The video game market is an extremely varied entertainment sector, given the amount of developers who have dedicated themselves to it over time and the innovation they have brought. Every now and then, however, both players and authors want to take a step back, go back to offering less complex and more direct productions, both in terms of mechanics and content. A will that Soleil And 110 Industries they translated into Wanted: Deadthe title that we analyze in this review.
An alternative present
The game directed by Hiraoki Matsui (Ninja Gaiden II, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time) is a title where the narrative is one of the main engines of the experience, albeit not perfect and with several problems. The story tells of a dystopian present alternative Where Hannah Stonea police lieutenant from Hong Kong and lead member of the Zombie unit, is charged with discovering the events behind the mysterious assault on one of the largest companies in the country. Everything changes when she, in the course of her investigations, realizes that something is not right, so as to anger extremely dangerous people.
The screenplay thus manages to create a setting that is not exactly original, but which can be followed with a certain curiosity. The main characters that appear are very stereotyped and underdeveloped, if not a minimum of the tormented anti-heroine of the story, but with everything she finds her own balance in the staging and writing. At a certain point, however, it seems that something has happened in the course of development, so much so that all kinds of insights and ambitions previously present are practically put aside.
The feeling is that Wanted: Dead has suffered of the cuts during the production of the game. At one point, in fact, the story mysteriously fades into the background, with missing pieces and a confusion evident within its simplicity and linearity. Furthermore, there are characters who barely express a few words, the companions of the protagonist who lose that minimum of their characterization as well as the villains who are in no way in depth. A real shame, also because in the early hours Soleil’s work seems to take the right time to create its own narrative universe.
At the same time, however, the ambition of the developers is evident, given the cutscenes in three different styles: Unreal Engine, 2D animation And even in live action. A variation that creates a certain curiosity, as well as further increasing the absurdity of the context. A pity that the first style mentioned is the one made worse, with cumbersome and generally poorly cared for animations.
The directing itself isn’t exactly great, but it still gets the job done without infamy or praise. In all this, however, it is a real pleasure to have the opportunity to observe all the unlocked movies within the main menu.
The third devil
The gameplay of Soleil’s work is mainly divided into three main sections: the one from hack’n slash mixed with third person shooterL’hub world central and minigames. All three are alternated by donating one good variety to experience, in a mix that tries to never make the weight of repetitiveness feel. However, the beating heart of the whole experience is the actual action which, in some way, tries to improve the idea of that Devil’s Third For Wii U.
The levels, in fact, are made as a series of extremely linear paths filled with enemies and some collectibles. In this sense, the title never revolutionizes its gameplay, except by introducing more and more powerful opponents or some new weapon from time to time. The challenge thus binds to the player’s ability to understand the opponent’s moveset and intelligently use the attack, dodge, parry and firearms techniques in the correct way. All this creates a combat system that perhaps is not as complex as that of a Bayonetta or a Devil May Cry, but which amuses and entertains the user. The work manages to mix the setting very well sword fighting and third-person shooter, both in the controls and in the camera, although less precise or cared for than other video games. Obviously you have to be inclined towards action-style gameplay, otherwise the work will be quite far from your tastes. We also report the presence of lots of violence and foul languageso the title is not suitable for an audience of all ages.
One of Wanted: Dead’s marketing strengths is the its level of challenge. Already on normal difficulty the game manages to squeeze the user well without making him really angry. The feeling is almost always that of a human error, given that with a slight distraction it is possible to lose the pens. It is certainly not at the level of a Ninja Gaiden, but this dynamic creates an additional incentive for the player to push his limits. In this sense, the presence of new game plus and different difficulty levels.
The big general flaw, unfortunately, comes with an extremely flat and not very incisive level design. The proposed settings are not really exploited, without any kind of interaction or dynamism in the gameplay. The only thing that adds up in this sense is presence of collectiblesdocuments related to the lore of characters and settings, which are interesting but nothing striking enough to entice you to replay entire sections.
Another problem derives, at the same time, from the amount of unlockable skills in the skill tree. Within the game it is possible to obtain points based on your actions, which you can spend in a special menu to obtain upgrades to your characteristics or new moves. A good idea that at the same time falls into itself, because it is possible get everything well before you reach the final level.
In the end, the enormous repetitiveness experience is able to make many desist from continuing the work. Once the user has learned how to fight and fight back, Wanted: Dead fails to truly renew itself from level to level. In this sense, the secondary sections try to help.
A karaoke contest
As previously mentioned, in addition to the gameplay action, Soleil’s work features a hub world and minigames. The first is represented by Police Station. a place where you can talk to your colleagues, find other collectibles, watch movies or access multiple mini-games. In general, this area is well characterized, so as to offer further characterization to the narrative universe. Unfortunately, not much can be done inside, with several areas that are practically empty and unused. The possibility of unlocking secondary videos through two special ones is nice claw craneas well as some figurines to decorate your office. Also, inside the Jukebox are present covers of iconic pop music as She works hard for the money, I Touch Myself And Maniac. We do not intend to anticipate all those present, but we confirm that they are well made and very nice.
The minigames are though the real highlight. Inside the station you can access training challenges as well as marksmanship, eat some ramen with the right rhythm, participate in karaoke challenges or even one original pixel art shoot’em up. A feature that further increases the variety and longevity of the work, without however being mandatory for users not interested in this kind of content. In a certain sense this goes against the overly serious tone of the game, thus taking inspiration from that absurd atmosphere present in the series of Yakuza (same thing we can also say about the loading screen, which reinterprets a famous meme).
A pity that karaoke featured only one song, also because in terms of mechanics and realization we probably find it the funniest gimmick of the group. In any case, once unlocked, each minigame can be accessed through the main menu, without necessarily having to load a save from the main adventure.
A dystopian world
On a technical level Wanted Dead is nice to look at but not impressive, through some poorly finished textures and even animations that seem mechanical. In the PlayStation 4 version we tested there were moments with elements appearing out of nowhere, the music not loading immediately or some small bugs. Nothing serious that ruins the whole gaming experience and, probably, a day one update capable of solving everything is already on the way.
The art design it is also of discreet workmanship. Nothing original that shocks the eye, but the characters and settings work within context. The dubbed in English succeeded but with some reservations, with a good performance from the talented Stephanie Joosten. Unfortunately, the audio mix needs to be reviewed, since it is often difficult to hear the dialogues due to too loud music or lip problems. Finally the column sonorous it doesn’t really manage to hit the user, except for the covers and the original music sung by Joosten.
Review
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Wanted: Dead (Tested on PS4)
7Final vote
The work of Soleil and 110 Industires is a product made with a non-original vision but with passion, which unfortunately has imperfections of no small importance. However, the main gameplay creates a good mix, albeit extremely predictable and repetitive, reinforced however by the mini-games and the deliberately exaggerated atmosphere. A real pity for the script, not so much for the open ending as for the lack of general care inserted in the second part. We hope that, for the foreseeable future, the development team learns from its mistakes, given the potential and ambition shown with Wanted: Dead.
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