wanted dead is the kind of game that people always say doesn't get made anymore, a ps2 style action game that's short and fun isn't full of bloat or multiplayer stuff, and this is true it is all of those things, but this also isn't as unique of an experiance as people make it out to be, tons of games like this still come out both on the indie and AA scene, sure the AAA scene doesn't really do this that often but there's tons of experiances out there that will give you that vibe, what makes wanted dead actually unique though is that it does this all with as much of a budget as it has, it had a huge marketing campaign and FMV scenes with an actual actress and licenced music and animated cutscenes and a whole music video set to an 80's classic and it's all a passion project with a clear vision and references to the things it's creator loved all over it, it's a little interesting that a game like this got funded to begin with, but it's so much more interesting with how much money they put into it, especially since it seems to come from a new publisherm, weather it was a rich guy with really good taste funding it or a money laundering front i don't know, but the game we got out of it is something really special.

the other thing people will say about this game is something along the lines of "it's the best bad game" or that it's "so weird!" and i don't really think either of these things are all that true, for a start it's a great game, it's super fun and while it's very overly difficult it's a great time and it has a good length to it, sure it's got the bad voice acting and the confusing story and the whaaacky tonal shifts, but it's all very clearly intentional, the VA work seemed to be to be a more deliberate callback to ps2 era dubs, the kind you'd see from the likes of agetek, and the story with things like having not-tom cruise just there randomly and all the big dumb cheese is supposed to be like the kind of 80's movies the creators loved, like it has the music there and all with the ost having a bunch of 80's throwback music and references and the tonal whiplash is also very planely on purpose, it has the yakuza silly minigames and they're there for fun, it wasn't a mistake or some error, it's all a clear deliberate move so i don't think acting like these things are somehow flaws or mistakes is fair to it at all, it's an 80's action movie by way of ps2/3 action game and these things all come with that, it wears all it's influences very much on its sleeve and i think to act otherwise is either misguided and in some cases more than a little disingenuous move from some super irony poisoned people, it's fine to like janky, lower budget games, you don't have to act like you're above them. the ost is also great and worth further mention, the original music is done by keiichi sugiyama who has worked on games like mario and sonic, no more heroes 2, some miku games and rule of rose, he even did music for sonic heroes, rez and nightshade and the original stuff here is really good, the last level theme especially and some of the songs for the ramen minigame are some of my favourites, it gives off the perfect neon 80's vibe in a way that really suits the game, but it never goes overboard into youtube synthwave intro territory and the licenced songs fit great, the karaoke minigame that just has 99 luftballoons was great but some of the other tracks you can play while you're in the station are also really good choices and they're all sung by Stefanie Joosten who also voices gunsmith and did the FMV sequences for the game you can unlock via the crane game.

the gameplay is just devils third, a game that was actually the first game i ever covered on here and is still i think one of my favourite games i've played for the site so when i did see this come out as a spiritual sequel i was really excited and while i don't think the gameplay is quite as good for a few reasons, it's still more devils third and i don't think anyone ever really expected that, but this proves that it's a gameplay style good enough to deserve expanding on. the basics here are the same, the mix of gunplay and swordplay but the two have very different focuses which changes things a lot, devils third had more focused on gunplay while wanted puts it more on the swords, though it is worth mentioning that devils third did still have more complex and fun sword combat because it let you use multiple different types of weapons like lead pipes and kukuri where wanted just has the sword, a chainsaw pickup that's time limited but super cool (it even censores the gore which is funny) and then a string of sword/gun combo and some counters like a block parry or a bloodborne style gun parry that's a lot more fun and easier to pull off than it was in that game, the gunplay is also a lot worse in wanted, in devils it was a much more viable way to play but in wanted it feels like it's very ineffective, you don't get much ammo and things like the amazing vanquish style slide in devils which you could use to shotgun enemies as you slid around and could even be combined with things like bazookas, here it's more just there to get you into range for sword combos, which just isn't as fun to me, it's still fun and the sword combat here is really good, but this is the one area i really wish they stuck to how it was in devils, you also have granades which are mostly ineffective (though the fire ones work super well on the final boss) and a really fun super move that lets you stun enemies and chain executions with them, executions here are given much more focus than in devils and they're really cool and useful because they actually restore health! you can stun an enemy with a gun counter or cut off a limb to do one and they're super varied and fun to do, there's also a slow-motion move that you can use your super bar for instead but i never found much use in it because of how ineffective the guns tended to be. i don't like the combat here quite as much but i also don't think it's worse persay, it's just trying for a different feel and i respect that a lot, it goes in a different direction with those ideas and some of them like the swordplay and the executions work really well, it's not a super deep combat system but it's a really fun one and it's also not all the game has to offer, it also has a bunch of minigames! though sadly no multiplayer like devils third had. the minigames are a mixed bag though, some like the crane game are great and fun, it's a standard crane but you can kick it to disldge things which made it i think a little easier than your usual yakuza crane game and the karaoke is really good for the one song thats there, but the other minigames i found weren't amazing, the ramen rhythm game was fun at first with some good music, but it's so difficult and the songs so long (up to 8 mins) that i could never finish a single one and the shmup shares a similar issue, it's great and it's super well made (and available as a free download on steam) but it's very unforgiving and i couldn't get farther than stage 2 because of the lives and continues being very stingy, you cant do infinite continues here which is a game ruining thing for me, it's just too inaccessable. the difficulty does tend to be a sticking issue for a lot of people and i can see why, the game isn't too hard on easy mode but anything above that can be rough at times, but with a cheat code (or in a future update it will be available by default) you can get this easy mode and it does help a lot, though sadly it doesn't make the minigames any easier. the bosses here are also really fun! there's some iffy ones like the android guy in the park but others like the invisible sniper on the roof ( which has some real GITS vibes which is 100% intentional) or the final boss which is a samurai on fire, real dumb perfect action game fights, though nothing quite on the level of devils thirds final boss, the invisible sniper did feel like a callback to that games invisible boss though.

the environments are a standout here, the whole game takes place in hong kong and it has some really fun places, there's an amazing stage taking place in kowloon, a cool park and the streets of the city which reminded me a ton of sleeping dogs take on the city and a lot of it feels very rundown urban decay in a way i found really interesting to explore but there's also the otherside to it with the fun glizzy nightclub level with a rainy nighttime fight on the roof and the opening level in a futurezone office buiding themed after japan and the cozy police station hub filled with funny dialogue from the other officers and all your minigames and even some collectable notes scattered, also a lot of cats, the station has a dozen cats and they look amazing, try and find them all! it doesn't look like the highest budget game but it still does well with what it has and some things like the rain look really good. the story is messy and doesn't make a ton of sense at times but it's stylish and fun and it has some really great dialogue, the cast is fun and you can feel the real comeradere between the teammates and everyone on it is fun to be around, gunsmith and stone were my favourites. it's well told too with fun cutscenes that vary in style with the FMV and anime, it's an interesting world that i'd like to see more of, the ending and it's post credit scene even had me getting a little teary at it, it's a good story if it can manage to do that, i think.

the game is a great time, it's a great reminder of a time when these games were the norm and i'm sure it'll make people plenty nostalgic, to me it also did but mostly because of my love for it's predisessor devils third and getting to play something like that again made me so happy, sure it's short and it has its issues, but if what i've told you has interested you at all, i'd say you absolutely should try it, it's so full of passion and charm and it plays amazingly and it even has a physical copy that's on the cheaper end these days and it has some amazing art. the game was made by soleil who also helped make devils third, but they've done a bunch of other games like the new samurai jack game, valkyrie elysium and a game i've been playing regularly for a year now with naruto to boruto: shinobi striker, a super fun multiplayer hack and slash with really fun movement mechanics, check it out. the games director for whom this game is likely a passion project is hiroaki matsui and he's worked on a ton of cool games, many soliel titles as well as dead or alive 4 and the first two ninja gaiden titles, he's also done art work on many other games like ff16, tokyo mirage sessions and the newest SD gundam game. i'd like to see him be given another shot with this world at this scale, it's a charming time and soleil deserve the funding, they do great work, easily some of the best modern action games.