Features & News
Demo Impressions: WET
August 26, 2009, Author: Shaquil Hansford
Recently the demo for Bethesda’s WET was made available to gold members on Xbox Live, and I decided to get my hands dirty and give it a try. At the start of the demo, you’ll immediately notice the authentic movie-style presentation. The screen is grainy and has a slight sepia tone to it, giving it the feel of an old action flick. You take on the role of Rubi, a sassy, stylish woman of action who’s chasing down a man with a suitcase that apparently belongs to her.
After a short cut-scene in which a deal goes wrong and a case is pilfered, you’ll literally dive right into the game after taking a plunge from a rooftop through a glass ceiling. You’ll then take a short tutorial which will walk you through all the amazing abilities Rubi has at her disposal, and be unleashed upon the world. Hell hath no fury like… ah… you know where this is going.
The combat mostly boils down to aerial acrobatics or sliding across the floor like Rubi’s knees are covered in butter. The slow-motion gunplay is intuitively designed, so when you do go into bullet time you’ll automatically have one enemy targeted, allowing you to fire on another enemy at the same time to take down two at once. If you’re not into “bustin’ caps in foos” though, you can whip out your trusty sword and hack the surrounding foes to ribbons.
The game’s set-pieces seem varied enough. The demo will have you hopping from rooftop to rooftop, shooting your way into and out of buildings, and jumping from car to car on a highway. The stylized graphics will probably stand out to you the most when you enter Rubi’s rage mode. Apparently, Rubi doesn’t quite enjoy getting blood on her face, because when she does she goes completely insane. Her guns go from twin revolvers to twin SMG’s as the screen goes red while the enemies become dark and shadowy to contrast the white clouds of blood they gush when fired on.
Not a scene from a Tarantino movie!
The game also features nice little touches that make the experience a bit cooler and stranger. You’ll be urged to collect toy monkeys, and to increase your health once out of the heat of battle you can take a swig of some cheap whiskey. When you’re in combat, though, your health increases each time you get a bonus multiplier, which is awarded by stringing together combos.
Over all, WET seems as though it’ll be a thrill ride from beginning to end. Rubi stands out as an example of how girls can kick ass without dressing like strippers. WET is scheduled for release on September 15th, 2009 in the US, and the 18th in the UK.
Feature Type: Hands On | Tagged Bethesda, Hack and Slash, Shooter, Third-Person, WET
