Written by Matt Cabral, 7/28/2008
If you’re a gamer or geek worth your weight in 20-sided dice, you’ve already seen Angelina Jolie kick ass and curve bullets in Wanted. And, if you’re like me, you sat wedged in your theater seat wondering: “Wow, wouldn’t this make a freakin’ amazing videogame?” Well, wonder no more my friends, as this year’s E3 event exposed what we’d already hoped was in the works; headed up by one of the only guys in the industry who knows how to navigate the tricky and treacherous path of movie-licensed games, Pete Wanat (Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Scarface: The World is Yours, The Thing), Wanted promises to capture the high-octane magic of the film—and some from Mark Millar’s graphic novel series—while also delivering a quality gaming experience.
The demo I witnessed saw Wanted lead Wesley on an in-flight airplane with emergency exit doors blown out, exposing cool wind-whipping high altitude effects outside. Upon watching a few henchmen get sucked out of these open exits, my attention quickly turned to the cubicle-jockey-turned-assassin; ducked behind a row of seats, he was picking off baddies situated near the exits, and letting gravity do the rest. Once the easier targets were sent for a parachute-less skydive, Wesley turned his gun-slinging talents on the remaining well-armed a-holes.
His seamless switch in focus introduced two of the title’s cooler concepts; first up, Wesley dove in and out of cover with amazing agility, often without letting the bad guys get a bead on him. This allowed him to dispatch some goons before they even knew what hit them—occasionally, even getting close enough to slit their throats with a blade. Because Wesley is light on brawn—unlike most muscle-bulging videogame heroes—but savvy with skills like running, jumping and ducking, the creators really want to play up his fancy footwork. This offers a nice middle ground to other games' reliance on either running-and-gunning or playing it super-stealthy. So, as I saw first-hand, players will be able to land one cover point after another with a superb fluidity previously unseen in games. And while doing so, they’ll be ratcheting up their “Assassin Time” meter, allowing them to briefly slow the action to pull off killing sprees reminiscent of Wesley’s super-stylized, bullet-blazing blitz through the Fraternity’s HQ in the film.
Building on this interesting mechanic, Wesley can also move cover objects within the environment. For example, on the plane he was able to hunker down behind a beverage cart, and slowly nudge it forward down the center aisle. This seemingly minor but significant ability changes the whole playing field when it comes to picking cover spots. The layer of strategy it lends to a regular shootout is phenomenal, offering an additional option over the usual duck-and-cover system we’ve seen in other games; just think how different Gears of War would’ve played if Marcus Fenix could stop, pop and use all those cover points like portable shields. Hopefully, Wanted will fully implement this mechanic in a way that’s more game-defining than gimmicky.
Of course, if moving cover around the landscape isn’t your thing, you may just want to stick with Wanted’s other star feature; if you’ve seen the flick, you can probably guess I’m referring to the ability to curve the trajectory of your bullets. Yup, the Fraternity’s staple skill is in full force here; with a little analog stick action, gamers can twist and turn their projectiles for some amazing kills. In fact, I was relieved to see this skill is being treated as a worthy gameplay device, and not just a cool piece of eye-candy. I fully expected this effect to include a drastic slowing of time and extreme close-ups of bullets piercing bad guys between the eyes, and nothing else. And while Wanat promised we would get some cool style-over-play moments involving this cinematic device, he assured it’ll primarily exist as a way to score strategic and inventive assassinations. During the demo, Wesley was bending bullets over seats, around corners, and all over the cluttered cabin, while a faint smoke trail mirrored their path. When behind cover he was able to remain protected while stylishly jerking his arm and sending slugs flying without ever exposing himself to a possible headshot—who needs to pop their heads out or blind fire when you can steer your ammunition?
While my brief demo displayed enough slick action and cool effects to get my geek pulse racing like a freight train, I did have a few questions and concerns. Most notably: “Where’s Angelina Jolie’s Fox character?” Don’t get me wrong, Wesley’s cool, but if I’m not straddling the hood of a speeding sports car, while blasting baddies with a shotgun as Mrs. Brad Pitt, I’m going to be a bit disappointed. While Wanat wouldn’t confirm her presence or absence in the game, his cryptic “We’re not talking about that right now.” response seemed slightly playful, as if the orphan-adopting actress will indeed lend her sexy self to the virtual world. Still, judging by her no-show in last year’s Beowulf game, I won’t get my hopes too high.
I also wondered what elements fans of Mark Millar’s original story could expect to be ripped from the comics and injected into the game world. Again, Wanat played coy, but assured we’d see some of that too-cool black leather suit the printed page protagonist sports. He also explained the game picks up immediately after the film, suggesting pretty much anything is possible in terms of storytelling. Having such creative freedom is an asset most videogame adaptations aren’t afforded, but based on Wanat’s track record it seems studios are willing to let him tweak their prized properties. While all this sounds fantastic, it does leave me wondering where and how any of the rest of the movie's characters would wind up inside the game, if at all. Oh, and while I'm fantasizing about some potential film-to-game sweetness, I'd also appreciate the ability to strap rats with explosives. What do you say, Pete? Wanted will hit the PC, PS3, and 360 this coming fall.
