Wheelman

What do you get when you combine GTA-style sandbox gameplay with crazy Burnout Paradise style driving and add a dash of a generic summer blockbuster plot? You get Wheelman, a game that couldn't be more suited for its virtual star, Vin Diesel. (But is it just me or does the guy on the box art not look like Vin Diesel?)

In Wheelman, you take to the streets of Barcelona as Milo Burik (by way of Vin Diesel), an undercover CIA operative posing as a getaway driver (hence the name of the game) to infiltrate the three major gangs in the city and turn them against each other. As you progress through the story missions, you uncover a deep and complex plot of intrigue and mystery... actually, no that's not right at all. The story in Wheelman is about as complex as you'd find in a Michael Bay movie . But you don't watch a Michael Bay movie for the plot, you watch it for the big action set pieces. And the same goes for Wheelman. You're not playing it for the plot, you're playing it for the big action set pieces.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of sandbox games and driving games are rarely my cup of tea. In fact, I'm not even sure I like Vin Diesel all that much. But the combination of the three in Wheelman makes for an interesting experience. The game can be played in one of two ways, either as a sandbox game where you steal cars and cause general mayhem or as a mission-based driving game, jumping from one mission to another without having to worry about evading the police in between. The story missions are equal parts extreme driving and on-foot shootouts but the side missions are strictly variations on driving (races, vehicle combat, taxi missions, etc.). While it's nice that the developers extended the gameplay experience with the side missions, they do get a little repetitive. It would have been nice to have the side missions include some of the elements from the story missions.

What doesn't get old are the gameplay mechanics that make you feel like you're playing an action movie. You can smash your vehicle into oother pursuing vehicles with the flick of the right analog stick. If you do that enough times, you're treated to a dramatically presented crash and let me tell you, there's nothing quite as satisfying as watching the car that was trying to run you off the road crash and burn into a pile of scrap while the driver flies through the windshield. But if you're looking for other ways to stop your enemies you can try the aimed shot or the even more impressive cyclone move. They're both "bullet time"-like maneuvers where you slow down the game in order to line up that perfect shot to blow up a car with a few well-aimed bullets. The aimed shot targets opponents in front of you while the cyclone spins your vehicle around 180 degrees. Finally, you can "airjack" a car, stealing a car at high speed, jumping from one car to another without slowing down the action. (Actually, the only thing that does slow down the action are the ubiquitous loading screens...)

And the action, as well as the graphics, never fail to impress. The city is meticulously detailed to the point where I feel like if I played the game enough, I'd be able to find my way around Barcelona. (But if the real Barcelona is anything like the game Barcelona, I might not want to visit...) My only complaint about the look of the game is actually the Vin Diesel character model. Unlike the box art, Milo Burik looks a lot like Vin Diesel... except that it always looks like he just ate a bag full of black licorice. Seriously, what's up with the teeth? Are they that hard to model?

Rating

But if you really like sandbox games or don't think you'll get tired of playing the same kind of mission over and over again (for a higher grade), Wheelman might be worth a buy. Like I said before, I did enjoy the game I just don't think it's a game that I'd play over and over again or even pick up after the story has been completed.

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