Wet

A strong female presence with a variety of weapons cutting down hordes of enemies - there's definitely a film about this. Is there a game, though? There certainly seems to be a demand for one. Turns out there isn't - so Wet is here to fill the void of opportunity left behind by Quinten Tarantino.

The premise of Wet sounds remarkably like Kill Bill - and the artistic style seems to rive in its influence. It's one of those concepts that you've seen come off very well on screen. To play as the lead and be the skilled modern warrior facing up to hordes of gangsters and mercenaries? Well, that sounds fantastic! Let's see how well the film's spiritual game does.

Rubi, Rubi, Rubi, Rubi

The plot is set like any grindhouse film - protagonist Rubi Malone is sent on a job that goes topsy-turvy, leaving her for dead. Now the tone is laid out - it's going to be a playthrough of revenge, bloodlust, and adrenaline. Rubi will use her acrobatic abilities to slay her enemies in the most creative and gory ways possible.

The control mechanics are strewn to facilitate as much player creativity as possible when tackling your foes. Rubi has presented the opportunity to slide on her knees, run on walls and dive through the air in combat. Where everything sounds like it would be action-packed in mechanics, the delivery does fall a bit flat. The battles feel a bit stiffer than they should be.

That stiffness becomes a bit representative of the game. The environments look fantastic, and the art style resonates with scenes of a grindhouse flick. However, the core focus of combat becomes stale quite quickly. What set out to give players control on their killing style halts with the sheer awkwardness of controlling Rubi. The battle scenes are really wanted to make up the entire playthrough as well.

There isn't much in the way of challenge with few upgrades available. Not many puzzles, boss battles, or diversification of the combat mechanics - Wet feels like a grind all the way through. It's a shame considering the game could have gotten away with this if there was a bit more fine-tuning towards the animations and controls.

More Like Dry

There's a lot of style to Wet, and the game can be easily recommended as it looks great. Cities, action visuals, color palettes, and the homage to grindhouse films will drag in a specific player type. Plenty of people simply enjoy the journey without accounting for the fact that there's a game in the mix.

Pros:

• Environments and models look great
• It's a fine homage to grindhouse-style films
• Combat is intriguing at the begging of the game

Cons:

• Animations and controls are stiff
• The game gets repetitive very quickly
• The core focus of creative combat doesn't deliver well