Wheelman: Another Game With Vin Diesel

Last stop on the Midway tour today is a look at Wheelman, the movie-licensed game based off the upcoming movie staring Vin Diesel. You know, the one that was delayed until next year? In any case, I got behind the wheel this morning and gave it a go. Look, I know it has Vin Diesel, but I'll make this as quick and painless as possible.As the title implies, there's a lot of driving in this game. About 80% of it is you in a car holding down the right trigger button (or as I like to call it, the "go" button). The other 20%, you'll be on foot. I didn't get to see any ‘on foot' gameplay, but I imagine you'll be doing the same thing when you're in the car. Shooting and fleeing. The overall graphics are good - the cars obviously look better than anything else in the game - but there were a few cases when the frame-rate did drop. Nothing horrible, mind you, but lets see if the delay helps the team polish that up. The first ‘mission' when you start the game off is basically one, long high-speed chase through the city of Barcelona trying to evade cops and roadblocks. Only after you complete this first mission will the city then open up for you to explore. It's actually a long level. I didn't get to see just how big the city was, unfortunately. I've seen some footage of this game a little while back, so I knew about some of the features going into the demo. You can use the right analog stick to swing your car at nearby vehicles to take them out. It's kind of odd, and physically impossible I think, but it worked. Also, as you drive well and make all kinds of sweet drifts, a gauge fills up that you can later use to perform ‘cyclones' which help kill enemies in bullet-time fashion as you car is doing donuts in the street. The main story of Wheelman can be completed in about eight to ten hours, but there are a lot of side missions for you to try out once you get through that. 105 in fact. According to the Midway rep, they haven't actually QA tested the entire game start to finish, so they have no idea how long the game is if you do everything. But he said to expect it to be around 20-25 hours total. You can also hijack other cars without ever having to actually stop the car you're currently in. Vin's character can leap from vehicle to vehicle until you find something you like. This can come in handy, particularly when you're car is badly damaged. It helps keep the speed of the game going, too. The game seems really arcade-y, and still needs a bit of work before it's out the door, so let's see how extra dev time can help it out. Now, who's going to see Wheelman The Movie? Anybody?