Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Planet Xbox 360

Some complaints would be the length (mainly because we had such a good time we wanted more), lack of features/replayability, and we would have loved a larger arsenal of weapons/locations. All in all Wanted: Weapons of Fate will do exactly what it is meant to do for adult gamers who pick it up in stores this week, provide a over-the-too fun experience with many ties (both gameplay and story-wise) to the Wanted universe.

Vandal Online

We think Wanted will divide the public, with probably more detractors than praisers. Genre fans, used to mediocre games without souls, should overlook Wanted's flaws and see the braveness and effort in this not so ostentatious production.

Game Over Online

Like the movie, Wanted: Weapons of Fate is more style than substance. The game is at its best when Wesley is quick chaining cover with his ability to slow down time and curve bullets in the midst of overwhelming odds.

Gamer 2.0

Wanted: Weapons of Fate, surprisingly, is not only better than a typical movie-licensed game, it’s better than a typical action game.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Grim, nonsensical, and yet oddly satisfying. If you’re in the mood for a short, sweet, guilty pleasure, Wanted: Weapons Of Fate has what you need.

Kombo

Attention Universal: This game demands a sequel! Not only does Wanted offer a stylishly sordid universe begging to be explored, all of the core gameplay mechanics have first-class potential and deserve to be pushed harder.

Official Xbox Magazine

And to top it off, it’s almost shockingly short: for a full-priced game, we expected more than four hours of gameplay with no multiplayer in sight. If it cost $40 or less, we’d be singing a different tune…

Gaming Target

It's not long enough to own at full price, but Wanted introduces enough new gameplay elements, like curved bullets and rounded cover, to make it worth checking out, even if it’s only nine levels.

Impulsegamer

In conclusion, Wanted: Weapons of Fate seems a tad contrived and forced and although the combat and gameplay is rather strong, the title does become repetitive midpoint. It's still fun to play but don't expect this to be the killer title of the year.

GamingXP

For fans of the film, the game is the perfect match. Folks that like action-shooters may be disappointed, because Wanted: Weapon of Fate is too linear and offers too little alternation.

Gameplanet

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is a relatively well compiled shooter, but misses out on top marks by simply being too short.

Cheat Code Central

In Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Grin has created a definite step forward for the "cover shooter" genre. It features a fast-paced campaign that we had a blast playing. Again, we suspect a rental will give most players all the value they'll get from this game, but all fans of third-person shooters should at least give it a shot.

IGN

I have nothing against short games, so long as there is proper incentive to play multiple times. Wanted lacks any such incentives. Something as simple as an arcade scoring system or in-depth stats might have been enough to make a second playthrough interesting.

Console Monster

It's the equivalent of getting a donkey, strapping a jetpack to it but only filling the tank halfway. It takes something old that's been way overused, attaches something new to it to add more fun, but then takes away this fun and orginality by being too short. OK, that was a terrible analogy, but you get the picture.

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

A good, but flawed game. [June 2009, p.84]

Cynamite

The cool Hollywood touch is fun for some time, but the action quickly gets repetitive.

Eurogamer Portugal

Entertains while it lasts but as soon as you start enjoying it, the game ends. With no repetition value and a very short campaign, the game can also become repetitive and uninteresting in a medium term. The potential is present but could have been more.

AceGamez

The main problem with Wanted is that it basically only has one mode, a single player campaign that really doesn't last long.

GameZone

While not a horrible game by any means; Wanted: Weapons of Fate has its share of fun action-packed moments that runs out of steam way too quickly. With linear levels and poor enemy AI, it’s hard to enjoy the game’s awesome gunplay. This one is worth the look if you liked the movie and the graphic novel.

XboxAddict

The title had promise and looked like it was going to be quite fun to play after playing through the first level or 2, but once the novelty wore off that’s where the game then became repetitive and quite frankly a bit boring.

GamingExcellence

Wanted: Weapons of Fate doesn’t suffer from the “Bad movie-license game” curse. It is not that bad. But it suffers from being too short and not having enough after you beat it to keep on playing.

Games Master UK

A fantastic action game with unique feathers. Make sure you rent it, though. [May 2009, p.77]

ZTGameDomain

The problems arise when you realize the game is able to be finished within one sitting and there really is no reason to go back through outside of unlocking some Gamerscore.

MondoXbox

Wanted: Weapons of Fate combines interesting gameplay ideas with an highly cinematic style, creating an enjoyable experience even if a little repetitive. Unfortunately, its merits get overshadowed by its four hours longevity, more adequate to a Live Arcade game than to a full price retail game.

Game Revolution

What wasn’t disappointing, though I expected it to be, were the John Woo-style quick-time events.

Team Xbox

Wanted is an unfortunate disappointment to me, but not as much for its gameplay design, which is where a lot of games lose points. It has a nice control scheme, it has some grin-inducing comedic dialogue and more. The key argument against it is that there’s simply not enough of it—and that ends up drawing a big thumbs down from me.

Meristation

Wanted has several good ideas, and it's not a bad game on the technical side. But, overall, it seems a bit uninspired when it comes to exploit all its potential, and it's extremely short, with little replay value, just replaying the main story with different characters. Fun while it lasts, but it won't be long.

3DJuegos

Wanted is a pretty decent effort, and a new example that not every cinema adaptation is condemned to failure. With a longer playthrough, a multiplayer mode and a brighter IA, Weapons of Fate could be a far better game, but nevertheless is an interesting option for action fans.

SpazioGames

Wanted; Weapons of Fate could’ve been a great action game. Gameplay is solid, even if not original, and will deeply entertain you, and graphics are sometimes stunning. The big drawback is the length: it took us four hours to get to the final sequence, which really isn’t enough as of today. Consider a purchase only if four intense hours of gameplay is enough for you.

Worth Playing

Wanted is mediocre and too short, and it's only of vague entertainment even for players with prerequisite interests.

InsideGamer.nl

The short length of Wanted: Weapons of Fate is actually its rescue. If the game would have been any longer it would have gotten boring. For that reason Wanted is only recommendable for the most fanatic Wanted fans. Everyone else might give this average shooter a chance when it’s in the discount bin.

Xbox World Australia

Whilst it's not a terrible game, and there is some fun to be found here, it gets repetitive fairly quickly.

Everyeye.it

Quotation forthcoming.

Game Informer

The good news is that the game, as dull as it gets, doesn't last for more than five hours. It's quick and dirty. [Apr 2009, p.77]

Extreme Gamer

Wanted: Weapons of Fate, unravels the Loom of Fate a little too much as the game adaptation feels less inspired then its source material.

Xbox360Achievements

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is arrogant and patronising ... which would not be a problem if the game was amazing; but with flawed controls, repetitive action and an extremely short experience overall, this was never going to live up to its own delusions of grandeur.

Gamer.nl

Wanted: Weapons of Fate looks good and plays well. However, there isn't much that makes the game special. The tutorial teaches you some pretty amazing stuff but in the end you will hardly use any of those abilities. Besides that, there is no multiplayer mode present, making the game nothing more than average. And that's a shame knowing that the game could have been much more.

games(TM)

The ideas Grin has introduced work well within the plot put forward by the comic books, it's just a shame they don't hold up over an extended period. [May 2009, p.110]

Giant Bomb

It's a short game, but if it were longer, the excitement of bullet curving would probably wear off. That said, it's got some cool concepts and it compliments the film fairly well. If you can find it for less-than-full price, it's worth checking out.

Telegraph

Due to its shortness of length, repetitive (and at times annoying) gameplay and non-existent re-play value, its hard to justify paying the full recommended retail price for it.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

There's no multiplayer, and even on the Hard setting this game is a piece of cake. It's fun while it lasts, but it ends so quickly you're bound to be disappointed.

VideoGamer

With a license that seemed tailor made for the video game treatment and a competent developer (Grin, makers of the PC GRAW titles and the forthcoming Bionic Commando) in charge, there was a chance this would be something really rather good. What we ended up with is a perfectly passable, often enjoyable game, but not something that will be remembered once you've beaten it over the course of a few evenings.

X360 Magazine UK

What Wanted does well, it does well enough to warrant a look, if it wasn’t so short we’d be raving about it. But no game should last a few hours, it doesn’t matter how good their gameplay is.

Eurogamer

GRIN clearly has the capacity to go beyond what it does in Wanted, and it's a shame that the game only aspires to be a competent, mildly inventive extension of the film.

GameSpot

This movie-inspired shooter is fun for a while, but the action becomes repetitive long before you reach the end of the six-hour story.

1UP

For its six-hour playthrough (you can extend that by unlocking alternate characters, but they're so unmemorable and non-gameplay changing, that they provide no incentive to play through again), Wanted: Weapons of Fate is at best a competent, fire-and-forget movie game -- not much more nor less.

GameShark

It’s just boring and redundant. It’s worth a rental, especially if you enjoyed the big-screen or comic book incarnations of the franchise, but even a guest appearance by Angie herself wouldn’t make this worth full price.

Gamers' Temple

If you loved the movie or just want to spend an hour or so with the game, then it's worth renting as long as you're happy with what you're getting yourself into. As a purchase, though, it's far too short, easy, and buggy to be worth the price.

XGN

Those who have seen Wanted should certainly play this game, because the story continuous where the movie has stopped. Other shooter fans, better leave this title out. The game is too standard, and not worth 60 euro for only 3 hours of gameplay.

Computer and Video Games

Too short and too late to be wanted.

ActionTrip

It can be completed in less than six hours and that's even if you do your best to find all the poorly hidden paper slips that unlock the development team's concept art and such (yaay!).

Absolute Games

Cold language of numbers is the best way to describe Wanted. 9 levels, 5 enemy types, 4 hours to complete, 2 weapons, 0 multiplayer modes, 0 "wow" moments, 0 thoughts about playing this game again…

GameFocus

Another movie tie-in game, another poor title. Weapons of Fate had the potential to be a great game as the bullet curve system is very unique and fun to use. However, the game suffers from repetitive gameplay and barely serviceable graphics. In essence, the game doesn’t leave you wanting more – it leaves you wanting an entirely new game altogether.

Game Positive

Wanted: Weapons of Fate tries hard to let you experience the same thrills as last year's film, but in the end, falls short of its own ambitions.

GamePro

All in all, Wanted: Weapons of Fate isn't so much a game for fans of the shooter genre, but it's a game for fans of Wanted.

GameSpy

As dense and nihilistic as the source material, but not nearly as thrilling.

Play Magazine

Briefly interesting, until repetitive, unimaginative mechanics make the experience more closely resemble prostitution than actual gameplay. Ok if you’re looking for a cheap thrill (or a rental)...for everyone else, you’re advised to look elsewhere.

Gaming Age

A competent shooter, but just barely. The ideas behind the cover system and the bullet curve are certainly solid, but the rest of the game just doesn't hold up that well.

Total Video Games

Easily the worst shooter we've seen so far this year and quite possibly the whole of last year as well, we can't see fans of either the film, comic, or third-person shooters enjoying Weapons of Fate.

Edge Magazine

A stunt-filled shooter in the vein (but not the league) of Stranglehold, it's a game that takes control away, reverts to how things used to be done, and judders between debilitating combat and haywire presentation. [May 2009, p.92]

Gaming Nexus

Wanted’s repetitive gameplay, awful dialogue, and plain-jane graphics provide an underwhelming experience that doesn’t make a case for being wanted by anyone.