Wanted: Weapons of Fate [PS3]

01 Apr 2009 at 14:35:08 by Andy Alderson
Systems used to review this title: (PS3)

Movie adaptations don’t tend to elicit much excitement from the gaming community – all too often film-based games come across as a bit of an afterthought, a cheap cash-in developed to coincide with the release of a movie. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that Wanted: Weapons of Fate hasn’t exactly generated a lot of interest. However, GRIN’s game is a different beast altogether. For one, its release comes nearly a year after the film and it doesn’t simply rehash the same story. Rather, Weapons of Fate sits somewhere between the film and the comic book which inspired it. The result is an action-packed, brash and frequently ludicrous game which is completely in keeping with its origins.

Weapons of Fate’s story picks up where the film left off, with Wesley having dismantled the Chicago Fraternity after discovering Sloane’s deception. Despite the obligatory training sections at the beginning of the game, Wesley Gibson is by now a fully-fledged assassin and, when he returns to his apartment to find it being turned over by some SWAT types, you are thrown straight into the action. The SWAT team, it turns out, are members of the French arm of the Fraternity and are apparently keen to put an end to Wesley. While the film focused on Wesley’s (somewhat confused) relationship with his father, the story that unfolds in the game centres on Cross’ relationship with Wesley’s mother (both members of the French Fraternity) and the significance of her pregnancy. You’ll take control of both Wesley and also Cross, in flashback sections designed to flesh out the narrative.

It’s testament to GRIN’s respect for the IP that Weapons of Fate’s story sits nicely with its film and comic counterparts. Although not voiced by James McAvoy, Wesley in the game is suitably cynical, wisecracking and occasionally philosophical, providing a monologue throughout. Although this monologue frequently contains some horrible writing – you’ll be treated to the phrases “shit pants” and “dingleberries” within the first half hour – it addresses the same central theme as the film; fate versus self-determination.

It’s clear that GRIN has attempted to create gameplay which is equally faithful to the IP. Wesley, after all, is a super assassin and so he needs to have some pretty special tricks at his disposal, although these don’t become available until you progress a little way into the game. On a basic level, Weapons of Fate is a pretty slick cover shooter. Despite the fashionable regenerative health system, Wesley won’t last long in the open and cover is essential to survival. Luckily GRIN has engineered one of the better cover systems we’ve seen in games recently. A simple tap of the X button will drop you in and out of cover where you can blind fire, aim and fire (L2 to aim, R2 to shoot) or move to another piece of cover. The latter is handled particularly well, and essentially allows ‘cover-chaining’ which sees Wesley move very quickly from object to object, only briefly exposing himself to enemy fire. This not only looks pretty cool, it actually has gameplay implications. Throughout the game, you’ll occasionally face enemies carrying large bulletproof shields and it becomes necessary to flank them to get a clear line of sight at their body. To do this, you’ll need to suppress the enemy through blind-fire, at which point a grey-ish filter indicates that flanking is possible. Then you must quickly manoeuvre to another piece of cover which allows you a clear shot. It’s not exactly a tactical tour-de-force, but the flanking system at least adds a degree of strategy to the game, and will be of benefit throughout.

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