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Most people I know that have spent any time with WET have gone through a three-stage process regarding their opinions on the game: reactionary excitement, slightly-bewildered enthusiasm and slightly-disappointed retrospection. I went through a similar experience with Rubi's no-holds-barred adventures at this year's E3. It isn't that the game didn't feel fun or well made—I just felt it would get a little tiresome after some time.
Of course, there's a lot you don't—and can't—account for during a half hour or so of hands-on time. And the one thing I really didn't pay much attention to was Artificial Mind and Movement's maybe over-zealous adherence, or at least homage to, a grindhouse presentation. It's obvious they were trying to mix Max Payne with a vibe and aesthetic that smacks of Robert Rodriguez or vintage Tarantino. Fortunately, the formula works. WET is practically dripping (har) with the very essence of that particular brand of cinema.
Unlike, say, House of The Dead: Overkill, which took its tongue-in-cheek approach to grindhouse to absolutely ridiculous levels—and earning the Guinness book record for most uses of "f--k" in a video game in the process—WET plays its hand relatively straight. Even so, with Rubi's perpetual slow-mo, double-guns-blazin' acrobatics, propensity for swilling whiskey (girl after my own heart) and take-no-shit attitude, you shouldn't take the game too seriously. In fact, if you choose to, you'll really be missing the whole point because regardless of the overstatement, the action and script are not meant to be totally parodic, as Overkill's were. Granted, the script isn't terribly great or interesting, and has some plots and character relationships that aren't ever explored but that's par for the course in low-grade grindhouse productions.
You really have to approach WET exactly as you would a grindhouse film. It's violent, ridiculous and prefers style over substance one hundred percent of the time. Case in point: Rubi herself. She's an unfeeling killer with an awful attitude—a real cold, hard bitch. The developers dangle her in front of you as a desirable sex object, even giving you a tantalizingly brief chance to fetishize her during a torture scene when she's wearing only a tank-top and thong.
Also following the grindhouse grain is Rubi's world of nondescript factories and underworld back alleys populated with thugs and gangsters. Almost all of her encounters with these bastards involve her deriding them, threatening them for information, then mercilessly making their final moments excruciatingly painful. We may know next to nothing about Rubi herself, but who cares? She is what she does and since Rubi is WET's only real point of interest, this is obviously intentional.
The same goes for the ridiculous, trick-filled action. Rubi is outfitted with a katana, two pistols, like Devil May Cry's Dante, and eventually gets to double-fist it with shotguns, submachine guns and explosive-round crossbows. The focus of combat is her slo-mo acrobatics—a combination of slides, vertical and wall runs, dives, flips and rolls. As the game progresses, points earned in combos unlock a modest collection of other abilities, like being able to swing one-handed from a pole while shooting with the other, or transitioning straight from a slide to an upward sword slice. Some people might complain that there aren't enough moves to keep the combat fresh, but this limitation seems like a conscious decision on the part of the developers. The superficiality of the level design and mechanics are a perfect reflection of the B-movie script and the simplistic combat merely the means to a stylistic end. We know Rubi is always going to win, and she's going to look goddamn good doing it; the rest is all just so many gory details.
Besides, there are plenty of set pieces and design choices the game employs to help break up the action. Rubi gets into a couple of high speed chases with gangsters (with Rubi herself on top of various speeding cars) and has a free falling fish-in-a-barrel session against falling enemies while dodging the burning wreckage of a plane. She also periodically demonstrates the proper use of a mounted chaingun, has plenty of arena fights and even engages in some slight, Tomb Raider style platforming. And then of course there's rage mode, which turns everything red, black and white in a seeming aesthetic mash-up of Sin City and the title credit sequence to 2007's Casino Royale. Add all that to the game's film scratch filter, switching "reels" between action, the fantastic vintage movie theater advertisements and a great soundtrack (which could tone down the rockabilly) and you've got quite the B-movie package. WET might not be the deepest gaming experience around, and it might not last that long, but damn if it isn't fun. And really, whether you're laughing at it or just enjoying it for its vintage schlock, isn't that what grindhouse is all about?
Fun Factor: Surprisingly good, guilty pleasure-style gameplay.
Game Length: About eight hours or so.
Difficulty: Not terribly hard, but can get frustrating. More so if you don't choose to buy any of Rubi's health upgrades.
On the Negative Side: The story sucks and Rubi is the only interesting thing about the game. Of course, this is grindhouse, so that's to be expected—and in this case not necessarily a bad thing.
Bang for your Buck: It's probably a one-off, unless you care about the unlockable point-based challenge mode. Then again, you could argue the same for God of War. As it stands, WET is a fun ride while it lasts.
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