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Wheelman, The

EMAIL PRINT ps3

7.4 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 37 critic reviews
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Based on 26 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Midway Games / Ubisoft

Developer: Midway Newcastle - Tigon Studios

Genre(s): Action, Driving

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: March 24, 2009

Summary

Wheelman takes gamers on a white knuckle thrill ride that unfolds throughout the streets of Barcelona. Featuring car chases inspired by Hollywood's most famous action-sequences, Wheelman delivers powerful cinematic moments throughout the game's compelling storyline. Vin Diesel stars as an undercover agent and highly skilled driver who must infiltrate the Barcelona underworld to gather intelligence surrounding a covert heist. Posing as a driver-for-hire, he ends up caught in a crossfire of corruption and chaos while trying to stay one step ahead of local law enforcement and rival gangs. [Midway]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Game Informer

Wheelman has enough explosive thrills that you’ll be yelling and laughing the whole time.

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ZTGameDomain

Wheelman is a good game, with a bit more polish it might have been a great one. Having some good dialogue, a great soundtrack, and pretty cool premise helps distract from the pop-in that comes up every once in a while.

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GamePro

Its arcadey addictiveness and cinematic style successfully lands it in a sweet spot right between those two genres, taking players for a ride that's totally on par with the summer movie excitement it emulates.

VideoGamer

Fun can be found in the simplest of things, and Wheelman nails car combat to the extent that it carries the whole game on its wheels. There are clear issues, with re-spawning enemy drivers causing a whole heap of hassle at times, and the aforementioned on-foot combat is forgettable at best, but for the most part you'll want to stay behind the wheel.

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XGN

The combination of a driving and a sandbox game, complete with new car moves, makes Wheelman a very nice game to play for many hours.

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Pelit (Finland)

A straight forward GTA clone with few new tricks. Biggest innovation is the fact, that you can blow up almost anything, anywhere, anytime. Explosions, you got to just love them.

Cheat Code Central

So, if you are looking for an action game with a heavy focus on vehicular combat, over-the-top driving sequences, and ridiculously unrealistic abilities, you should definitely check out Wheelman.

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1UP

If you're looking for just having some dumb fun driving in a big sprawling city, smashing and shooting every last thing in your way, then Wheelman is a great pick. However, it never even attempts to reinvent the wheel from any other free-roaming action-adventure.

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Play UK

Wheelman is a dark horse; way more fun than we’d anticipated, but nevertheless lacking in the final layer of sheen that we expect for the increasingly meaningful financial layout.

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SpazioGames

The collaboration between Vin Diesel’s software house and Midway has given birth to something original and exciting, with fast paced action and Hollywood blockbuster’s style as the best elements in the game. Longevity, around 15 hours, is another strong point in the production, making of this game a must have for all the free roaming action game lovers, who will find in Wheelman the right dose of adrenaline and cinematic action.

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GameDaily

Packed with high-speed chases, car combat (you can bump rivals into walls) and ridiculous explosions, the game's still far from perfect. Sloppy looking characters, excessive loading and average on-foot shooting keep it several steps behind the competition. As a rental, however, Wheelman offers some decent thrills.

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InsideGamer.nl

Wheelman is a relatively successful movie based game without a movie. It translates spectacular over-the-top cinematic racing action to an accessible game, set in the pleasant surroundings of Barcelona. Unfortunately its gameplay is so dumbed down that it lacks any challenge whatsoever, making Wheelman a decent – but flawed – snack that lies somewhere in-between GTA IV, Driver, and Burnout.

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Gamervision

The Wheelman promises high-octane action and it usually delivers; but the thrills are somewhat cheap and hollow.

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Playstation Universe

Despite the blatant and disappointing omission of a multiplayer component, we've had a good time; it's worth a rental at the very least.

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GameFocus

While it won’t win huge awards, The Wheelman remains a fun game to experience. The saddest part of all is that Midway’s economic problems have clearly hampered the development of the game. It feels unfinished, unpolished and compressed into its simplest form. When you go to the store to buy it or rent it, just don’t expect to be blown away and it won’t hurt your feelings.

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GameZone

The gameplay tried to incorporate many different genres into one game, but it wasn’t quite there. It came very close though.

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TheSixthAxis

The Wheelman isn’t perhaps the prettiest game on the PlayStation 3, but it’s certainly not ugly: Barcelona looks fine, there’s plenty of variety and lots to explore but everything has a slightly flat feel to it.

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Playstation Official Magazine UK

It's a lot like zorbing - it's an eye-catching spectacle, and it looks like a lot of fun, but ultimately all you're doing is rolling down a hill in a massive plastic ball. Or car. Whatever. [May 2009, p.104]

Cynamite

Though it’s fun at first due to the arcade steering, Wheelman quickly decelerates to a halt, because of the dull story and the imbalanced difficulty.

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Gaming Age

The story is bland and doesn't match the fast pace of the gameplay, but actually playing the game is really fun. The glitches occur a bit more frequently than I would like to see, but overall the experience is fun, and delivers on the sense of being a totally badass wheelman.

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Extreme Gamer

I wasn’t expecting much out of Wheelman, and then Vin showed me he means business. Wheelman is a fun ride, but ultimately forgettable once it the ride is over.

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Vandal Online

Midway Studios Newcastle and Tigon Studios have created one of the most frantic games of the market, which unfortunately fails in its lack of depth and repetitiveness.

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Gameplanet

Wheelman draws influence from a number of other titles, and fails to provide anything really new to the mix. Some initial excitement is offset quickly by repetition, and ultimately the game suffers for it.

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PSM3 Magazine UK

It's fun, stupid, epic, but unfortunately not that good. [May 2009, p.74]

3DJuegos

Wheelman is a merely correct videogame that could be improved with more inspiration in its development. Nothing is especially good or bad in this Vin Diesel flick, but it needs that point that pushes us to play and/or recommend it. With the enormous supply of quality Sand-Box in the market, the option of Wheelman is only useful for those who are done with Saint’s Row 2 or GTA IV.

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NZGamer

Unfortunately, while on paper it might have sounded like a Fast and Furious calibre idea, in reality Wheelman is barely a Pacifier.

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Giant Bomb

It's certainly mechanically sound, but you should probably attempt to find it at a slight discount.

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Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

If you're looking for something fast, accessible, and just a little stupid, Wheelman's calling your name. [June 2009, p.82]

Gamer.nl

Wheelman is best described as a B-movie. Bad production values and a lousy script. However, the funny one-liners, bad dialog and over-the-top action make up for lost ground. Wheelman is by far a good game, but still a very enjoyable one.

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GameSpot

Wheelman offers plenty of movie-style thrills, although it's hamstrung by terrible on-foot gameplay.

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Playstation Official Magazine Australia

It was a worthwhile dig, but it just isn't a patch on genre leaders. [May 2009, p.64]

GameTrailers

Wheelman is lacking where it counts the most; under the hood. Life in this fast lane won't hold your attention for more than a few hours, as the high-octane action fizzles out all too quickly.

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PALGN

The Wheelman doesn't do anything majorly different, and settles for being just another average movie tie-in. If you like Vin Diesel and have a short attention span, this game might just interest you for a few minutes.

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Total Video Games

It's passable for those just looking for some mindless action and fans of his films, but there's too many issues to hold this game aloft in the crowded action genre.

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PS3bloggen.se

As long as Wheelman focuses on car chases it does great, but as soon as you step out of your car the game turns into an embarrassing rip-off of Grand Theft Auto IV.

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IGN

I wanted Wheelman to be a guilty pleasure, like 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, but it's just guilty of being a poor game.

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Game Revolution

It’s like an ironic mustache or mullet. Like having a Steven Segal DVD in your collection. You’ll never get any real use out of it. You just have it in with your other games to show you friends you have a sense of humor.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Yuri L gave it a9:
Although the storyline isn't the greatest ever and the graphics aren't top notch, this game delivers on the fun department. This game is way more fun then GTA, the whole game is great, and the gameplay feels very innovative. If you can get it for a low price, buy it.

bob g gave it a10:
amazing is the only way 2 put it the combat is great best game EVER!!

E M gave it a9:
Greta game, great graphics and fun, unique gameplay.

peter yxxxx gave it an8:
While not perfect its certainly fun and worth a play if you liked the driver series of game you will almost certainly like this. This is what driver should have started to become. A movie tie in thats actually worth buying.

Cody B gave it a9:
Let's be real about this game. It has flaws. The graphics aren't the greatest. There are bugs. But on the other hand, I am 12 hours into the game and it is a blast and I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard and enjoyed a game as much as this. Definitely worth buying. If you were to do every mission, it would easily take 40 hours to complete. Oh, and the story is very "popcorn movie" enjoyable.

Ernesto G gave it a10:
GTA, your reign is over. Meet Wheelman, your successor. Free roaming is one of the things that made GTA so good, but it’s tainted by base plotlines that send you on some tasks that seem more like chores so that you can get back to the fun. Wheelman constructs it’s plot around the action itself, so even what may seem mundane task at first almost immediately turns into action packed driving sequences that will leave you white knuckled and gasping for breath. Take everything good from GTA, turn the boring parts into something amazing, and you have Wheelman.

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Wheelman, The

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