Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Well, a high-caliber film release wouldn't be right without an accompanying game, right? Wanted: Weapons of Fate will be that friendly assistant to help boost the franchise's stature amongst the market. The story has all the earmarks of a third-person shooter anyway, so I guess they might as well make a game out of it.

However, any seasoned gamer will know that film games are usually not up to scratch - to put it lightly. That's not to say that there isn't a rare occasion where one of them is surprisingly good. Given the film, we're not totally convinced about this one. But hey, it's worth checking out anyway just to make sure!

Keep That Style Rollin'

It kind of jumps out almost instantaneously that Wanted: Weapons of Fate's core focus is translating the film's style into a playable format. There honestly doesn't seem to be much going for it. If you were here for an extended narrative that dives deep into the film's lore - what you'll get is two pennies rolling around in a tin can.

To unveil the storyline, we'll have to spoil the movie, which we don't want to do. We will go as far and say that the original plotline wasn't particularly intriguing, to begin with. But there's enough structure to translate the run-and-gun style into third-person action mechanics, which the game does relatively well.

You'll assume to role of Wesley chasing down a killer using his bullet-bending abilities to neutralize all the foes in his path. Not a lot of substance to each level of this game - but the gun combat is entertaining. That is about as far as the satisfaction you will pull from Wanted: Weapons of Fate, though. Just as advertised.

Besides finding creative ways to blast your enemies into oblivious - the game offers little else. The non-sensical story, the less-than-convincing animations, and the overall blandness of gameplay don't leave much for player enjoyment. There really is no incentive to even finishing the game - it's just there to highlight its style in parallel with the film and comics. Even there, it doesn't do that well.

The Ultimate Fate

'Wanted: Weapons of Fate feels like it's a love child of Syphon Filter and Sniper Elite that's grown up totally uninterested in anything that goes on around it. There's the typical average film game release which does its bare minimum. Then there's this peculiar offering that doesn't add anything to the film. Only other than show off how the developers can stylize it.

Pros:

• The combat style of the films well-translated into the game
• The shooting mechanics are entertaining

Cons:

• The bland narrative for what should be a story-rich film companion
• Effortless environments that all rub together
• No incentives or urgency to any aspect of gameplay

If You Enjoyed the movie with Angelina, then you won't enjoy the game - you can't even ogle Angelina as you play the thing. Still, never mind, stiff upper lip and all that.

In this demo, you'll be learning the basics of curving bullets and combat (i.e. running between all the different forms of cover). The meat of the game takes place on the Fear of Flying level, which sees you controling Cross (the protagonist's father) in flashbacks to his career as an assassin.

This time out, he's on a plane and there are a surprising number of bad guys waiting for their heads to be blown off. What you are getting with this demo is an excellent example of the game as a whole. On the other hand, you're probably seeing the best the game has to offer, so it's only downhill from here.

• SNEAK-Y

You start off infiltrating a plane, having snuck onboard in a previous level. Your enemies aren't aware of your existence, but that won't last long.

• MAX PAYNE-Y

Take out the enemies in the slow-mo bullettime mode, making sure to shoot the bullet as well as the man who fired it. Do this and you'll escape in no time.

• SHOOT-Y

Work your way through the plane, shooting out the various bad(der) guys as you head to the cockpit and your goal: the Immortal, the man who tried to kill your kid.

• DECOMPRESS

Everything's gone tits up and the plane is tearing itself to pieces. Everyone is either falling out to their deaths or hanging on for dear life... until you gun them down.