While we have had our fair share of sandbox based games in recent times, they mostly stayed true to reality; yes, you can actually drive around in a septic truck spraying hapless citizens with its contents. Wheelman stepped in with a promise of a game with a more Hollywoodish approach. Having Vin Diesel on board as the lead character helped confirm its Hollywood roots that much more. With the Wheelman, you get to be the undercover cop in the crime infested underbelly of Barcelona as you systematically take out three gangs. Along the way, you get to drive cars and bikes and while you are at it, get involved in some chases and some rather cool looking stunts. All in a day’s work for Mr. Diesel. But does the game delivers on all the promises that it made to us jaded gamers? We found out when we got to be the wheelman.

Wheelman promised an action game with a focus on the driving elements and that is what we have got. Once behind the wheel, you can move your car sideways, ramming vehicles, by flicking the right analog stick. The more you side-swipe the pursuing enemy vehicles, more is the damage dealt to the other vehicle. A few of these and the vehicle will enter a finishing state where one more side-sweep will result in a slo-mo-over-the-top-hollywood-style explosion, sending the car cart wheeling through the air. Hop into bigger vehicles like an eighteen wheeler truck and the mayhem just doubles. Be careful though because your enemy can do the same to you so you will require the same flick on the analog stick to take evasive action. You always have the option of leaning out of the window and shoot out either the tires or the other gun men with the automatically locking cross hairs.

If you want something more dramatic, then it is time to employ the super-moves. All this driving and ramming will slowly fill up your Focus meter until you can pull of some truly spectacular stunts. Pushing up on the d-pad will enter the game into slo-mo while the camera zooms in just behind Milo’s back. Now you can shoot through the wind-screen or the two passenger windows to take out cars in front of you or right besides you. You can target the tires of the car or other highlighted weak spots like the engine and see the car go up in flames. Cap the driver in the head and see the car veer out of control, flip-up and explode in true Hollywood fashion. Colors drain off the screen as everything slows down to a crawl, even the ambient noise, while you desperately try to take out as many of them as possible before the Focus meter runs out.

If this is not dramatic enough already, pushing down on the D-pad will initiate one of the coolest move in the game – the Cyclone. In this, the camera will zoom in pretty much the same way as earlier, but only this time, Milo will spin the car 180 degrees to now face the pursuing enemy, now able to shoot them in their most vulnerable positions. Even though the effects are pretty much the same as the previous super-move, this one turns out to be infinitely more fun for just being so outrageous. We did it after overtaking a hijacked train in a subway, spinning our bike around to face the hijacker in the driver’s seat and take him out with a well placed bullet in the head. We did it to three pursuing bikers, taking them out with three quick, well-placed shots. We did it during races, when we didn’t want our fellow racers to finish the race…ever. You just can’t help but look for an opportunity to pull off the Cyclone every time your Focus meter fills up.

Of course this entire side-swiping and machine-gun toting enemy means it will not take long before your ride is battered beyond recognition, calling for a quick change of wheels. Now stopping, getting out and hijacking a new one would be so pedestrian in this thrill-a-minute world of the Wheelman. So the next best thing to do is to half-hang out of your vehicle as you tail another one that you fancy and then let go of the B button to execute an “Airjack” ripped straight out of Pursuit Force. Milo will launch himself in the air, land on the car/bike, dislodge him/her from the driver’s seat and take control of the vehicle, all in a matter of two seconds. This comes in especially handy when you have to get yourselves a new gateway car while being pursued by numerous enemy vehicles. We did it just for the heck of it, whenever we chanced upon a car that caught our fancy.

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• Judy Chisam Says:
  Friday, June 25th, 2010 01:07 am GMT +5.5 at 1:07 am

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