The Wild West is here once again on Xbox and this time it is focusing on a story that is probably the most familiar and overused in all Wild West tales. This tale is of revenge rather than how the west was won. The game begins with you and your father Ned hunting wild animals to earn a living. However things suddenly take a turn for the worse as the steamboat you board to collect your pay from is attacked on all sides. Sadly in the ensuing madness Ned is killed as you are thrown off the boat just as it explodes! Before departing the boat Ned actually tells you that he’s not your real father, hands you an item and then gives you some instructions as to what to do next for the answers. It happens very fast but is an excellent beginning to a Wild West adventure; welcome to the world of lawlessness that is GUN!

Gameplay

GUN is a 3rd person free roaming action game that allows players the chance to follow the murderous storyline or embark on lots of other side activities as and when the player decides. This means that players can bask in the games open world and simply act like a cowboy would. So if you are inclined to ride into town on horseback and make a visit to the local bar then so be it. There are a number of activities to mess around with which include hunting wild animals, becoming a bounty hunter, doing deliveries or helping various towns’ folk with their troubles and much more. If you are looking for some direction rather than being a wandering hired help then you can simply opt to follow the main story line which is always highlighted as a marker on you compass.

At the end of the day, what makes a good wild west themed game is not the good time girls in the bars but the shootouts! The controls here are pretty fluid and handle just like any other 3rd person action title. You are presented with a crosshair which changes from white to red when you are pointing at a target. The key here is to keep the crosshair over your targets (which mostly move around) and let rip with the bullets. There is no lock on feature here, so players have to use a little skill as they would if the game was a first person shooter. Each hit will make the target flinch accordingly but obviously getting a headshot mostly means instant death which is shown with plenty of head matter flying. To make things even more interesting is the ability to not only shoot whilst on foot, but to shoot whilst riding a horse. At several times in the game there will be moments where the player has to shoot enemies that are riding horses as well which adds to the challenge. The left thumb stick controls the horse movement and the right the aiming of the weapon. You are able to use a zoom feature for more distant foes which comes in very handy. It’s all very intuitive and easy which means players will be popping heads in no time. GUN also features a quick draw mode which basically means bullet time; you know, time goes really slowly and you can aim at a normal speed. This is most useful when being overrun with enemies and you need to kill them fast. However the quick draw mode doesn’t last long and has to be built up before being used again.

GUN feels pretty epic when it’s just you, your horse and the open plains, there’s a real sense of scale here and it feels pretty damn good. Being in the wilds and then entering a town really does feel like you are in one of the old western classics, especially if you start committing random acts of evil. On one occasion I felt like shooting all the towns dogs that were roaming around which resulted in the patience of the town’s inhabitants being tested to the point where they sent out a lynch mob to stop my bad ways; naturally I had to gun them all down as well! There was also something very satisfying about grabbing a broad and simply dragging her off somewhere before slitting her throat, nasty!

As mentioned earlier the game’s story is one of revenge and sees you hunting down various hard men across the west to get some answers. The story is pretty brutal at times but offers an excellent excuse to start shooting. Partaking in side missions allows players to increase their stats which in some cases will help when tackling the tougher missions later on in the game. The missions themselves are quite varied and allow you to pick up the many weapons in the game as you progress. Weapons included are the usual revolvers, rifles, shotguns and TNT for those explosive moments.

Graphics

The graphics are reasonable here and capture the whole Wild West feeling quite well, whether that be riding into Dodge or travelling the dust filled plains. The character models are not bad for the main characters although for lesser characters there are a lot of repeated models used. If there was one thing to comment on as far as the graphics are concerned then that would be the gruesomeness of some moments in the game. This title is definitely not for the feint hearted as players will get to witness throat slitting and teeth pulling amongst other things that make the west gritty and harsh.

Sound

The sound is all very authentic and what is more features some excellent yet clichéd voice acting from some big name Hollywood actors such as Kris Kristofferson . The main character definitely sounds convincing and has that air of Clint Eastwood about him, sort of! Other sound effects are effective, such as when horse jumping or listening in to the ambience of the wilds. The music is pretty non-intrusive, which means you can focus on being a dirty gunslinger without the intrusion of electric guitars and such like.

Longevity

GUN is a reasonable length single player if players spend the time undertaking the many side missions and activities that are available such as hunting and playing poker. There are also a few levels of difficulty to mess around with should you find the default level either too hard or too easy.

Overall

I have enjoyed playing GUN because it puts you into the heart of an authentic Wild West action story where all things you come to expect from the Western theme is all there. The freedom to roam and undertake missions works well and the story is gripping and entertaining at the same time. To gripe I would have liked there to be more characters to flesh out some of the quieter sections of the game because at times it does feel a little empty with so much space available in the game world. That said, GUN is fun to play and handles very easily as nothing is overly complicated at all. I think any players keen on getting the full Wild West treatment should look no further than this game. Anyone else looking for some decent action that isn’t set in the modern world, like countless other games should also take a look. GUN is a solid western romp, gritty and fun to play!