness is actually just tacked on and is what I call novelty and novelty is never good as it is just added to pad out the game and make you think theres more to the game than their actually is.
My point I guess is at the core of this game is just another average FPS with some novelty thrown in and it’s almost old school in its look and play. I realise scores are the reviewers opinion(or should be) but in this instance I feel the reviewer is out of touch with the general view that the game is on average a 7 at best and if scores are going to be given then it’s fair comment to compare them and point out overly high scores so that the readers can have different opinions expressed. I personally find all the big online reviewers actually give too high a score for most games and as they didn’t with this then I can only assume there must be a reason and after playing it I realised why, and for me that reason is, although fun to begin with it becomes boring before too long when you realise the implied depth isn’t actually there. Thanks for your opinions, it isn’t a personal thing , it’s just my opinion.
it met to have old western movie look about it which is ok but it annoying how screen keeps moveing up and down slightly and killing skorpions in bone yard prove to be a bit more of a pain in my ass then i had originaly expected lol and as for combat it ok but it remines me of devil may cry just without male hero and other stuff and as for story well i have not finish it yet but from what i can geather mm theres gang lords she is hired to kill and get money in return for her services to live off of buy guns um ammo maybe lol um rateing 7 or 8 out of ten but this not my actual rateing as that would be unfair if it was cause i have not finish it yet but i will say this im enjoying it so far but interest in it is already in a free fall droping fast in other words but i must say i like environmental weapon idea blow up car swing off things like in tomb raider lol um ghapic are like character good but all other things feel a bit out dated and im talking bout wet um if u wish to comment on my short review send it to lukemsanders@hotmail.com ok thanks for reading and hopefully replying.