Wet

"WET plays more like a movie, than a video game. However, that isn't necessaritly a bad thing."

Before anything else, I would just like to get this out of the way as to deter some of the more perverted comments. The game's title, WET, is a play off of the word ‘wetwork'. Wetwork is a euphemism alluding to hands literally wet with blood, as in murder or assassination.

Story:

You play as Rubi, a highly skilled mercenary, who just happens to have breasts. She is hired for a job, and you later find out that it was all a tric… blah, blah, blah. The story is just another cliche plot, where the main character is out for revenge, after some betrayal. The story is entirely forgettable.

However, you don't go to see a Quentin Terentino film for its plot, you just want the guilty pleasure of watching some over-the-top action and carnage. That is essentially what this game is. And when I say over-the-top, I mean it. We are talking about entire levels consisting of gun battles while car surfing or free falling from a plane. As for the gore, just picture cutting off enemies limbs with a sword ala Kill Bill style.

WET is essentially a Terentino movie in video game form.

8/10

Gameplay:

The gameplay pretty much centers around one theme, shooting while doing insane acrobatic moves. Whether it is diving through the air, running up a wall, or sliding on the ground, that is what it boils down to. Don't get me wrong, it does this all very well. The aiming, parkour, and points system all make the combat very enjoyable, however that is pretty much all the gameplay has to offer.

The aiming system is based around the concept of two guns. Although you can only fire one gun while standing still or running, as soon as you go into an acrobatic move, you'll be able to shoot both weapons in slow-mo. What makes the system really unique is that you can shoot two different targets at once, whether they are right next to each other or across the room from one another. The way in which this is implemented is rather ingenious as well. One gun will target an enemy automatically, while you control the second weapon to shoot wherever your cursor is aiming. If you are thinking that this sounds odd while reading this, trust me it works.

The game also has a points system, in which you earn style points for your performance in combat. You can then use those points to buy upgrades for both your weapons and moves. As you probably have guessed, these style points are earned by just that, being stylish while killing your enemies. If you just go about doing the same move over and over, you are likely to not get very many points for killing your enemies. However, if you were to vary your moves or even string moves together (ie. dive into a slide), then you will be rewarded with plenty of points. The points received are also based off of a bonus multiplier, which you can increase with frequent kills and pickups. These style points tend to keep the combat fresh and entertaining, as you will have to try new and interesting moves if you want more points.

Beyond these few aspects however, there isn't really anything else to the game. The initial gameplay doesn't grow or evolve, as it should. You will get a couple new weapons and moves, but nothing drastic enough for you to change the way you play. There are even these ‘rage' sequences where the combat will pick up a bit, but once again nothing radical. The biggest difference is that the screen just turns blood red during these rage scenes.

As far as downfalls go, however, the biggest one by far would be the boss fights. More specifically, is that they are pretty much non-existent. Whenever you are in confrontation with any enemy larger than the common thug, the battle is just a cutscene with a couple quick time events. The final boss fight is literally a cutscene with two button prompts! Talk about anti-climatic.

6/10

Visuals:

WET's graphics are great; nothing groundbreaking, but definitely meets the acceptable criteria of today's video game market. What really is remarkable, however, is the game's style. It is a spot-on impression of a Terentino film, with its east meets west influences and corny one liners. It even has the whole damaged film effects that were so common in Grindhouse.

The whole thing isn't just a rip-off of Terentino however. The ‘rage' sequences mentioned above, take on a more graphic novel approach. The game becomes cell shaded, with everything being shades of red and black, helping to further symbolize the carnage that is occurring.

8/10

Audio:

Normally I don't talk much about the audio of a game, but WET's soundtrack is amazing; perfectly suited for the over-the-top action and carnage. Plus, the songs never repeat. Each level, each area, pretty much has its own song, bringing the soundtrack to a total of 34 songs.

These aren't just your normal background tunes either. They sound as if they were recorded for an album. There is even an in-game jukebox where you can listen to all of the songs (after you unlock them). Heck, I have them playing in the background right now, as I write this review.

10/10

Replay:

How many times can you watch the same movie? As I said before, WET is more a cinematic experience, so it tends to get boring if you start “watching” it over and over. The repetitive gameplay and quick time boss events make this more a one-time experience.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you went back to it a year or two later, however after beating it once you'll pretty much see everything there is to see.

4/10

Achievements:

The worst part of this game's achievements, is that you are required to beat the game 4 times in order for to get 1000/1000. It wouldn't be that big of a deal, if all the difficulties were unlocked at the beginning. You have to beat the game at least once before you can unlock the final two difficulties; ‘Ultra Hard' and ‘Golden Bullets'. The difficulty achievements do stack, so I would recommend you starting off on hard. It poses a bit of a challenge, but with a little trial and error you should be fine. The ‘Ultra Hard' mode doesn't seem that much worse than hard, and the ‘Golden Bullets' is ridiculously easy (enemies die in one shot). There is also a ‘Points Count' mode, where you need to beat a target score for each level, but there are techniques that make it manageable.

There are some collectibles, which unfortunately are there just for the sake of collecting (ie. they don't unlock anything). Also there are some kill and weapon achievements, but I wouldn't worry about them too much, as you will most likely get them all in the 4 playthroughs. If you don't, they can easily be grinded in some of the easier levels. In addition to these there are a couple achievements tied to the ‘Boneyard', an extra level that contains some challenges and collectibles.

6/10

Overall:

WET plays more like a movie, than a video game. However, if you are fan of Quentin Terentino then you will definitely appreciate this game. Worth a rent, but wouldn't buy it.

7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/16/09

Game Release: Wet (US, 09/15/09)