E3 2008: The Wheelman Impressions

Many gamers know that Vin Diesel is an avid gamer himself, he's even got his own game studio. So when Midway and Vin got together to develop an all new project starring him, what emerged was The Wheelman. The Wheelman is a lot like The Transporter movies, where your main goal will be to work with gangs and help them as a getaway driver, in addition to transporting.

The game is set in Barcelona, Spain, which does away with the conventional setting of New York, Los Angeles, or England. We start out with our main character in a Pontiac G8 waiting for a group of bank robbers to exit and hop into the ride. As soon as they do, the game picks up. Now, immediately I could already tell that the game was broken...the driving felt loose, and the graphics seemed very early.

The screen was riddled with aliasing issues (jaggies), and the texture detail wasn't up to par with some of the other games we've seen. Additionally, because this was a demo, the framerate was hurting, as the game frequently chugged, diminishing the experience. Driving the car didn't feel like a lot fun, and the chase seemed to drag on a bit too long.

What I don't understand is this; in the game, the "Wheelman" is actually an undercover agent. So why does the game have him kill and blow up so many police vehicles during the chases? Regardless, the game felt rather uninspired, as it also lacked polish. Perhaps with tighter controls, and a better feel for the car, The Wheelman could turn out decent. But if this E3 demo was any indication, the potential is low here.

But I will say that there are some really nice concepts in the game, such as the ability to perform a cyclone move, where you spin the car around, drive in reverse, as you shoot at your opponents, only to whip the car forwards again. Another mechanic allows you to car-jack while your moving, by hoping out of your moving vehicle, and into another one nearby.

As the release of the game nears, we'll attempt to get a build of the game and keep you posted.

Related Game(s): The Wheelman

7/17/2008 Arnold Katayev

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