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Wet Hands-On Preview for Xbox 360

Wet Hands-On Preview for Xbox 360

Wet and Wild

June 15, 2009 – Wet is a game that almost didn’t come to be. While it has been in development for awhile now, the merger between Activision and Vivendi temporarily left this title out in the cold without a publisher. Thankfully, Bethesda swooped in and ensured that we’d finally have a chance to play this highly stylized acrobatic shooter. Much like a newborn baby, Wet’s new parents were ecstatic to show it off at this year’s E3.

Wet screenshot

The first thing I noticed when I sat down to play through Wet’s demo was its interesting visual style. Clearly taking some inspiration from the recent Grindhouse films, Wet maintains a partially seventies styled look to it. The game’s characters fit into this theme as well with open-topped shirts, big collars, and gaudy medallions making up the majority of these characters’ fashion choices. Tying together the whole Grindhouse feel is a grainy filter that somehow makes everything seem that much more authentic but can also be turned off just in case you want a completely clear view of the action.

Speaking of action, ridiculously over-the-top and stylized action is exactly what Wet is attempting to provide as soon as you are put in control of the game’s main character Rubi. Rubi’s backstory is still a bit of a mystery, but for the purposes of this demo, and perhaps the entire game, it is enough to know that she is very skilled at combat and not a woman with whom to trifle. Starting off with a basic tutorial of how to do some of the more basic maneuvers, the game quickly rolls out a host of stylistic and useful abilities. You’ll be able to easily dual wield firearms, run up short walls, hack enemies to pieces with a sword, back flip off walls, slide down zip lines, and swing from poles just to name a few.

Some of my favorite abilities from the demo include ladder and knee sliding as well as the dual wielding mechanic. At one point in the demo, I was told to dispatch with some enemies at the bottom of a ladder, which actually turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. Once Rubi got on the ladder, she wrapped her legs around it, turned upside down, and then I took out my foes as I slowly slid to the bottom. Knee slides are equally as visually appealing and fun but are much more useful, as they can be performed at any time with the press of a button. Whether you need to slide underneath a low-lying object to proceed, or just want to look like a rock star while shooting your adversaries, this maneuver is quite handy.

Wet screenshot

Surprisingly, dual wielding weapons also manages to work really well in Wet. Instead of just aiming both guns in one spot or making shooting multiple targets a chore, the game has found a happy medium. When you leap in the air and the game shifts into slow motion, one of your firearms will automatically aim at the most logical enemy while you are still able to free aim with the other reticule using the right stick. This allows you to take out multiple enemies with ease or just riddle the auto locked on target with both guns’ bullets. Once you dispatch with the locked on target the game will automatically move onto the next best target as well. This worked rather well and I can’t wait to try it out with some of the game’s larger weapons, as we only had a chance to roam around with dual pistols.

The key to unlocking more abilities and upgrading existing ones in Wet comes down to how good you are taking down baddies quickly and stylistically. There is a score multiplier present that continues to grow as you quickly kill enemies, netting you even more points if you happened to be sliding, flipping, or shooting them in the head. We weren’t able to see any of the upgrades and skills that will be available for upgrading or unlocking, but it definitely seemed like an intriguing concept.

Wet screenshot

Besides the fairly straightforward intro level I had a chance to check out, two other action-filled sequences. The first was referred to as rage mode, which had Rubi getting blood splashed on her face to kick it off. After sneering at the camera in anger, Rubi’s world suddenly turns into a reversed version of Sin City. Instead of everything being muted and red blood drawing your attention the environment turns red, the characters look like silhouettes, and the inevitable and abundant blood splatter and spray is a bright white. In this mode, Rubi is also much quicker, stronger, and heals more quickly, so you’ll definitely get a chance to appreciate this appealing color scheme change while taking down hordes of enemies.

The other sequence can best be described as a playable version of the second Matrix film’s highway scene. Here, Rubi is essentially car surfing while trying to catch up to her target. Carloads of foes will frequently appear and attempt to shoot you but, luckily, you will be constantly on the move and firing back. While taking aim at your adversaries, you’ll also need to pay attention to the bottom of the screen, as quick time event like button prompts will appear that you need to press so you don’t end up eating highway. It is hard to describe just how over-the-top this segment was, but you can expect many leaps from car to car, some running along the sides of semi-trucks, and a few narrow escapes from cars that are flipping end over end down the highway.

The time I got to spend with Wet was certainly enjoyable, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a retail copy. The stylized action actually reminded me more than a little of Stranglehold, but if you didn’t like that one don’t let this comment deter you as Wet seemed to have much more variety in its gameplay. So, if you liked Stranglehold or are just looking for some over-the-top action this fall, you should definitely keep your eyes on Wet.

Game Features:

  • Action-adventure finds problem-solver with big problem of her own.
  • Designed with innovative third-person shooter gameplay.
  • Features cinematic, high-body count gunplay against diverse and challenging enemies.
  • Perform death-defying acrobatic moves and multi-staged stylized attacks.


  • Wet is In

    September 6, 2007 – Meet Rubi; she’s a 5’7″, 120 pound, black hair, green eyed American girl who enjoys Jack Daniels, baths, guns, swords, and is in the business of population control – or “problem solving” as she would say. There’s no problem Rubi can’t fix, but on her latest job, her wealthy employer tried to fix her.

    Wet screenshot

    Don’t bother keeping count of toe tags as Rubi blasts and slices her way through mobs of people to find the betrayer that left her for dead. Rubi is deathly sexy in her latest trailer which, even this early on, looks quite intense. Living in a bone yard for planes, bottle of Jack on the counter, radio scanner, ice chest of beer (and a heart by the way), Rubi wields two handguns viciously backed up by one deadly Kitana and is as new age as any cowgirl could hope to be. Sierra has teamed up with Artificial Mind and Movement (A2M) to bring you the latest rendition of third person action adventure with a sexy and deadly female heroine.

    There is no denying that Wet looks as though Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia just spawned a child; but don’t fear, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We know so far that the game’s planned control system will act on your behalf to help better control the action, allowing you to jump over objects or run up walls without doing anything but moving toward them. There is also precision aiming (lock-on) that can be turned on and off based on how many people you have to kill at the time. As we know so far, the right analog stick will allow you to target another enemy, so just tap the right analog in the direction of a second enemy and begin firing at two at once. Though Wet has the gun-toting acrobatic feel of Tomb Raider and the sword slashing, wall running feel of Prince of Persia, the game promises to bring several new elements to the industry so it can claim a name of its own. With the game still less than half done, we already see Rubi’s ability to fire at enemies while sliding down a ladder upside down, or while sliding on her knees across a floor.

    Wet screenshot

    With the release so far off and so much left to do, we may see the visuals progress to even more than what they are now, and we have yet to hear a real sense of what the game will sound like. We can be sure that A2M will focus immensely on the movement of Rubi to make her as deadly and sexy as possible. That doesn’t mean the latest trailer is anything to scoff at. We’re sure that the game will be action through and through with plenty of slicing and blasting to go around; we’re also told Rubi has some intense finishing moves to make us cringe a bit, or a lot for most guys out there. We hope that by the end, A2M has us convinced it’s Wet and not Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, or Blood Rayne.

    Features:

  • Choose your way to kill: death by gun or sword with style and grace or short and sweet.
  • Multiple target aiming.
  • Precision aiming feature.
  • Planned control system.

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