Wanted: Weapons of Fate

"Fun for awhile, but too repetitive and short for a 60 dollar game."

Watching the Wanted film and reading the comic is like watching The Matrix and then reading Harry Potter. They are that different. But both are great experiences no action fan should miss. Assuming you HAVE read the comic and watched the movie, maybe you want to try out some of the cool abilities yourself. Sure, you could go out into the backyard with a gun and try to curve some bullets. But that would be WAY to dangerous! You could instead give Wanted: Weapons of Fate a play though. It takes elements from the movie (story takes place eight hours after the movie. Also, you can curve bullets!) and elements from the comic (the super awesome assassin suit makes an appearance and Wesley is much more like he is in the comic personality wise). So you know you're in for some crazy gun play, but does the game fully deliver? Well, sort of.

Graphics: 7
Though not pixel for pixel the best on the Xbox 360, Wanted: WoF does look decent. There is some great lighting and environments, for the most part, are very well done. Character models are great as long as they are main characters. Wesley and Cross look like their movie counterparts, but the endless grunts you mow down, are all too similar to each other. Also, there are some mild frame rate problems and some of the movements are very stiff. There are areas that are just plain ugly like the caverns and office building. Thankfully, there are some cool effects that enhance the experience. The screen blurs when you aim giving the shooting a cool focus like effect. Explosions are nicely done and blood sprays on the screen throughout. The graphics aren't perfect. but they do get the job done.

Sound/ Music: 9
Sound wise, Wanted: WoF has a very cinematic feel to it. In fact, the music is straight out of the movie and makes the game more intense and cool. Bullets whiz through the air to really cool effects and the voice acting is superb. However, the gun effects sound mildly weak, which is a disappointment, but everything else more then makes up for it.

Game play: 6
How many of you watched the the Wanted film and said "damn, I wish I could curve bullets!?" Well, now you can. Wanted: Weapons of Fate plays very similar to Gears of War. You move cover to cover and shoot anything that moves. Unlike Gears of War, you can actually curve the bullet and obliterate any baddies hiding behind cover. This system works very well and is very easy to do. Just press RB, line up a shot, and bam! You just killed some poor soul. To do this, you must also build up adrenaline which allows you to perform special attacks.

That isn't the only ability in the game though. As you build up adrenaline by shooting some fools, you can jump cover to cover in slow motion as you shoot down anything that moves. It is very useful when in a bad situation and some sequences have you shooting bullets out of the air and taking out some baddies at the same time.

However, everything isn't perfect. After awhile, you realize that you are doing the same thing over and over. There really isn't any variety in the action besides two awful turret levels. Sure, curving bullets is neat, but by the end of the game, you start wishing for something other then just killing. Or at least killing some baddies that didn't all look alike. There is no variety in the enemies you kill so there really isn't a sense of discovering a new and tough enemy to fight. It's just the same old enemies throughout the game.

There are some very fun and action packed moments though. A level that takes place on a hijacked plane is a fast and very fun level. And there are moments all throughout the game that are just leaking with badassness. Curving bullets will sometimes follow the bullet as it enters a poor sucker's head. And Wesley's suit from the comics is extremely cool to look at. I just wish there was more variety in the action.

Replay: 3
This is one of the shortest games I have ever played. On my first play through on normal, I beat the game in three hours! And to make matters worse, there is no multiplayer mode of any kind. WTF!? There are barely any unlockables besides some lame concept art, new characters that do nothing to the experience, and a hard difficulty system that is just as easy as the others. The only reason to go through the game again would to play a couple of cool chapters again.

Rent or Buy? RENT
Wanted: Weapons of Fate is way too short of a game to waste 60 bucks on. If you are into action games, Wanted: WoF is a perfectly fun rental if you are home alone on a lame Sunday afternoon. Just expect to beat the game that same Sunday afternoon.

Overall Score: 6.25/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/01/09

Game Release: Wanted: Weapons of Fate (US, 03/24/09)