Wanted Weapons of Fate PS3 and 360 Review

The movie tie-in game has had a strange journey over the years. Usually seeming like a quick product thrown on the market to make some extra money, it’s never been a segment of gaming that garners much respect. Some exceptions exist, and Wanted: Weapons of Fate sits proudly on that list. Developed by GRIN on their in-house Diesel Engine, it’s actually a game that expands on the story of the movie rather than covering the same ground. Featuring fun, fast-paced shooting mechanics, a solid story, and impressive technology, Wanted is an enjoyable game that’s over really really quickly.

That’s right, it’s a short game, but you know what? I don’t care. Too often a huge deal is made about the length of a game, but I figure that as long as the game is fun and replayable, I don’t really care how long the experience is. So, let’s get this out of the way right up front: This game will probably take you less than 5 hours to finish your first time through. Is that a knock against it? Absolutely not! The pacing of the game is such that there’s not a dull moment, and each of its nine stages provides plenty of fun stuff to come back to. The game also has some unlockable bonus modes, many of which are sadly tied to codes that you have to try and dig up off the movie’s DVD. Save yourself the trouble and look them up online.

Wanted is a cover-focused third-person shooter that also has all the crazy bullet-time antics of the film. The cover system is phenomenal, and features the main characters of Wesley and Cross moving effortlessly between cover points using all sorts of slides, jumps, and rolls. The animation is the real star of the game, and has an aggressive quality unlike most games of this type. While playing, I feel like I’m pulling off all of these moves, even though in real life I could never glide across a concrete floor on my legs. That’s not the point. The action is stylish, and well-executed. Perhaps the most gutsy is that the whole game only features two weapons. In an industry where bullet points like “Features over 8 weapons!” are a staple of game marketing, this is an amazing design decision. And you know what…it works! The game features a pistol, and a machine pistol. The reason that the game gets away with this is that your characters don’t really need much more.

If you haven’t seen the movie, the main gimmick of Wanted is that these characters can curve bullets around objects. In the game, this is controlled by pressing a button then adjusting an arced line in the air with either analog stick. It works fairly well. You can also activate a slow-mo move when changing between cover points, and you can distract enemies so that you can move between cover points unnoticed. The bullet curving and cover mechanics form the bulk of the gameplay, and they’re just really fun. There’s also a neat take on the Quick-time event here. Every so often you’ll play an interactive cutscene in which Wesley or Cross will shoot a lot of dudes. In this case, each time they’re about to shoot, you have to actually aim and pull the trigger yourself. It’s a neat little touch, and a nice way of having a Quick-time event that’s more involved than just pressing a button or two.

Graphics-wise, this game is unlike all the Unreal Engine 3 games it so very much resembles. It has a detailed look to it with some great animations, as mentioned earlier. The game looks a little nicer and runs a little better on PS3, so if you’re stuck choosing, pick that version. The 360 version has some screen tearing and the textures don’t look as nice. The game animates beautifully, but the character models aren’t as detailed as those in other shooters. The environments are gorgeous though, with realistic details and a nice use of depth of field gives them a soft look. Also a nice touch technically: The game hides load screens with cutscenes, so it’s a seamless experience. The voice actors do a good job and hey Peter Stormare is in the game as the villain, so that gets a point from me right there.

Wanted is not a big, ambitious, amazing game, but it is a whole lot of fun. If you like shooters and you’re looking for something fast-paced and different, Wanted is a heck of a time. The real star here is the detail in the graphics and the animation in particular, which gives the game a unique feel that keeps me coming back to it every now and then. It’s not a game for everyone, especially if you hated the movie or need your games to be 20 hours long at a minimum. At the least, try the downloadable demo that’s available. I applaud GRIN for trying something different with the third-person shooter, and for making such a visceral fun experience, and I’d happily play a sequel.


	Wanted: Weapons of Fate PS3 and 360 Review…4 out of 5 May 25, 2009 By Alex Rowe The movie tie-in game has had a strange journey over the years. Usually seeming like a quick product thrown on the market to make some extra money, it’s never been a segment of gaming that garners much respect. Some exceptions exist, and Wanted: Weapons of Fate sits proudly on that list. Developed by GRIN on their in-house Diesel Engine, it’s actually a game that expands on the story of the movie rather than covering the same ground. Featuring fun, fast-paced shooting mechanics, a solid story, and impressive technology, Wanted is an enjoyable game that’s over really really quickly. That’s right, it’s a short game, but you know what? I don’t care. Too often a huge deal is made about the length of a game, but I figure that as long as the game is fun and replayable, I don’t really care how long the experience is. So, let’s get this out of the way right up front: This game will probably take you less than 5 hours to finish your first time through. Is that a knock against it? Absolutely not! The pacing of the game is such that there’s not a dull moment, and each of its nine stages provides plenty of fun stuff to come back to. The game also has some unlockable bonus modes, many of which are sadly tied to codes that you have to try and dig up off the movie’s DVD. Save yourself the trouble and look them up online. Wanted is a cover-focused third-person shooter that also has all the crazy bullet-time antics of the film. The cover system is phenomenal, and features the main characters of Wesley and Cross moving effortlessly between cover points using all sorts of slides, jumps, and rolls. The animation is the real star of the game, and has an aggressive quality unlike most games of this type. While playing, I feel like I’m pulling off all of these moves, even though in real life I could never glide across a concrete floor on my legs. That’s not the point. The action is stylish, and well-executed. Perhaps the most gutsy is that the whole game only features two weapons. In an industry where bullet points like “Features over 8 weapons!” are a staple of game marketing, this is an amazing design decision. And you know what…it works! The game features a pistol, and a machine pistol. The reason that the game gets away with this is that your characters don’t really need much more. If you haven’t seen the movie, the main gimmick of Wanted is that these characters can curve bullets around objects. In the game, this is controlled by pressing a button then adjusting an arced line in the air with either analog stick. It works fairly well. You can also activate a slow-mo move when changing between cover points, and you can distract enemies so that you can move between cover points unnoticed. The bullet curving and cover mechanics form the bulk of the gameplay, and they’re just really fun. There’s also a neat take on the Quick-time event here. Every so often you’ll play an interactive cutscene in which Wesley or Cross will shoot a lot of dudes. In this case, each time they’re about to shoot, you have to actually aim and pull the trigger yourself. It’s a neat little touch, and a nice way of having a Quick-time event that’s more involved than just pressing a button or two. Graphics-wise, this game is unlike all the Unreal Engine 3 games it so very much resembles. It has a detailed look to it with some great animations, as mentioned earlier. The game looks a little nicer and runs a little better on PS3, so if you’re stuck choosing, pick that version. The 360 version has some screen tearing and the textures don’t look as nice. The game animates beautifully, but the character models aren’t as detailed as those in other shooters. The environments are gorgeous though, with realistic details and a nice use of depth of field gives them a soft look. Also a nice touch technically: The game hides load screens with cutscenes, so it’s a seamless experience. The voice actors do a good job and hey Peter Stormare is in the game as the villain, so that gets a point from me right there. Wanted is not a big, ambitious, amazing game, but it is a whole lot of fun. If you like shooters and you’re looking for something fast-paced and different, Wanted is a heck of a time. The real star here is the detail in the graphics and the animation in particular, which gives the game a unique feel that keeps me coming back to it every now and then. It’s not a game for everyone, especially if you hated the movie or need your games to be 20 hours long at a minimum. At the least, try the downloadable demo that’s available. I applaud GRIN for trying something different with the third-person shooter, and for making such a visceral fun experience, and I’d happily play a sequel.