Just the concept is B-movie (or B-game) gold.Īnd that’s far from the only over-the-top, B-movie element of “Wheelman”.
See a flashier, faster car in front of you? Airjack it. One of the most ridiculous moves of the game is the “airjack” in which you can maneuver Milo to jump from one moving car to another one. When you knock an enemy car around the Barcelona streets enough that it bursts into flames, it’s hard not to smile or even laugh out loud. “Wheelman” is a goofy, B-movie of a game. This is not a very well-designed shooter and whenever I got a mission that involved Milo working his way through cover and bad guys with his gun instead of his vehicle, I was a little disappointed. The gunplay interface alternates between messy and boring. “Wheelman” falters the most when Milo gets out of his car and picks up his gun. The game is essentially a variation on the “Grand Theft Auto” model if all of that game’s missions were vehicle-based. (Certainly more than the actual last installment of “Need For Speed”). None of the missions, especially the side ones, are particularly creative, but “Wheelman” satisfied my need for speed more consistently than any driving game in a while.
Success in the side missions supposedly offers incentives like faster cars but none of them felt remotely necessary to completing the bulk of the game. In between missions, players can perform a variety of side missions like evading police, causing damage, or even the classic “Taxi” side mission.
Naturally, “Wheelman” is a series of gang-related missions like stealing a gas tanker or chasing a runaway train down a tunnel. A guy with the skills behind the wheel when a gang needs something done. Honestly, I found myself skipping the cut scenes more often than I usually do, but considering the amount of people forgiving of Diesel’s acting skills in “Fast & Furious,” they might be intrigued by what he has to say in “Wheelman”.ĭiesel’s character is a hired foot. The story of “Wheelman” is loose at best. Milo is the titular character, an American working for three Barcelona gangs. As a part of his entertainment onslaught that includes “Fast & Furious,” the video game “ The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” (which will be reviewed here later this week), and the Blu-Ray releases of “ Pitch Black” and “ The Chronicles of Riddick,” Diesel brings to life the role of Milo Burik, the lead in “Wheelman”.
Both the game and the Paul Walker movie share two important things in common - fast cars and Vin Diesel. It’s tempting to describe “Wheelman” as a video game tie-in with the recently smash hit “ Fast & Furious”. “Wheelman” is far from a perfect game and with a few tweaks it could have been a classic, but that doesn’t mean its B-movie charms should be ignored. I know the game has some serious design flaws, but like an action movie you watch over and over again, the flaws are easier to forgive in the name of old-fashioned fun. CHICAGO – Midway’s “Wheelman” is my guilty pleasure game of the season.