Wheelman

Wheelman

If you admire Vin Diesel in everything he does, and love Grand Theft Auto or anything remotely similar, here take these keys.

Car chases, shoot outs, incendiary dialogue and explosions galore. These are not uniquely Vin Diesel affairs but invariably accompany the man to the big screen. His movies are predictably overblown spectacles and unlikely to collect at the Oscars. But when incoherent action heads to game consoles it usually works better somehow, and no more so than in Wheelman released for Xbox 360 and PS3 this weekend.

Barcelona is the backdrop for Signor Diesel’s role as undercover cop Milo Burik, assigned to infiltrate the criminal underworld in order to thwart a monster heist. The gangs overlook Milo’s apparent military-training and cool demeanour when he proves more than useful as a driver to and fro increasingly dangerous missions. The format you’ll recognise as unashamedly Grand Theft Auto IV in style, right down to a PDA that’ll mark waypoints on the map and deliver messages leading to new objectives. There just isn’t anywhere near the same level of depth. As the title indicates very clearly, Wheelman is mostly about messing around in vehicles. And this is fun.

Wheelman is at its best when you’re tearing around the main roads and back streets of what appears to be authentic Barcelona. To be truthful we hardly bothered reading the many dossiers collected on criminals or even specific instructions for any of the missions, because usually all that is required is to head for the marker and cause as much damage as possible while driving as stylishly as possible, and often being pursued by disgruntled gang members driving cars, trucks, and motorbikes.

The game gets off to a rip-roaring start with Milo assisting the no-nonsense love interest Lumi Vega in her flight from a bank job. This is the demo you may already have played online via Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network. To the designers’ great credit the manic pace established early doors never lets up, and once you’ve got a grip on the specialist driving techniques required it never fails to get your pulse racing.

All-new gameplay ideas include shunting cars from the side or behind, crushing them against walls and causing them to explode; slowing time to take aim at fuel tanks from the windscreen or rear window… again causing vehicles to explode, and leaping from vehicle to vehicle while at speed. Okay that last idea already features in Sony’s Pursuit Force games on PSP, but the visualisation is more impressive here.

Like GTA there are side missions such as street races and rampages to cause the most destruction. The environments are loaded with objects to bash to pieces, and we enjoyed a particularly lengthy session driving a lorry through newsstands and cafes, chased by police and their improbably explosive cars down narrow alleyways. There are bonus points for spectacular jumps with 50 specific locations giving a cinematic view of the stunt. Extra points are rewarded for destroying the city’s artistic landmarks where possible. This is as good as Wheelman gets.

Everything cruises along nicely until the point where you have to get out on foot. There’s nothing much to do except shoot bad guys, buildings are off-limits unlike GTA, and these shoot outs are very basic. They’re not completely terrible, just that you can get away with a good aim using Milo’s unlimited ammo pistol to take down scores of guys armed with machine guns. Apart from blowing up oil drums and gas canisters there isn’t much strategy involved – again not like GTA where you’ll go in search of the back entrance or even rooftop to pay a surprise visit.

Wheelman is spectacular. And we’d be lying if we said we didn’t enjoy it. But with Saint’s Row 2 and of course GTAIV out there offering similar experiences that are much broader in scope, the daredevil driving aspect isn’t strong enough to make it essential. But if you’re looking for a slick action game with high production values, and with Vin Diesel’s dry humour for company, you won’t feel too short changed.

3 out of 5