Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Developer: GRIN
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Rating: M (Mature)
Price: $59.99

By RTEGonline

When I heard that there would be a video game follow up to the motion picture movie “Wanted”, I just knew someone was about to *@!%* up something good. It’s like going to the movies and having the revelation that the movie was actually made only to promote the soundtrack. While Wanted the movie was good... Wanted: Weapons of Fate (WoF), from Stockholm-based Developer GRIN, is great!

WoF cleverly continues the story laid out in the movie, and it puts players in the role of Wesley as he tries to uncover the truth about his mother’s life. (Apparently it follows the story from the comic of the same name). Throughout this journey, gamers will also assume the roll of Wesley's father, Cross, and the entire story unfolds in a “chaotic but organized” way. There are quite a few cut-scenes to endure but they’re not so bad because they help the story to unfold… even if they do take away some of your trigger time.

The overall graphics in WoF appear to be somewhat “stale” in a sense… something similar to being in a smoke filled room even when you’re outdoors. However, this doesn’t take away from the overall experience of playing the game. The engine that WoF is built on is extremely impressive and it left me looking forward to what GRIN has left up their sleeves for future projects. Characters’ movements are smooth with no glitches and the 3rd person view gives players an opportunity to appreciate of all Wesley’s precise movements. One element a lot of shooters neglect is cover. Some of the best games have been ruined because someone decides that ducking from bullets in a gun fight isn’t very important. WoF has a cover system that utilizes pretty much every item in an area and shows you what your cover options are open to you. Whether you leap over, slide or dive to your cover position, there is absolutely no lag or resistance when moving from one spot to the next. Wesley’s is also able to fire his weapons from his position of cover while using a “blind-fire” technique not having to expose his body. He can do this from side-to-side or overhead from a crouched position. This is important as with it comes to this games forte… curving bullets.

The system designed to curve bullets in this game was done exceptionally well. Some developers pack a massive amount of moves in a game and then it appears that they remember that the controller needs to be programmed to pull of these moves. WoF’s Bullet Curving is very simple… hold down the Left Bumper button and the bullet’s trajectory is displayed on screen. Use the Left Thumb-stick to alter the angle of the bullet’s trajectory which is shown as a white line that turns red if there’s something that could block your bullet’s path. After the first five or six attempts, you’ll have it down cold and may get lucky enough to land a signature “one-shot kill” which is played out in a “bullet-time” way like the old Max Payne games. It’s just a lot cooler and not pulled off as often.

There’s a LOT of bullets flying in Wanted: Weapons of Fate and it’s definitely not your typical 3rd person shooter. There is a great storyline here and plenty of bad guys with reasonable A.I. abilities to keep it interesting. Of course, curving bullets is the highlight and is alone, worth the price tag. My singular gripe and the only reason I can’t give WoF a 5 star rating is that the game ends way too fast. It’s simply not long enough and it has so much more that it could’ve given. Whether this was done purposely or because of budget restraints I’m not really sure. But, this shouldn’t stop you from owning it and enjoying it as much as I did.