Armed with two pistols, a katana and some tightly fitting leather armour, Rubi Malone, the character that you will take control of in the game Wet for PlayStation 3, is bound to hold your attention in one way or another. This third person shooter game will throw you into a world of drug runners and murderers, backstabbers and dramatic action scenes. You’ll progress through the story shooting both insults and bullets at all who dare to stand in your way.
Progressing through the storyline of Wet will introduce you to an array of different characters, all of whom will fail to help to get its particularly weak plot off the ground. Suffice to say that Rubi has been crossed by those who hired her for a job and revenge is in order. Other jobs, generally involving the disposal of certain individuals, or the discovery of information generally leading to the disposal of other individuals, will add some extra interest to the plot, but not a lot.
If that’s enough to make you stop reading and write this game off as a good idea but nothing more then hold your horses and keep reading. Poor efforts in generating a decent plotline aside, this game is packed full of thrills that will keep you returning time and time again.
There’s more to Wet than initially meets the eye. An interwoven control system consisting of three individual and brilliant different elements of gameplay add an entirely new dynamic to this title. Rubi Malone is more than just a daring heroine who can enter a room and mow down enemies with her pistols; she’s also something of an acrobat. Fire fights, sword fights and slow-motion acrobatic manoeuvres culminate in some action that’s initially challenging to master and infinitely rewarding.
The ability to slow down time grants you with more than just the opportunity to admire the flexibility of our heroine. You will also be able to take advantage of the inclusion of an auto-targeting mode of one of your pistols, freeing you to take out any other bad guys around with your other weapon. What better way to clear a room than in duel-wielding splendour as you slide and dive your way toward your foes?
Unfortunately, once you’ve mastered Rubi’s control you may find that progressing through the levels holds little appeal. The excessively gory deaths of your enemies as you leap over their heads, filling them full of lead before you reach the ground, will certainly bring a smile to the face, but once you’ve completed the move for the hundredth time it might not have the same reaction. There will be more foes to face as you work your way through Wet, and they’ll certainly seem a little tougher, but you won’t feel that your own skills are improving as there really isn’t much more to master. Aside from a few unlockable moves that are, on the whole, not particularly useful that is.
You’ll find yourself earning skill points for each death for which Rubi is responsible, with more points racked up through deadly acrobatic manoeuvres. The encountering of arenas in each level, in which you will remain trapped until all of your enemies are sprawled out on the floor before you, is a great way to boost your point score. Each arena is sure to be filled with handy obstacles to best take advantage of Rubi’s flexibility.
While Wet isn’t the most graphically spectacular title to hit our consoles this year, you’re likely to be too busy to notice. If you’re looking for a well-paced bloodbath of a game then this could be just the thing to hold your interest for a few hours.