Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Among the long list of triple-A titles coming out between now and Christmas, there are also a few hidden gems, diamonds in the rough which have a lot of potential. Artificial Mind & Movement's WET is one such game, following the antics of Rubi Malone, the girl your parents warned you about.

Rubi is the girl who used to beat up Lara Croft at school. She's rough and edgy, she swears like a trooper and she swigs whiskey straight out of the bottle. The star of this soon to be released action slash-fest is fast talking and even faster shooting, and it's her attitude that makes WET seem so appealing that I couldn't wait to get my hands on the demo.

I've had my eye on this release for a while now, with its promise of Max Payne style bullet-time infused with a Tarantino-esque vibe, and from the time I've spent with the game I can safely say there is a lot of potential here. Sure, there are elements which need to be fine tuned, but the overall experience is one of explosive fun, and at the end of the day, isn't that why we play games in the first place?

Style and flair are the two major draw-cards here, be it in terms of the visual direction or the way you control Rubi, it's all done with a swagger that we don't see enough of these days. A lot of this game's charm is in its dirty attitude, and WET wears that reputation with pride.

That swagger comes across strong throughout the game modes, but is nowhere more evident than in the rage mode, where Rubi goes on a blood-soaked rampage. It's brutal, brilliantly executed, and leaves you wanting more and more. Everything goes red as Rubi slashes her way through countless foes, their blood spraying across the walls in stark white. It's an arresting visual style, make no mistake. The control system in the rage mode, as with the rest of the normal gun-play levels, is spot on, and it won't be long before you are doing backflips in slow motion and raining hot lead down upon your enemies. It's all so fluid and flamboyant.

So, what needs polish, you ask? Primarily the graphics, I'm afraid. I do realise that the grindhouse atmosphere on show here is supposed to be gritty and rough, but there are parts here that are reminiscent of previous generation titles. In a market which includes visual feasts like Assassin's Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2, the somewhat dodgy character models and textures do stand out.

My other gripe is more a case of personal preference... I have a dislike for so called 'quick-time events', and was dismayed to see them make an appearance in WET. Nothing breaks my immersion in a game faster than a big bright blue "X" button flashing in the middle of the screen as I leap from car to car. The vehicle-hopping section where this is most evident falls into the arcade side of things, and is a definite weak point for me.

While we wait patiently for the full release sometime towards the end of September, let me just say that I have high hopes for WET being what it sets out to be: a fast paced action firefight, simple in nature, brutal in execution. If the storyline is gripping enough to match the wild nature of the combat and acrobatics, then we could have a winner on our hands.