Half-cocked and Ready to Go.
From a "value" perspective, Wet doesn't have all that much to offer. It's a pretty straightforward, 5-hour shooter with some challenge modes, collectibles, and extras to keep you busy. Of course, not every game has to have to the Wal-mart seal of approval.
Even if it's short, if a game can provide the player with a quality experience, then there's not much of a need for the game to validate itself as a "value". Unfortunately, while Wet might offer the occasional thrill, the game manages to make its initially flamboyant action into something tedious. It's certainly stylish, but its influences don't elevate it above its problems.
Its most obvious inspiration are 70's grindhouse movies, an influence the game wears on its sleeve. The heroine, Rubi Malone, is a no-nonsense bad-ass who's never shy about turning a phrase. The plot is equally contrived, with missing suitcases, ham-handed pacing, outlandish scenarios, and cheesy one-liners. Your death is signaled by movie reels, there's lots of film grain, and there are even occasional retro commercials.
But while it manages to capture the feel of those low-budget B movies, it does so only superficially. It's so straightforward in execution that it leaves little room for interpretation. While most grindhouse movies were violent displays of blood and exploitation flicks, some of them held deeper symbolism and meaning. Wet's ending does little to provoke discussion, whether it be a reaction or speculation.
An homage with no heart can be forgiven, however, especially in an interactive medium, if the game plays well. For the first couple of hours, Wet's gameplay feels fresh and crazy enough to be really enjoyable. You're jumping, swinging, sliding in slow-motion, shooting dudes with dual-revolvers, and ripping them apart with your sword. All of these things feel good enough, with some small caveats (slides are just a tad too long, it sometimes feels like you're not hitting enemies when you're aiming right at them). The arenas are basically playgrounds to be creative in the ways you kill. You're graded and given points, which provides you with an incentive do all of these things well.
The problem comes when you're 5 hours in and that's all you've been doing. Doing the same thing over and over again isn't the problem, it's that what you're doing just isn't engaging enough to keep you interested for as long as you're playing it. You also begin to see how restricted you are; jumping, swinging, and sliding while shooting in slow motion is about all you'll be rewarded for. Exploring the areas between arenas shows that you really don't have anything else to do, and it's disappointing to know that you don't have many options, whether in shootouts or overall.
The game tries its hand at variety with some Quick-time events, time-trials, and "Rage" stages in which everything is red and the point is to get as big a kill streak as possible before reaching the end. In all honesty, the time trials were, for me, the times at which I felt the game was living up to its full potential. Aiming for the gold medal requires that you do everything in a given course just right, and the levels were designed in such a way that I felt that I could do just that if I tried it enough times. Most everything else felt thrown in. Aside from an increase in strength, there isn't much to the Rage sequences aside from high-contrast colors, and the Quick-Time events felt forced. The short platforming sections also feel forced and pointless.
Even as you're making your way through the story mode, there just isn't much there. You'll watch a cutscene, make your way through a linear path, enter an arena (which is where most of the firefights take place). Aside from looking for some clanging monkey toys (which I'll admit are charming) for achievements or trophies, you won't revisit areas you've cleared of enemies.
Games don't have to be values to be good, but if they're not values what they do provide does have to be good. Wet is interesting at the outset, but its novelty wears thin early on. Just like the movies that inspire it, Wet doesn't justify paying full price; it's better off rented or discounted.
