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Gun Review / Preview for PlayStation 2 (PS2)

Gun Review / Preview for PlayStation 2 (PS2)

Gun is a good Western shooter that is well produced and features a wealth of voice talent. Thank God that the developers had the taste and the foresight not to include Reba.

Western shooters are a rare breed, and thankfully so. Considering how they saturated the movie and TV industry in the mid part of the last century the videogame industry is never safe from a similar flood. Fortunately the few Western- themed games that have been released have been of relative good quality. But as soon as the industry notes that Westerns are selling you can bet your ass we’ll be seeing plenty of inferior product.

There are a couple of main reasons we don’t see a lot of Western videogames. The first is that gamers are more discerning than the average TV viewer of yesteryear. The other reason is that games are pretty darn expensive to produce and with no particular Western flagship to pirate, developers are maintaining the status quo and continue to churn out games based on obvious trends and sequel of old faithfuls. It’s doubtful that Gun will herald a new trend but it’s a refreshing pace from shooting soldiers, aliens and monsters.

We’re headed south of the border for this tale. That’s my border I’m talking about, Canada. Due South from where I live is the wide-open State of Montana. It’s beautiful country, rivaling some of the most scenic in Canada. More than a hundred years ago it was part of the untamed West. Pioneers, ranchers, cowboys, miners, explorers and drifters made their way to and through this State on their way to seek their fortune – or face their fate. Colton White was just a young lad when his father threw him from a steamboat just moments before it mysteriously exploded. When he was revived a number of days later, Colton realized that his father had actually saved his life and may himself have been murdered. He was given a token to the Alhambra Saloon before his father died. As he searches for answers, so the game begins.

Gun has a great story and it’s presented with panache. Cutscenes forge the path, interrupting the gameplay to keep you abreast of developments. The gameplay is open. You’re not forced down a linear path. You can explore the region and take on missions in any order. If you prefer you can try your hand at ranching, mining and hunting. Eventually you’re going to have to defend yourself and that’s where the real fun comes in. After all this game is called Gun and not Amish Paradise.

Weapons are plentiful and run the gamut from pistols to rifles including Colts, Winchesters, sharpshooter rifles and machine guns. Other weapons include knives, tomahawks, bayonets, dynamite and cannons. When you play on the side of the Apache you will use bow and arrows. The arrows can be flaming and can even be customized to shoot dynamite.

Aiming accuracy is very forgiving. It’s very arcade-like. The targeting reticle is huge and unless you’re full of the coffee jitters you’re always going to be in the ballpark. Headshots require a little more skill and there are rewards for pulling them off. The first reward is in the visual itself. Blowing heads apart is a very gruesome prospect but you can’t deny that it looks really cool. Oh, I can just imagine some senator getting a hold of that last sentence to add fuel to his anti-violence campaign. Hey, we’re beyond that here. This is a game, not a militia recruitment tool.

Quickdraw is the game’s form of bullet time. With each and every kill you will be rewarded with juice to fill the Quickdraw meter which you can activate at any time. It’s best to use when you are surrounded as it’s not very effective against bosses. The bosses as you might expect are the most difficult enemies in the game. They require a lot of trial and error but eventually you’ll discover their patterns and it will be game over….for them.

With the voice talents of Kris Kristofferson and Ron Perlman, and an excellent script there is a gritty realism that permeates the entire game not unlike Clint Eastwood’s 1992 movie, Unforgiven. The West isn’t glorified so much as explored on a level that has more in common with a documentary than anything with John Wayne in it. Keep in mind that you still have to balance this with an arcade-style of shooting.

The scope of the environments are vast, but empty in this free-roam open ended adventure. The game manages to capture the essence of loneliness that was an unwelcome but constant companion to many a traveler in those days. The animation is a little stiff but the faces have a perfect weathered and grizzled look to them complete with appropriate expressions. Traveling on horseback while shooting is a bit of challenge. That’s when you’ll appreciate the forgiving targeting system. You can always crank up the difficulty if you’re looking for more of a challenge.

Any fan of the old West is sure to appreciate the effort that went into this game. Unraveling the mystery of the storyline is also certain to capture the imagination of a wide range of gamers. Gun may be a little rough around the edges but remember mister, you don’t order a Crème de Menthe in a saloon if you want to live to tell the tale.

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