Kinda Gets You Wet

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: As I patiently await the release of NBA 2K10 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, I went ahead and added a couple of games to my Gamefly Game Q to keep me occupied. Since I'm a shooter game junkie, I gave Artificial Mind and Movement and Bethesda Softworks' Wet a try.

I was hesitant at first after reading tons of bad reviews from those who rented the game from Gamefly. But, the competitor in me finally won me over.

On the surface, Wet is a third-person action-shooter game that combines guns and swordplay with lots of tumbling, jumping, sliding, and wall-running. You play as Rubi Malone, a fixer or hired gun, who is tricked and double-crossed by her latest client Rupert Pelham (pretending to be William Ackers) in order to wipeout his only competition, the real William Ackers, in the world of global shipping port drug trades.

The game isn't bashful about imitating the style of Hong Kong action flick and Hollywood director and producer, Quentin Tarantino, down to its retro film grains, exuberant characters, and cornball dialogue. In fact, the game forces players to fight through the game the way the protagonist of such films deliver his/her brand of punishment. It may keep novice or casual gamers at bay, but hardcore gamers should love the increasing but repetitive challenges the game has to offer.

The game's action sequences consist of running through a level until you hit an "arena", an area in the middle of a level where Rubi must find and destroy a number of doors with a skull and cross swords to keep enemies from coming out of while dispatching an army of henchmen around you.

While there's an endless supply of blood and carnage, the game does not lack annoying and downright aweful elements. Wet features a plethora of different style of rock music that goes so well with its look and feel. But that same music can and will eventually get to you, especially when you're still trying to beat an arena challenge on your fifth try.

The game's control sensitivity just might be the worse part of the game. It's hard enough to shoot while you and your target are in motion or slo-motion. But when the controls keeps you from putting that round crosshair where you want it to go and stay before you touch the ground or kill another enemy waiting to put a hole in your head somewhere in the room, that just add up to an easily frustrating gaming experience even for a hardened veteran. However once you give the game enough time (which seems to be the only cure), you will finally conquer most of your aggravation and vent that anger towards your enemies.

You would think that for a game that seems to pride itself on being a tough game, you'd expect the boss fights to finally make you snap and throw that controller on your TV. But nope. It does not. Instead, you watch the battle between Rubi and whatever boss you got yourself to and wait for the game to show you which button to press to counter or attack until the boss is defeated.

I think developers often forget that beating your exasperation of playing a game is often the best reward for players. I certainly wouldn't mind scratching my head until it bleeds trying to figure out how to beat a boss since I just love defeating bosses.

It's quite ridiculous when you consider that boss fights are the only thing the break the irritating pattern of having to shoot and slash the common enemies from one level to another and from one arena to another.

Overall, Wet is a very stylized shooter that requires a huge amount of patience to eventually immerse yourself into. It offers enough addictive action and is entertaining enough as long as you don't let the frustration factor taunt you into submission. But, Wet is definitely a rent only title only because realizing that you bought the game just might prove fatal for your mental health.

Wet (Artificial Mind and Movement/Bethesda Softworks). Platforms: Playstation 3 and XBox 360. Genre: Third-person shooter. Player(s): 1. ESRB Rating: Mature (M)
GAMEPLAY: C-
GAME DESIGN: C-
STORY: D+
GRAPHICS: D+
SOUND: C
MUSIC: B
VOICE ACTING: C
REPLAY VALUE: F
RENT OR BUY?: RENT ONLY!