| Wheelman | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Midway Studios - Newcastle, Tigon Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Midway Games, Ubisoft[1] |
| Writer(s) | Flint Dille, John Zuur Platten |
| Composer(s) | Jason Graves |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action, Driving, Sandbox |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Optical disc, Download, Cloud computing |
| System requirements
Supported OS: Windows XP and Vista
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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.
Contents |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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] |