January:
1/2 - Spec Ops: The Line - PS3
1/3 - flOw - PS3
1/4 - Flower - PS3
1/7 - Journey - PS3
1/9 - WET - PS3
For some reason, I really wanted to play Wet. I picked up a complete used copy from Gamestop for $8.99 and actually played it instead of shelving it like I do with so many games.
On one hand, Wet is a fun and stylized action game with a kick-ass soundtrack. On the other, however, Wet can be a frustrating game that needed some more time to bake in the oven.
There are certainly a lot of things that Wet does well. First, the soundtrack perfectly accompanies the tone of the game and is quite good. Other than that, the sound design is about what you would expect from a game in this genre and doesn't break the mold there. It is noteworthy to point out that the main character, Rubi, is voiced by Eliza Dushku of Buffy fame.
Graphically, the game is a mixed bag. There are times when some of the texture work, models, and geometry seem more appropriate on a 6th generation console. However, that isn't to say that the game doesn't have its share of nice moments. One of those times happens to be when Rubi enters "Rage" mode and the game takes on a very cool red, black, and white color scheme. This isn't necessarily graphically impressive but it certainly is cool to look at.
There are some really fun aspects that make the game quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed the "Arena" portions of the game where essentially you're thrown into a room with lots of baddies. In the same room you have to deactivate the switches that close the door so you don't get overrun by these same baddies. However, you also get rated on the amount of acrobatic kills you perform and there are multipliers that you can pick up which in turn give you a larger score so that you can use it on upgrades for Rubi. The upgrade shop allows you to upgrade Rubi as a character (health, abilities, etc) or her weapons.
There are plenty of humorous aspects to the gameplay and Rage mode is one of them. Basically, Rubi gets pissed off because she has blood splattered all over her face from shooting some dude in the head. This triggers Rubi to go into her rage mode and the game switches into style and lets you have free-run of the baddies. You basically just have to chain as many kills as possible to improve your score.
Outside of these gimmicks, the gameplay can seem deceivingly perfect. For example, one of my runs through the level can consist of the following: wall run while shooting a baddie in slow-mo, jump off the wall, run into another baddie, jump off baddie, shoot him in the head, then slide in slow-mo towards another group of baddies, and slice them with Rubi's sword. A segment like that can easily be satisfying and work fairly well despite some control annoyances.
However, the problems arise when the game turns into full "Prince of Persia" mode and decides to stick strictly to acrobatic platforming. For the most part, it works but not without its share of annoyances. There are times that Rubi simply does not go the way you want her to. In fact, there are times that I made a jump clearly and she just face plants towards a wall and drops to her death. I'd forgive this if it was handled as nicely in Sands of Time, however, the game reloads (10 seconds) to the last checkpoint (ouch, especially if you are about to reach the next checkpoint.)
There was one segment that I had repeated numerous times because it consisted of a very poor wall-running section. I died, reloaded, mashed the square button to open the door, pressed X to skip cutscene, and then attempted that crappy wall-run section again. Rinse, repeat, and there you have a huge flaw with game.
In the end, I'd be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed the game because I really did. The game was well worth the $9 I paid for it. I'd never pay $60 for this game and I'd probably be upset if I spent more than $20 on it. However, there is certainly enough to do here despite the game's short length (6-7 hrs.) Completionists will want to go back and run through the challenges and the trophies require at least three playthroughs to obtain.
