Title: Wet Rating: M for Mature
Platform: XBox 360
Developer: A2M
Website
As the game tells you in the opening sequence, “wet” in this case is short for wetwork, also known as assassination. True to its title, Wet delivers a lot of gory action that, while a little repetitive, is ultimately a lot of fun.
In Wet, you play the role of Rubi Malone, a freelancer who has been hired to bring the heir to a crime family home. Unfortunately, the job goes bad, and Rubi finds herself on the run from a lot of people who want her dead as a result. Rubi, intent on finding out what's going on, finds herself in the middle of an underworld conflict as she fights for her survival.
The first thing that people might notice about Wet is that the game absolutely screams “Quentin Tarantino.” So many things about Wet's presentation call to mind Tarantino's cinematic style, from the grainy “old film reel” effect seen throughout the game to the Rage Mode sequences (which are reminiscent of the “seeing red” sequences from Kill Bill) to the high body count.
What looks to be like a standard third-person shooting game at first is given a few neat twists by the game's acrobatics system. Rubi seems to be an expert gymnast in addition to a hired gun, and the action goes into bullet-time mode when she shoots during these acrobatic moves, allowing her to go to town in style on the hordes of thugs she runs into throughout the game. Mastering the art of shooting while leaping, sliding down ladders and even running on walls is a major part of the game. Rubi ends up with four types of guns by the end of the game, and she also has a sword that she can use. You can purchase upgrades, such as gun enhancements and new acrobatic stunts, using style points, which are gained by killing enemies quickly and with sufficient acrobatic style.
Objectively speaking, I'll admit Wet is a tad repetitive. There are fewer acrobatic moves available than I was hoping for, and the run-and-gun action remains mostly the same throughout. However, I found it hard to ding the game for that simply because the action remains so fun the entire time you're playing it. Somehow, shooting down half a dozen bad guys in one dive never gets old.
In addition, the game's soundtrack has to be one of the best I've heard in a long time. Every piece of music immerses you further into the action, and songs like The Arkhams' “She's Lost Control” and Knock Galley West's “Murder” are so fun to listen to that you might find yourself deliberately losing lives just to listen to the songs over again. Fortunately, there's a jukebox mode available to make such a thing unnecessary.
Wet isn't the most original game out there, but it's a fun ride all the way through and a title well worth playing.
Overall Rating: **** out of *****
Christopher Mastey-Muzikreviews.com Video Game Reviewer
November 22, 2009
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