Consolation Prize

I thought it would be prudent after the quite impressive Chronicles of Riddick demo to take Wheelman, the game designed to tie in with the movie of the same name starring Vin Diesel, for a test drive.

To be honest I was feeling a little bit apprehensive about this demo. After all, movie related games aren’t exactly renowned for there quality and generally give the impression of being thrown together just to ride upon the coat-tails of celluloid success . My expectations, therefore, weren’t high.

The demo kicks off with an impressive opening cinematic as the camera sweeps majestically over Barcelona harbour before finally speeding into the city itself where it centres upon a stationary car. Within, sits our protagonist, Milo Burik. He waits patiently, glancing in his mirrors, and doesn’t seem phased when a local police car slowly drives past. A few heartbeats later the camera pans to a building as we witness an unidentified woman exiting possibly what is a bank. She steadily walks towards the parked car, but seconds later an alarm sounds. It’s your job to get her to safety.

I must admit that at this point in the demo my impressions were entirely positive. The opening sequence had been enticing; the in-game graphics looked great, and I thought to myself that if Wheelman continues this level of quality and polish then maybe, just maybe, we would have a rarity on our hands: a decent movie-game tie-in.

Alas, it wasn’t to be, and the more I played Wheelman the more my enthusiasm diminished.

The initial chase through the city, evading the police and then a local gang, is quite entertaining as you streak through the streets trading paint with your pursuers and causing spectacular crashes which are played out in slow motion. In some respects it feels as if Burnout has had a small part to play in influencing Wheelman during this early chase sequence, but in fact the further you progress into the demo the more obvious it becomes that Wheelman is a concoction of borrowed styles all aspiring to make this more than just a racing game.

Of primary interest is the use of the right controller thumb-stick to perform fast and aggressive manoevering, enabling you to side-swipe or shunt another vehicle while on the move, but there’s also the inclusion of a “focus” gauge to activate special bullet-time like abilities that allow the player to shoot critical points on a vehicle or to provide a rather useless speed boost. Milo isn’t content with only sitting in the driving seat, and the “jacking” of other vehicles is also facilitated, even if they’re moving which cues a dramatically amusing jump from one vehicle to another.

Once beyond all the flash and razzmatazz the cracks do begin to show, however, especially when playing through the demo’s bundled side missions. Milo may be slightly cumbersome and awkward when on two feet, probably no less so than Nico from Grand Theft Auto IV, but my real issue is with the blatant overuse of the rubber band AI and the seemingly unlimited number of pursuers - police or otherwise - that are readily replenished no matter how many are sent careering off the road in a ball of flame. No matter how far ahead, or how fast you drive, they’re always guaranteed to be hot on your heels until certain checkpoints are reached.

The problem with Wheelman isn’t that it aspires to be more than just a driving game, it’s that as a whole these other elements don’t really gel. I’m left wondering if perhaps it would have been better to stay focused purely upon driving, rather than trying to become a Grand Theft Auto lite wannabe.