WET Review
Although Artificial Mind and Movement (A2M) have been around for a very long time, they usually develop casual games, or ports from the major platforms. WET, however, is a definite departure from this, as it appears on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after being developed entirely from scratch by A2M. It's always good to see development studios try new things, and WET, being a tribute to Grindhouse, is definitely something new.
WET follows the story of Rubi Malone, who is a bounty hunter by trade. After retreiving an object on behalf of her employer, Trevor Ackers, things take a definite turn for the worse for Rubi, and instead of worrying about her next pay cheque, she goes on a quest of blood lust and revenge, desperate to see those who betrayed her suffer for their impudence. It's a definitely throwback to the Grindhouse film genre, and it all plays through fairly well, there are even the cliché characters littered throughout the story.
Rubi serves as a really good anti-hero, and all of the other characters definitely serve their purpose. It's a shame there wasn't some more development though, as many of the characters appear once and are never seen from again. The plot also drives along at lightning speed, and many events may seem fairly irrelevant at the end. The style is nice, and the execution is good too, but the source material could probably have done with some more development. Rubi is an intriguing character, as are the rest of the cast and some more development could have only helped to enrich the experience.
The gameplay in WET is both familiar, and distinctly different from anything that's been seen before. It's effectively based on a bullet-time mechanic, except there's no limit to how often it can be used. The only stipulation that governs its usage is whether or not Rubi is performing some kind of acrobatic move. This can be jumping through the air, wall running, swinging around poles, or sliding along her knees. One things for sure though, attempting to take down enemies using normal gun play is definitely not advised and it's a quick way to get killed. In order to succeed in WET, making use of Rubi's special talents is essential.
Alongside the slow-motion effect that's gained by performing acrobatic stunts, it's also possible to target two enemies at once. All of Rubi's firearms come in the dual variety, and while the AI targets one foe with her left-hand, the player is free to choose another target with her right-hand. It makes the game a bit more tactical, as it's up to the player whether or not they want to focus all fire at one point, or try to take down multiple enemies at the same time. Unfortunately, since a large portion of the game revolves around going in slow-motion, it does detract from the action a bit. The mechanics governing the usage of her acrobatics aren't necessarily all that tight either. Sometimes Rubi will jump off things in unexpected ways, or she just won't do things in an expected way. While the ability to chain moves together is nice, and later on, after more moves are unlocked, it's possible to create even more acrobatic links, it just feels slightly under-produced.
