Wet
Publisher:‭ ‬TBA
A2M
PS3/360‭
US‭ ‬Release:‭ ‬2009
UK‭ ‬Release:‭ ‬2009

As one of the many Sierra titles believed not to have survived the merger between Vivendi Games and Activision,‭ ‬few could be blamed for not noticing Wet’s loss when far more shouted-about titles‭ – ‬such as Brutal Legend and Ghostbusters‭ – ‬were cut loose.‭

But with Wet being developer A2M’s grand coming out into the world of original IP after many years of largely producing forgettable‭ (‬if well received by their target market‭) ‬cartoon licences,‭ ‬the company wasn’t so willing to give it up.‭ ‬The title is now set for a release‭ ‘‬sometime in‭ ‬2009‭’‬,‭ ‬despite no publisher as yet,‭ ‬and A2M was eager to show off its title at this year’s Montreal International Game Summit,‭ ‬with new‭ (‬or more apparent‭) ‬Grindhouse-inspired styling.

Lara Croft always hid her psychopathic leanings under the veneer of an English rose,‭ ‬but Wet’s‭ ‘‬problem-fixer‭’ ‬Rubi is the Kill Bill ideal taken to extremes:‭ ‬a one-woman Fox Force Five who performs her tasks with merciless glee.‭ “‬She lives in a junkyard,‭ ‬she drinks beer,‭” ‬says David Lightbrown,‭ ‬senior artistic technical director.‭

“The environments are extremely destructible and she will destroy them.‭ ‬We want the player to leave them in a shambles,‭ ‬to show that Rubi has done her worst.‭ ‬She leaves a swathe of destruction everywhere she goes.‭”

She does this in what A2M hopes to be an acrobatic shooter.‭ “‬In games before,‭ ‬you could shoot or perform acrobatics.‭ ‬We’re trying to merge the two,‭” ‬Lightbrown explains.‭ “‬You can shoot from any position,‭ ‬while you’re spinning on a pole,‭ ‬running up a wall,‭ ‬sliding,‭ ‬jumping off an enemy.‭ ‬We want to give the player the freedom to do that.‭”

Though it might sound like territory that Devil May Cry has been king of for years,‭ ‬it’s about rewarding acrobatics for their own sake while going about the business of killing rather than DMC’s combo-based approach.‭ ‬It combines into a system that recalls Jet Set Radio,‭ ‬with the heavily arena-based level design developed to offer what A2M calls‭ ‘‬style paths‭’ – ‬ideal tracks through rooms and enemies that allow you to chain together kills and acrobatics for maximum excitement.‭

“We’ve tried to create a visual language to show the paths to the player without being too restrictive,‭ ‬and they do branch,‭ ‬so you can build your own individual combos,‭” ‬continues Lightbrown.

This freedom is enhanced by A2M’s unusual decision to combine auto lock-on shooting with free-look shooting,‭ ‬with the left and right triggers controlling the respective arms.‭ “‬With one arm Rubi automatically targets the biggest threat,‭ ‬and with the other you can free aim,‭” ‬Lightbrown explains.‭ “‬When you start to play you might rely on the auto lock-on while performing acrobatic moves,‭ ‬but as you get more comfortable with it you can start to pick off enemies,‭ ‬performing headshots or disarming them‭; ‬after all,‭ ‬Rubi has two arms,‭ ‬so she might as well use them.‭”

Ultimately,‭ ‬of course,‭ ‬it’s the controls on which Wet will live or die:‭ ‬though the game already features alluring acrobatics and heady visual carnage,‭ ‬controlling Rubi will need to make you feel as good as it looks.