We recently had some time to sit down with Wheelman, the fact that the Stranglehold team was helping with development was reassuring and added to our excitement, but what about the rest of the game?

You take the role of Milo Burik (Vin Diesel), a undercover agent who is willing to work for anyone who will pay to get closer to the crime lords of Barcelona. The demo starts with you waiting outside of a bank in a car (whose license plate is an obvious homage to the Mortal Kombat series), a police car passes by you and in a cinematic way the police and Milo switch glances. A lady dressed in black holding a brief case leaves the bank, a alarm goes off and she runs to your car, getting in she shouts “Venga Venga Venga!” and the game begins.

 

Wheelman takes place in Barcelona Spain, the team at New Castle did a really good job when it came to creating a Spanish feel, from the company logos to the end of the demo, the feel holds through. The menu system is simple and easy to use, in the background we see a montage of various Iconic Barcelonan landmarks as they are recreated in the game (in great detail mind you).

 

 

The developers have often referred to the game has a “hollywood” genre title; this becomes more apparent as you progress through the demo. The gameplay and storyline all borrow from “hollywood” which is a really good thing; the atmosphere was developed beautifully because of this. To compliment this genre, the physics are mostly arcadey as you would expect in many hollywood films, although there are bits of realism mixed in here and there. With the sandbox gameplay this feeling is really welcome as it helps differentiate the game from the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV and Saints Row 2.

 

We were amazed to see how detailed the game was, not just the environments but the animations. Bumping up against cars would cause sparks, parts, and other debris to go flying which in an odd way looked beautiful. Midway made a good design decision when they made the cinematic’s in game as it gives them an opportunity to show the detailed environments as well as develop a more cinematic experience. The game definetly has some of the best bald head rendering we've seen, the detailed stubble on Vin's head is showcased during the opening cutscene.

 

The controls both on foot and on vehicle worked really well and felt familiar which is definitely a plus. You have a meter that builds up when you complete various tasks, speeding, destruction, etc all play into it. Using the dpad you can pull off special moves with the points you earned in your meter. Think the Stranglehold mechanics only with more user control.

 

I was a bit disappointed foot missions were overlooked in the demo, you can enter and exit your car at anytime however it may be attached to a time limit, leave your car for too long and you fail your mission. The demo also lacked the free roam ability although we are assured this feature will be available in the full retail game. The purpose of the demo was to introduce the player to the abilities of Milo Burik, custom built around them it seems to have really paid off.