Wanted: Dead

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Wanted: Dead review
Jordan Helsley

Review

Retro-Future Action

Retro-Future Action


The Zombie Squad is here to elegantly bring down a corrupt corporation near you. Taking cues from the PS2 era, Wanted: Dead takes those sensibilities and wraps them in modern tech, creating something refreshing. It's unabashedly an early 2000's experience. It wears that characterization on its sleeve: from its over-the-top story to its taking-this-too-seriously characters.

Squad Up


You step into the shoes of Lt. Hannah Stone, leader of the mercenary police unit known as the Zombie Squad. Surrounding her is a cast of archetypal characters, like your own cast of TMNT. You're also a pretty big deal. Like Maserati police car level. This is presumably because you're among the best at questionable police actions such as undoing workers' riots and the like. It seems, though, that your expertise comes at a price, and the local police force is moving to the services of a different specialised force. You and the Zombie Squad must complete your corporate takedown before your contract is up.

It's a story you've heard before, but that's probably the point. You've also likely seen these characters before, and you would have definitely seen the memes before, including the rendition of 'Supa Hot Fire' that acts as the loading screen, though they didn't loop it for an unknown reason. It's silly, but it works. In a gaming landscape where suddenly the most popular irreverent dialogue of the modern age somehow became "cringe", Wanted: Dead gives you straight-faced ridiculousness.



Slashin' Synths


It's a future Hong Kong, and the developers had some gameplay features they needed to showcase, so your squad isn't the only powerful cyborgs on the block. Armed with your trusty rifle, pistol, and big ol' sword, you're going to hack, slash, and shoot your way through large groups of surprisingly bloody synths. Sadly, the shooting (the large firearms, anyway) feels so weak, especially contrasted with the strong swordplay, that it becomes an afterthought in your repertoire. Unfortunately for your health bar, you're going to run into several long-ranged combatants that will downgrade your sword skills to that of a corpse. Even the gun customization cannot make enough of a difference to your long range attacks.

The slashing is the showpiece: it is where a majority of your skills will go, and where most of your fun will come from. It is satisfying, whether watching a spray of red mist, or taking off a limb. And because all of your enemies are veritable Black Knights, even losing a limb or two won't keep them down. But there's a bit of strategy in the slicing. You can block and dodge, but also whip out your pistol for a quick parry shot to shut down an unblockable attack. Then, of course, you've got your unlockable combos, that add a bit more variety to your adventure. The resilience of your enemies provides a punishing challenge before considering the speed at which you can become overwhelmed. Staying mobile is the game, stick and move, and you'll be able to overcome a lot. Boss encounters feel different. Too often they devolve into "one way to win" scenarios, such as a spider tank that your bipedal warrior must defeat with a grenade launcher. Even gaining more ammo became a struggle in that instance.

Some Work and Some Play


Back at headquarters, between delineated missions, you get small moments between your characters and also other NPCs. Once you're done talking up the station, you can take part in several mini games. Ever wanted to play a virtual claw machine to get a plush cat and its poop? Maybe you want to play a just-alright arcade game or engage in rhythm-based ramen eating. Again, it's silly, but none of it lasts long enough to be grating. Everyone is having a good time, further proof that the threat here is the loss of the contract, and less any danger the missions might involve.

Getting to know your squad mates is a pleasant touch. Except for the medic that picks you up once per encounter, interfacing with these characters usually happens in cutscenes. They're all as boilerplate as can be, but since you’re spending so much time with them, hearing the occasional quip, it elevates them from faces on the battlefield to true teammates.

Finishing Touches


The visuals, while reminiscent of yesteryears' games, are good-not-great. It enhances the action, fills out the levels, and builds a distinct world. The characters look well thought-out. The slicing and finishing moves have a satisfying level of viscera, and all of it comes together cohesively. While some moments can challenge you to frustration, partially because your enemies feel a little too strong, partially because the checkpoints are a little too scarce, the action moments are pleasing enough to at least dampen those effects. There's very little hidden here. Like its inspirations, Wanted: Dead also gives you the entirety of itself as upfront as possible. It may require a certain amount of nostalgia for its predecessors to truly enjoy, but the package seems poised to stand well enough on its own for the audience and budget it is aiming for.


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8.0

fun score

Pros

Satisfying swordplay, with a ridiculous story that walks the path of so many PS2-era games before it

Cons

Punishing enemy hordes, infrequent checkpoints, lacklustre gunplay