Wheelman

Wheelman is a good game, with a bit more polish it might have been a great one. Having some good dialogue, a great soundtrack, and pretty cool premise helps distract from the pop-in that comes up every once in a while.

Even though Wheelman combines myriad genres, gameplay styles and presentation references into a single title, it actually pulls it off quite well.

Much like a lot of the leading mans films, Wheelman is brainless entertainment without any pesky delusions of grandeur to trip over. Yes the plot is daft and the action as unrealistic as it comes but crucially it's also, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyable.

Wheelman isn't going to win any awards at the end of the year, I wouldn't think. But it does the most important thing casual gamers look for, and that's ‘be fun'.

Its arcadey addictiveness and cinematic style successfully lands it in a sweet spot right between those two genres, taking players for a ride that's totally on par with the summer movie excitement it emulates.

Fun can be found in the simplest of things, and Wheelman nails car combat to the extent that it carries the whole game on its wheels. There are clear issues, with re-spawning enemy drivers causing a whole heap of hassle at times, and the aforementioned on-foot combat is forgettable at best, but for the most part you'll want to stay behind the wheel.

A successful game, that certainly is going to keep you playing for a long time. The gamelay makes up for the lower quality graphics, but overall a title you certainly want to play more than once.

Like a big, dumb action movie: this is a game best played with a big bowl of popcorn. [May 2009, p.79]

It's cool to drive on Barcellona's ramblas, chasing down enemy's vehicles, hijacking cars and destroying city's environment. This funny curious mix of GTA and Driver, starring Vin diesel, has a lot of different missions, pretty good visuals but sometimes is plagued by an awful artificial intelligence, especially in the on foot sessions.

Taken as a whole, Wheelman is a fun weekend title that fans of arcade style racers will enjoy, however briefly.

So, if you are looking for an action game with a heavy focus on vehicular combat, over-the-top driving sequences, and ridiculously unrealistic abilities, you should definitely check out Wheelman.

Notwithstanding its defects, mainly in the on-foot part of the game and overall graphical look, Wheelman proves to be entertaining and able to keep the gamer involved until the end of the story. The action-racing part of the game offers some unique and interesting gameplay ideas that we'd like to see recycled in games with higher production values.

The Wheelman is a solid driving game which is perhaps let down by some poor handling (for an arcade game) and some sub-standard graphics.