Wheelman

Overview

Wheelman is a driving game starring Vin Diesel, developed and published by Midway Games. It was first announced in February 2006 and is one of three projects being developed between Midway and MTV. On Febuary 18, 2009, Midway announced that it had partnered with Ubisoft to help publish Wheelman. Wheelman was produced in collaboration with Diesel's own game company Tigon Studios. A demo for Wheelman was released on Xbox Live Marketplace for download on March 5, 2009.

Plot

The game features Milo Burik (Vin Diesel) as a a driver who comes out of retirement after he saves a woman from his past. This rescue leads him into a gang war in Barcelona, Spain.

Gameplay

The game contains a mix of driving and on-foot missions, though the great majority focuses specifically on driving. Wheelman offers a number of flashy vehicular special moves. You can slam into cars alongside yours with the right analog stick. An even flashier move involves slowing down time, spinning your car 180 degrees, shooting the driver or gas tank of a pursuing vehicle, and then whipping back around to speed away and escape your pursuit.

Wheelman is set in a virtual version of Barcelona, Spain. Many of the places in the game are based on real places. Those include:

• Arc de Triomf
• Avinguda del Paral-lei
• Casino Marina
• Drugstore Club
• Embaixada de Rumanía
• Las Arenas
• Monument a Christofor Colom
• Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
• Parc de la Ciutadella
• Plaça de Catalunya
• Plaça de Toros
• Sagrada Familia Antoni Gaudr
• Torre Agbar

Missions

Part 1 – Intel Gathering

• Mission: Frantic
• Mission: Back to Barcelona
• Mission: You Scratch My Back
• Mission: Meeting Old Friends
• Mission: Interviewing Felipe
• Mission: Micca
• Mission: Introducing Benito
• Mission: Finding Family
• Mission: Zapateado
• Mission: Stand and Deliver
• Mission: Miguel's Sting
• Mission: The Big Distraction
• Mission: Green Cross Code
• Mission: Letting Off Steam
• Mission: Pick of Destiny

Part 2 – Acting on the Info

• Mission: Follow a Wheelman
• Mission: Defeating Felipe
• Mission: Visiting Gallo
• Mission: The Balance of Power
• Mission: The Balance of Power - Hold 'Em
• Mission: The Balance of Power - No Protection
• Mission: The Balance of Power - Seller's Market
• Mission: Milo's In
• Mission: Balance of Power – Street Race Riot
• Mission: Balance of Power – Keep it Moving
• Mission: Balance of Power – Carrier Rescue
• Mission: Balance of Power – Romanian Battle
• Mission: Balance of Power – Lantos Battle
• Mission: Balance of Power – Chulos Battle
• Mission: The Rescue
• Mission: Get Gallo

Side-Quests

• Side-Quest: Cat Statues
• Side-Quest: Contract
• Side-Quest: Fugitive
• Side-Quest: Hot Potato
• Side-Quest: Made to Order
• Side-Quest: Rampage
• Side-Quest: Street Showdown
• Side-Quest: Taxi
• Side-Quest: Cinematic Jumps

Vehicles

Wheelman features an array of vehicles, including some licensed cars. Milo Burik can drive a Pontiac G8 and a Opel Astra.

Trivia

Aside from their look (and occasionally their name), cars in Wheelman are best identified by their license plates, all of which are references to classic Midway games. Games referenced in license plates include Mortal Kombat, Smash TV, Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe, BlackSite: Area 51, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Arctic Thunder, NARC, Spy Hunter, Cruis'n World, War Gods, CART Fury, Marble Madness, Robotron, Gauntlet, and Dr. Muto.

Radio America's DJ is none other than Shaun Himmerick, who is a veteran developer of Mortal Kombat.

Wheelman was the last published game to be developed by Midway Studios before the company's untimely death.

Reception

Wheelman gained mixed reviews. Many critics didn't like the weak story or the game's lack of multiplayer. Game Informer gave Wheelman some praise, giving it a 8.5/10, praising the game's driving mechanics and action. IGN, on the other hand, were less kind and gave the game 4.8/10.

Xbox 360 Installation

The amount of memory it takes to install this game is 6.4 GB.