Remember WET, the game that was set to be published by Sierra, along with other titles like Ghostbusters, Brutal Legend, and 50 Cent before the Activision / Vivendi merger put an end to that? Well, now it seems WET, like all those other games, has found a new publisher and is back on the road to getting released.
The publisher that stepped up to stop that game from dying a slow death was Elder Scrolls / Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks.
News is that A2M kept working away on the game even though it was publisherless for so long, although we still don’t know when the game’s release date will be.
http://darkzero.co.uk/game-news/bethesda-picks-up-publishing-rights-for-a2ms-wet/
Wet, the stylized shooter starring an acrobatic, trigger-happy vixen named Rubi, borrows heavily from the Quentin Tarantino style of film making -- quirky dialogue, loads of excessive violence and a plot ripped right from a 1970s Hong Kong action film. "From the very beginning the vision for Wet was to combine shooting, swordplay and acrobatics into one seamless system," Wet's director says, "that would allow us to recreate, in a video game, the kind of energy and rhythm you find in high-flying action sequences in movies like Desperado or Kill Bill." Sounds cool, right? Maybe. It's hard not to wonder if this game -- which will be one of the first third-party games published by Bethesda Softworks (Fallout 3, Oblivion) will fall into the same trap as John Woo's Stranglehold game from a few years ago -- both games have a collection of over-the-top kill moves used to mow down waves of enemies -- but, in Stranglehold at least, all that style didn't always translate into a fun game experience. On the plus side, the game makers seem aware of the challenges ahead for them, and we got a sneak peek at three very different levels during a hands-off demo in Bethesda's London offices. In the first, we watched Rubi clear an area filled with of bad guys -- sliding down ladders, running on walls and skidding into a crowd of enemies on her knees with guns ablaze. Players can use "Rubi vision," which will highlight areas she can pull off stunts, designed to help keep the game moving at a faster pace. The more combos she pulls off, the more points the player racks up, which can then be used to upgrade Rubi's weapons (two pistols and a katana to start, and eventually machine guns, crossbows and shotguns as well). This free-for-all shoot-out was followed by a more scripted quick time event, where Rubi chases down her target by jumping and surfing on cars racing down a busy highway. A series of timely button mashes sends Rubi flying from car top to car top as she fires at her targets. Screw up, Rubi dies. Do it just right -- watch Rubi send her double-crosser to an untimely end. It's all about aesthetic violence in the third level type -- called "rage" mode. Rubi turns almost invincible (she moves faster, regenerates health faster) as she slaughters enemies in a cartoony environment -- the entire screen turns red and the blood splatter (there's lots of it) looks like white paint splashed on the walls. A handful of rage modes will be built into the game, and it's basically an easy way to boost your score in a short time. Wet won't have any multiplayer options, but there will be unlockable modes in the game, which include Rubi's Home, located in an airport graveyard where players can put Rubi through her paces in time trials and a point count mode, where Rubi can revisit levels and try to beat certain scores. Bonus: locate toy monkeys hidden around the game for extra achievements/trophies. Like a Tarantino film, Wet doesn't hold back when it comes to style and atmosphere. The game has a grainy, film-like filter (which can be turned off in the options menu if it's too distracting), intermissions and a quirky soundtrack that could have easily been ripped from Tarantino's iPod. 'Dollhouse' and 'Buffy' actress Eliza Dushku voices Rubi; actors Alan Cumming and Malcolm McDowell both play villains in the game. As for barely-there unlockable costumes for Rubi -- don't hold your breath. "We don't view this as a T&A game," says Pete Hines, Bethesda's VP of public relations and marketing," we want the game to be taken seriously for what it is ... it wouldn't really matter if Rubi is a guy or girl." A hot chick in a game called Wet? Not sure if we're buying that one, Pete. We'll see if that's still the case when the game ships in Fall 2009 for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. http://www.gamedaily.com/games/wet/xbox-360/game-features/wet-impressions/Wet Video Game: Impressions
