It’s time for yet another videogame based on a movie that’s based on a comic book. All that’s missing from this now-familiar digression is the theme-park ride and the 44-ounce souvenir plastic cup. Wanted: Weapons Of Fate executive producer Pete Wanat has been quoted as saying that if Wanted the movie and Wanted the comic copulated, the game would be the result. Unfortunately, the comic and the movie are far from model parents, so it’s no surprise that Weapons Of Fate doesn’t do much to better the family name.
As nerd-assassin Wesley Gibson, who’s cool under pressure while also in need of several hundred atomic wedgies, your job is to find cover near various shipping crates and patiently wait for your enemies to poke their heads out so you can shoot them. You’ll gain new powers along the way, like the ability to curve bullets (novel) or move in slow-motion while targeting multiple enemies (less novel). Propane tanks painted fire-engine red are generously scattered about each level—incongruously, even in the crumbling French church.
New enemy types roll out from time to time—an especially annoying sniper populates the game’s later levels, and there’s a knife-wielding guy in a hoodie and Chuck Taylors who looks like he just escaped from Marc Ecko’s Getting Up—but players will spend the bulk of the game engaged in some slight variation of the aging hide-wait-shoot-wait dynamic.
Beyond the game: Midway through the game, Wesley dons a special suit with a skull-like mask as a nod to the original comics.
Worth playing for: The terrific battle on board a crashing jet liner.
Frustration sets in when: Poorly spaced checkpoints result in far too many do-overs.
Final judgment: Grim, nonsensical, and yet oddly satisfying. If you’re in the mood for a short, sweet, guilty pleasure, Wanted: Weapons Of Fate has what you need.