In case you hadn't noticed, September is upon us. And unless you've been hiding under your bed for the last few years, you know that the beginning of September signifies the early stages of the barrage of games that will smack us in the face this fall.

Among these titles is a game entitled WET, a fast-paced, third-person action game from Artificial Mind and Movement. A2M has a long history of family-friendly products, but WET denotes the studio's first retail release on the "next-gen" platforms, as well as one of their first games appealing to the more hardcore audience.

Luckily for us (and for you, dear reader), we were able to snag a few moments from Patrick Fortier, Creative Director at A2M, to ask some of our burning questions about WET. He gives us the 4-1-1 on the game's visual style, the delicate balance between acrobatics and combat, and even the role adult beverages play in the life of the game's heroine.

WET will be making its way to retail shelves on September 15th. Hit the jump for all the juicy details.

For starters, what's WET all about?

PF: WET is a hyper-stylized acrobatic shooter set in a really 70's grindhouse sort of universe.  It combines acrobatics, gunplay and swordplay into one seamless action system for players to experience crazy over-the-top fight sequences.

We had a chance to check out the game at E3. How has it come along since then?

PF: Since E3 the development of the game was completed with all the debug, polish and final effects put into it.

With WET being your studio's first PS3 and Xbox 360 retail title, what sort of challenges did you face in development?

PF: A lot of the challenge came from developing proprietary technology at the same time as developing the game.  Also, since acrobatics, guns and sword have never really been mixed fluidly before we were confronted to a lot of challenges making those systems co-exist in a simple elegant fashion.

In what ways has Bethesda's publishing experience helped your team overcome any of these obstacles?

PF: Obviously Bethesda has a ton of experience releasing games, so all the work they did to promote and market the game has been invaluable.  We were also able to take advantage of their ideas and comments on the game along the way.

What sort of research was done to prepare the team to make this game? Was that you guys we saw wall-running between semis on the Los Angeles freeway?

PF: There was a long pre-production period to this project.  Every element of the game first came to life through concept-art and appropriate research.  Obviously old 70's movies really inspired the graphical look of the game, but we also looked at more old school action games in terms of capturing the spirit of gameplay we were looking for.

Speaking of the "Matrix scene," what other opportunities will players have to cause massive bystander casualties in WET?

PF: There are a few sequences like the car-hopping sequence in the game, but generally Rubi operates in a world of bad guys, so if it moves it must be shot!

Aside from pistols and a samurai sword, what other weapons/door opening devices does Rubi have at her disposal?

PF: Along the course of the adventure, Rubi will gain access to twin shotguns, twin sub machine guns and twin crossbows (with exploding arrows).  All of these weapons can be upgraded in a variety of ways along the way.

WET states, "Drinking whiskey numbs the pain." Exactly what brand of whiskey does Rubi endorse?

PF: Rubi drinks from a special "Québec" labeled bottle.  No one knows for sure what the recipe is but it does the trick for Rubi.

Third-person action games have occasionally been knocked for their weak stories. Working with Duppy Demetrius (24, Kidnapped, The Closer), how will WET buck this trend?

PF: Our goal was to keep the story interesting and surprising.  Duppy aimed for a real "Charles Bronson" type of gritty action scenario and filled it with really colorful characters.  We're really happy with the end result!

The demo features a prominent film grain reminiscent of movies like Grindhouse. What motivated this design choice, and what effect does it serve throughout the game?

PF: The idea behind the grindhouse is to announce our colors right away to players.  We're not a game that takes itself too seriously, Rubi is not out to save the world or protect the innocents.  By associating ourselves with the grindhouse universe, we allow people to suspend disbelief and enjoy the crazy over the top nature of the game.

At this stage WET seems to fit solidly into the same genre as Stranglehold, Dead to Rights, and even Max Payne. In what ways is WET similar to these games, or more importantly, how does WET set itself apart?

PF: The main difference with WET is the highly acrobatic nature of the movements.  This leads to many more aerial fights where players really have a chance to exploit the environment in unique ways.  Also, we tied our shooting system to the acrobatics, so slow-motion and split-targeting are automatically triggered by performing acrobatic actions.  The split-targeting allows players to target 2 different targets at the same time by having one arm automatically select a target and having players manage the other manually to pull off headshots or shooting another enemy altogether.  Also, since there is no gauge to manage, the system allows for a really fluid "ballet" of destruction.

What are your future plans? With a brand new IP in your portfolio, will A2M continue this trend, or focus more on licensed properties?

PF: The idea with WET was to expend A2M's horizons, but in no way does it signify the end of more family oriented titles.  Having developed new expertise making action games however there is definitely a taste for it and we will certainly consider returning to this genre in the future.