Throwing in the Towel
WET is so damn close to being a truly great action game, but it trips over itself just when things start to look brilliant.
Published: October 7, 2009
Oh, right, there are those too. In fact, there are more than a few sections where the timing and distance on jumps seems to be just like the dozens that have come before but instead result in a long drop down to meet Rubi's maker -- along with that film breaking/melting thing. Ah, and I should mention the audio balance on the movies is way off, so the "BRAAAANNNNGGGG" sound upon dying along with those interstitials that I loved so much encouraging me to get something from the snack bar were all played at ear-piercing levels. Not good. Combine these platforming bits that ape most of the mechanics of a Prince of Persia minus the fluidity or responsiveness and you have a recipe for frustration.
Which is why it's so weird that I did genuinely enjoy the bulk of WET despite it being so frustrating. There was something about the presentation and, yes, I'll fully admit it, the story that kept me going. So much goes wrong for Rubi and yet she keeps pushing on through a handful of interesting plot twists that I wanted to see how it would all play out. That no doubt only added to my frustration when I got hung up on parts where I couldn't move things along.
It might have been that constant carrot of weapon/move/ability/health upgrades that's constantly being dangled over my head. Do well enough, just get past this one part, and you'll be able to upgrade some moves to make it easier later on. Upgrade points are actually sprinkled rather unevenly throughout the levels, and you'd damn well better make use of them if you want to finish the game. There's a definite satisfaction that comes from beefing up Rubi's twin pistols and watching them burp lead that much faster, or watch the bullets smack into enemies with that much more damage. Maybe it was trying to find all the hidden monkeys clanking away somewhere nearby. Whatever the reason, I felt the compulsion to press on even when the game clearly took issue with that.
The game's visuals don't necessarily help that weird like-it-despite-itself kind of appeal. Though it runs fairly well for the most part, there are numerous inconsistencies with the lip synching during cutscenes, and while the camera movement and flow of everything is incredibly quick (I'll never tire of Rubi taking a swig from a drink then throwing it up and shooting it all in the span of a couple seconds), hitches and graphical wonkiness keeps the game from feeling as self-assured as its female lead (who, by the way, is about the furthest thing from a token bimbo heroine as you're going to see in video games these days). It all just feels... rough, like parts of the game were rushed despite it being in the oven for more than a few years.
Luckily, the game's wellspring of inspiration runs deep; the battered and beaten look of everything (though you can toggle the film grain filter if it doesn't suit your fancy) keeps everything feeling consistent even if it's not especially polished or ultra-detailed, model-/animation-wise. When the game taps into its impressively varied soundtrack, most of which delves heavily in to the tragically underused psychobilly genre, everything just seems to click. Yes, you'll hear the same bits of the same songs over and over again (yes, I know baby is drivin' you insaaaaaaane), but somehow it never grated on me -- and this is coming from someone who can't stand repetition in most music. The songs are basically used once and then another is dropped in for the next scene, giving everything a weirdly fitting mix of twangy punk and almost spaghetti western-ish ambience. I can't explain why it fits so well, but serious props to A2M for slipping everything in where they did, because it works wonders for the game's appeal.
So what we have, then, is a game that's oft-times frustrating, nearly always clunky in allowing free use of those all-important acrobatics and at times expletive-causingly difficult. And yet it's still fun, which is something I can't really explain. I don't rightly understand why I liked WET because by all accounts it should have been a game that I ejected from the drive and threw across the room after the first frustrating moments happened a dozen times in quick succession. But I didn't. I kept at it. A2M needs to smooth things over big time for the sequel, but I do truly hope that this is the start of a franchise and that there is a sequel because, despite all the negatives, there are still some seriously redeeming qualities to be found here, and this is a series that deserves a second chance. Just be sure to play the first one when it comes down in price by about $20.
