Tasks, jobs and storyline progression are accessed via an on-screen GPS which keeps track of everything you’ve done and still need to do. Whilst the story plays out throughout the course of The Wheelman a number of side missions begin to unlock, which range from escort missions to (literally) grand theft auto, and are a nice diversion from the main campaign – each has its own rank too, which encourages repeated play, and there are lots of hidden secrets to find too. Further progress in the game unlocks other special moves, such as Aim Shot and Cyclone, which we’ll leave you to discover for yourself. The vehicular combat, too, isn’t routed in reality – the right stick is the main weapon and is used to battle nearby cars with a hefty side or forward swipe, with some Burnout style bullet time if you destroy a pursuing enemy, but you’ll also gain access to focus-powered speed boosts and the game’s neat car-jacking ability, in which Milo can leap from his own car to any other to avoid going down in a metallic ball of flames.
Don’t expect the exposition normally associated with GTA titles, this is more Saints Row-esque than anything else – that isn’t a negative, it’s just a different approach to story telling and whilst Milo is modelled accurately enough to be Vin Diesel the other characters aren’t nearly as rounded or memorable and there’s only really the one plot thread of note throughout the game. His history is deliberately left vague so the player can concentrate on the constantly progressing story whilst the game fills in the blanks when required. The Wheelman, Milo Burik, is in Barcelona in search of information.