Oh, Vin Diesel–you’d cash in on just about anything, wouldn’t you? In all seriousness, though, I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy. He’s a halfway decent actor, most of the time, and I can’t help but find it interesting that Vin Diesel has once again defied standard conventions. We’ve all seen game-to-movie translations, and we’ve all seen the converse, movie-to-game translations. We’ve even seen some movies that we KNEW would eventually be games, and vice versa. But this may be the first time I’ve seen a game that looks for all the world like it was SPECIFICALLY INTENDED to be converted into a movie, and probably starring its lead voice actor.
The game in question is called Wheelman, and it’s all about Vin Diesel, who this time appears as a guy named Milo, who works for a group called the Agency. Milo’s specialty is driving really fast and really recklessly, which makes him an excellent resource for those who need quick getaways and to do so while evading pursuit. And since Milo’s not working for celebrities, his talents seem tailor-made for the criminal element. Thus, Milo finds himself working for the criminal element in Barcelona, Spain…and you’ll have to do a lot of wild driving, recovering stolen cars, making friends and influencing people, and a whole slew of other things just to keep yourself from getting shot by the various criminals you both work for and work against. Seems Barcelona has a LOT of criminal factions, and when you help one, you hinder the other, and these are not guys who enjoy being hindered.
The best part is, after looking up a little information about it, this is indeed the case. Vin Diesel will be reprising his role as Milo in the film adaptation, which was originally slated to be released alongside the game, but since I’m talking about the game and have only just heard of the movie, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Unless, of course, you count Fast and Furious, but I don’t.
The game itself, meanwhile, is fun enough to play. It’s one gigantic adrenaline rush that really took me by surprise. It is a very faithful capture, at least as far as I can tell without actually instigating a high-speed police chase myself, of the way it feels to drive down the streets of Barcelona at a hundred-plus miles per hour while being followed by the cops and taking time out, occasionally, to slam into them. Yes, it’s a great deal of surprising fun to drive through buildings, or to make a preposterous jump from a six-story office window, or pull PIT (pursuit intervention tactics) maneuvers on cops. But let’s face facts, folks—at the end of the day, this is a driving game, only this and really nothing more. Surprising fun it may be, but surprising fun for how long? There’s the million dollar question.
Much like NASCAR, it’s just “go fast and turn left”, though occasionally, in Wheelman, you will be called upon to turn RIGHT. There are different types of missions, of course, but they’ll mostly be accomplished behind the wheel or occasionally handlebars. On very rare occasions you will be permitted to LEAVE THE CAR. So if you’re into driving games, then this one will definitely blow your mind with the addition of an actual plot. Those who hate driving games, however, will find absolutely nothing to like here.
