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Wheelman (video game)

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Wheelman
Developer(s)Midway Studios - Newcastle, Tigon Studios
Publisher(s)Midway Games, Ubisoft[1]
Writer(s)Flint Dille, John Zuur Platten
Composer(s)Rod Abernethy, Jorge & Guillermo Badolato, Jason Graves
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Action, Driving, Sandbox
Mode(s)Single-player

Wheelman is a driving game developed by Midway Studios - Newcastle and published by Ubisoft and Midway Games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows.

Gameplay

The game is set in an open world modeled after Barcelona, full of destructible objects, alleyways, shortcuts through office blocks and a total of 31 story missions and 105 side missions. While most missions are driving-oriented, there are also foot missions which are played from a third person perspective. A wide variety of guns are preserved for the player including pistols to RPGs.

Among the vehicles used by Milo Burik in the game is the Pontiac G8,[2] shown in released trailers for Wheelman. Reports[3] also indicated that the Opel Astra is a drivable vehicle. In the demo, his license plate says MRTL KM8T which is a reference to Mortal Kombat, Midway's popular fighting game.

Plot

The protagonist, Milo Burik (a digitized Vin Diesel), is an undercover agent whose assignment is to work along with a gang in Barcelona planning the biggest heist of their career. He turns out to be one of the most effective weapons in the business.

Development

The video game Wheelman was first announced in February 2006 by publisher Midway Games as the second of three titles in a joint collaboration between Midway and MTV Networks.[4] Midway Games collaborated with Tigon Studios to design the game.[5] After multiple delays over the course of around 3 years, Wheelman was finally released in many "major territories" including the United States, Australia and the biggest European countries on March 24.

Film adaptation

Simultaneously with the announcement of the video game in February 2006, a film adaptation was announced with Vin Diesel in the lead role and Rich Wilkes, who worked with Diesel on xXx (2002), was hired to write the script. Paramount Pictures and MTV Films were announced to collaborate on the project.[4] Production of the film, with no script written yet, was estimated to be 18 months away from February 2006.[6] The film will be a sequel to the video game, which will establish the background.

Reception

The game has received mixed reviews, many of the reviewers criticising the game for falling short of story mode and lacking multiplayer functionality. IGN's Greg Miler gave the game a 4.8/10, which by the site's rating scale is translated as "poor", stating that he was hoping for the game "to be a guilty pleasure, like 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, but it's just guilty of being a poor game."[7] Gamepro, however, gave the game a high 4/5, calling the game "a GTA-meets-Burnout romp."[8] GameSpot gave the game a 6/10 saying "Wheelman offers plenty of movie-style thrills, although it's hamstrung by terrible on-foot gameplay.[9] Hyper's Darren Wells commends the game for "cool and useful special driving moves [and] genuinely new locale". However, he criticises it for "meaningless vehicle handling, cheating AI, poor on-foot level design [and] bland graphics".[10]

Reviewing Site Address/Name Rating
Edge Magazine 4/10
IGN 4.8/10
play.tm 82/100[11]
Game Informer 8.5/10 [12]
That Gaming Site 8.8/10[13]
Push Square 3/4[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Midway and Ubisoft announce strategic relationship to publish Wheelman". Midway Games. Retrieved 2009-02-19.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Pontiac G8 GT Featured in Wheelman - New Video Game and Movie with Vin Diesel". g8nation.com. April 17, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-27.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Midway's Simon Woodroffe on Wheelman". Play.tm. December 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  4. ^ a b ""Wheelman" To Come to Life as Video Game Property and Feature Film; Vin Diesel to Star and Produce". Midway Games. 2006-02-22. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  5. ^ Winda Benedetti (2006-12-07). "Almost all that has been produced when video games go Hollywood, and movies become games, is a series of bombs. The first trailer told the new game engine with realistic graphics and car and foot missions. The successful blockbuster formula gets... lost in translation". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  6. ^ "Vin, Midway put pedal to metal". Chicago Tribune. 2006-02-28.
  7. ^ IGN Wheelman Review http://ps3.ign.com/articles/965/965594p1.html
  8. ^ Gamepro Wheelman Review http://web.archive.org/web/20110607134542/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/209369/wheelman-ps3
  9. ^ Gamespot Wheelman review http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/wheelman/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review
  10. ^ Wells, Darren (April 2009). "The Wheelman". Hyper (187). Next Media: 52, 53. ISSN 1320-7458.
  11. ^ play.tm Wheelman review http://play.tm/review/23912/wheelman/
  12. ^ Wheelman Gane Informer Review http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/CECF4961-9C80-42BF-81C7-C8ECDB96C4CB.htm
  13. ^ Wheelman That Gaming Site Review http://www.thatgamingsite.com/id58-Wheelman-Review.html
  14. ^ Wheelman Push Square Review http://www.pushsquare.com/1094/vin-diesel-wheelman-on-playstation-3-review/
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