Wheelman

"Great Driving-Focused, Story-Driven Arcade Driving Game"

I will start my review by saying that I am a huge fan of these types of car-focused, story-driven driving games. Driver 1 & 2 are two of my all-time favorite games and this game does share alot in common with those two games. So please take that into consideration when reading this quick review...as your mileage may vary.

Pros :

1). Easy to learn and master car physics - I found them very similar to Burnout : Revenge driving physics. Pretty easy-learning curve and nothing that takes away from the game.

2). Missions (including Side Missions) are fun, numerous, and challenging to get "S" ranking on the side-missions. Since there is a 100 pt Achievement for all "S" ranking on side missions, you will be restarting some of these side-missions many, many times. The side missions reminded me in variety of games like GTA and SR but are much more driving focused of course.

3). Having Vin's voice does add a bit to the game as far as immersion. He has a great voice for games (IMO).

4). Restarting Side Missions and Restoring Checkpoints in main missions are in the game!! This was a deal-breaker for me just because of needing "S" ranks in the side-missions will lead to many restarts. This lack of option ruined Burnout Paradise for me.

5). Barcelona is a fun city to drive around with large plazas, tiny side-streets, and just a good solid feel about it. I was growing very tired of driving around "Pseudo-New York" in every game. It reminded me of some of the locations in Driver 2 that you drove in.

6). I personally love the "Car Attack" right-stick process. When done correctly, you get a great feeling of both speed and power when trying to takedown your enemies. It reminded me alot of the "Takedown" process on Burnout : Revenge and does give you a "movie-chase" immersion feeling when you are pounding on each other as you swerve through traffic.

7). "Teleporting" to mission starts are in game also. It does help speed things up when you just want to get some side-missions done.


Cons :

1). Graphics are sub-par. Graphic-intensive folks will be turned off as they are pretty poor. Graphics have always been one of my least important things, especially in these types of games, so I got over it pretty quick.

2). While Vin's voice is solid, the dialogue is pretty poor so far. You typical neurotic mob junk. It felt taken right from GTA IV for most of it. Nothing special for sure (at least so far).

3). Small gripe here but too much traffic (LOL). It seems like it is perma-rush hour in Barcelona...24/7. I didn't want the city abandoned or anything but sometimes it really gets annoying not being able to let the muscle sing because you are in so much traffic and crashing really hurts your chasing in this game. Many side-mission restarts await from hitting the "car that decides to make random right turn directly into you" Yes, I know you all just love that scenario.


So that's about it. I am waaay over on the Pro side of the scale (as you can see) for this game and I really think it is a big underrated game. I hope this helps if you were on the fence of buying this game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/30/09

Game Release: Wheelman (US, 03/24/09)