WET Exclusive Preview
There was a time when video game action stars needed little more than crosshairs and a shotgun to solve pretty much any problem. But thanks to improvements in enemy A.I. -- most bad guys now know how to take cover, for instance -- a BFG is no longer a big deal. As video game enemies get smarter and faster, the heavily-armored, lumbering jocks of countless shooters just aren't equipped to handle things anymore. Today's action game stars have to be versatile. They have to be as strong as an ox and as nimble as a ninja, as proficient with swords and six-shooters as rifles and rocket launchers.
And they have to look good in a dress.
The jury's still out on whether or not Rubi, the voluptuous, acrobatic star of Sierra's third-person innuendo, Wet, can pull off a strapless Versace number, but we're pretty sure she can handle herself in a firefight. A brief, very early demo of the action extravaganza definitely has our interest piqued, and we're not just referring to her ability to lounge in a bathtub.
Besides, Wet is more about getting your hands dirty than your body clean. The game's script was penned by one of the lead writers from the seminal television action drama 24, though the stylized look borrows just as heavily from cool-cat Tarantino tale Kill Bill. Rather than running down terrorists or sticking it to her ex-gang mates, Rubi is a government-approved mercenary, a legal gun for hire. As such, her assignments can be considered "wet works," an old Cold War euphemism for covert, special-op assassinations.
And she's certainly good at her job. Wet's action-packed gameplay lies somewhere between Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia, due in part to the fact that the sexy star totes dual-pistols and a samurai sword. She can leap all over the place, twisting her body in the air to avoid enemy fire, running along walls and kicking off objects to somersault over the heads of her enemies like a young Jackie Chan.
A modular animation system lets Rubi shoot her guns from any acrobatic state, allowing her to dispense pain pills in the middle of a cartwheel or while hanging upside-down from a steel ladder. Newbies can pull off such moves easily using a standard auto-aim, but the more advanced hit men can go manual and lock-on to different targets at once.
If guns aren't getting it done, Rubi can get up close and personal with her vicious sword attacks. We witnessed a variety of slick kills in the demo, each a study in elegant fight choreography, though we didn't see much in the way of lengthy sword-fighting combat -- the enemies never really parried or blocked -- so it may well just be a really cool way to finish off the bad guys.
Considering Wet's very early development stage (it's not due out until sometime next year), it would be presumptuous of us to label it a contender just yet. But with stylish animations and an eye for cool kills, Rubi's titillating debut seems destined to make some waves.
Watch the trailer here.
Download the HD version here.
There was a time when video game action stars needed little more than crosshairs and a shotgun to solve pretty much any problem. But thanks to improvements in enemy A.I. -- most bad guys now know how to take cover, for instance -- a BFG is no longer a big deal. As video game enemies get smarter and faster, the heavily-armored, lumbering jocks of countless shooters just aren't equipped to handle things anymore. Today's action game stars have to be versatile. They have to be as strong as an ox and as nimble as a ninja, as proficient with swords and six-shooters as rifles and rocket launchers.
And they have to look good in a dress.
The jury's still out on whether or not Rubi, the voluptuous, acrobatic star of Sierra's third-person innuendo, Wet, can pull off a strapless Versace number, but we're pretty sure she can handle herself in a firefight. A brief, very early demo of the action extravaganza definitely has our interest piqued, and we're not just referring to her ability to lounge in a bathtub.
Besides, Wet is more about getting your hands dirty than your body clean. The game's script was penned by one of the lead writers from the seminal television action drama 24, though the stylized look borrows just as heavily from cool-cat Tarantino tale Kill Bill. Rather than running down terrorists or sticking it to her ex-gang mates, Rubi is a government-approved mercenary, a legal gun for hire. As such, her assignments can be considered "wet works," an old Cold War euphemism for covert, special-op assassinations.
And she's certainly good at her job. Wet's action-packed gameplay lies somewhere between Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia, due in part to the fact that the sexy star totes dual-pistols and a samurai sword. She can leap all over the place, twisting her body in the air to avoid enemy fire, running along walls and kicking off objects to somersault over the heads of her enemies like a young Jackie Chan.
A modular animation system lets Rubi shoot her guns from any acrobatic state, allowing her to dispense pain pills in the middle of a cartwheel or while hanging upside-down from a steel ladder. Newbies can pull off such moves easily using a standard auto-aim, but the more advanced hit men can go manual and lock-on to different targets at once.
If guns aren't getting it done, Rubi can get up close and personal with her vicious sword attacks. We witnessed a variety of slick kills in the demo, each a study in elegant fight choreography, though we didn't see much in the way of lengthy sword-fighting combat -- the enemies never really parried or blocked -- so it may well just be a really cool way to finish off the bad guys.
Considering Wet's very early development stage (it's not due out until sometime next year), it would be presumptuous of us to label it a contender just yet. But with stylish animations and an eye for cool kills, Rubi's titillating debut seems destined to make some waves.
Watch the trailer here.
Download the HD version here.
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