The Charge:

Trained Assassin. Born Killer

Opening Statement:

Picking up where the “hit” film left off, and using the popular comic book for inspiration, Wanted: Weapons of Fate promises visceral action and considerable carnage! The developer, Grin (Bionic Commando, Terminator: Salvation), has hoped to dodge the negative stigma typically associated with previous games-from-films, and the pedigree is there, but is Wanted truly something you’ll want in your collection?

"These Slopes belong to me you unwashed hippie snowboarder!"

Facts of the Case:

Wanted: Weapons of Fate throws the player into the shoes of Wesley Gibson, member of an ancient fraternity of assassins who’s targets are dictated by the “Loom of Fate”. Pitted against a rogue group within the fraternity, you are tasked with wiping out all who oppose you. Included are the usual plethora of signature Assassin skills, including the films much-touted “bullet-bending” techniques. In a nutshell, you will kill an awful lot of people, and hopefully have fun doing so.

The Evidence:

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is a typical 3rd person shooter. The “waist-up” perspective, over the shoulder aim, and cribbed cover system will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s played Gears of War or Army of Two. You will guide young Wesley, and his old man, Cross through several levels of point a to point b checkpoints whilst dispatching everyone who happens to pop up in your field of vision. The gameplay is entirely linear, predictable, and at times very much based on trial-and-error. Everything is scripted, which makes the whole thing feel pretty pedestrian, and the experience playing through a level the first time is essentially the same on the 5th attempt.

Wanted does try to mix things up with regards to your “assassin abilities”, but everything just feels tacked on to the experience. Disappointingly, the “bullet-bending” mechanic is tacky and dull for the most part, and when it does become useful, you’ll find yourself just using it to shoot around cover repeatedly. Gameplay doesn’t change up much, in spite of the powers, and by the third or fourth level, you’ll find yourself just doing the same stuff over longer stretches. It’s not fair to say that it’s repetitive, you do get some poorly executed rail shooter and turret sections to break up the action, it’s just that it all feels so dull. Thankfully, Wanted: Weapons of Fate doesn’t really stick around long enough to really cause any amount of stress. It’s a one or two sittings kind of game, which begs the question, “Is this really worth the $60 price tag?”

From a technical perspective, Wanted also falters. The graphics are passable, with some decent lighting and effects, but some texture work that, at times, hearkens back to late-era Xbox. The game never looks butt-ugly, the character models for the central players are generally solid, and animation is passable, but everything has this gritty “last-gen” look to it. Sound is decent, with some solid voice acting (none of the actors from the film reprise their roles, with the exception of Wesley’s daddy) and some thuds and booms that do a suitable though uninspiring job. The gunshots however, are total weaksauce, and in a game that puts so much emphasis on throwing bullets into other living beings, I would have liked a little more punch in the audio. I didn’t even notice whether or not there was music in the game (there is), so let that fact speak for itself.

Rebuttal Witness:

While Wanted: Weapons of Fate really does straddle the pass/fail line in most respects, the storyline is actually pretty engaging. The developers took special care in tying things into the film. Producer Pete Wanat (The Thing, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Scarface) again proves that video games based on films can do more than ape the films they follow. The tale is intriguing, twisty, and entertaining, and uses the “parallel plotlines” mechanic to the fullest. It helps that the cutscenes are pretty well directed (though compression artifacts do tarnish the presentation).

Being that it’s based on Wanted, the plot is completely ridiculous of course, but it’s definitely well told and well executed. Fans of the film would definitely enjoy it, in fact, with a little extra polish it could easily make for a worthwhile sequel to the original film.

It looks a lot more bad-ass than it actually is.

Closing Statement:

It’s really difficult for me to score Wanted: Weapons of Fate. On the one hand, the game has a great story that’s well told, and while far from attractive, it’s not a complete lost cause. The gameplay is also neither really flawed nor broken, but neither is it ever anything better than average. The game is also incredibly short, barely longer than the film that inspired it, and lacks any kind of replay value whatsoever. I can’t in good conscience call it a failure, but i feel conflicted with giving it a pass. My head says ’2′, my heart says ’3′. Ultimately, my heart wins out over my head.

The Verdict:

Platform: Microsoft Xbox360/ Sony Playstation 3 /Windows PC (xbox360 version reviewed)
Developer: Grin
Publisher: WB Interactive
Release Date: March 24th, 2009
Rated: M(17+) for Mature.