Wild West Guns Review for the Nintendo Wii

System: Wii (WiiWare)	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Gameloft	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Gameloft	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Aug. 4, 2008	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

The sound effects and music are serviceable, though hearing constant shooting noises coming from the Wii-mote can become annoying after just a short while. The music is Western-themed, as one would expect, and it fits well alongside the gameplay. This isn't a gritty cowboy game, though, and the presentation is more akin to something you'd come across in an arcade at Disney World.

Wild West Guns screenshot

There's an options menu, which allows you to fine tune various elements of the sound, as well as select your preferred control set-up. The game can be played with either just the Wii-mote or the Wii Zapper, though both configurations control basically the same. The Zapper option might be fun for a brief time, for those interested, but your arms will likely get tired fast holding the peripheral up in the same steady position.

Wild West Guns is an okay WiiWare offering. It has a good-looking presentation, a solid control set-up, relatively quick load times, and it's a game that's as casual as they come. But it's also a game built on a formula that is extremely dated, and when compared to the innovation and unique fun of something like LostWinds (also available on WiiWare), Wild West Guns is a hard sell. It's even harder to recommend at $10, the higher end of the pricing spectrum for current WiiWare titles. If you've already got WiiPlay in your collection, you probably shouldn't bother with Wild West Guns. If don't have one of these ultra-light-gun games as part of your library, it could perhaps provide mild entertainment when having company over. But also bear in mind, the game takes up 300 blocks on your system - that's more space required than even the rather epic city builder, My Life As A King.

As an aside, we're pleased to see WiiWare off and running, and we're equally pleased that Gameloft is jumping in with both feet when it comes to developing for the platform. But the Wii is, if nothing else, arguably the most innovative gaming system currently available when it comes solely to gameplay possibilities, and we'd love to see the developer break out a bit and experiment. That's what this system was made for. That's the philosophy the WiiWare platform was born out of.

By Tony Capri
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.0

Graphics
For a $10 WiiWare title, Wild West Guns looks impressive. There is a nice variety of backgrounds. Everything runs smoothly, though enemy character models are a tad flat.

3.5

Control
Very simple - just point and shoot. But it's a little too simple, and what you see in the first few minutes of gameplay is pretty much what you'll get the entire way through.

3.0

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music fits nicely with the gameplay, and the sound effects are serviceable. However, nothing in the audio department stands out, and the shooting sounds coming from the Wii-mote get old fast.

2.5

Play Value
Though the presentation is tight, the gameplay is quite dated and repetitive, and at $10 (and 300 blocks of Wii memory) it's no bargain.

2.9

Overall Rating - Average
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Casual light-gun shooting in a good `ole, Wild West setting.

Wii Zapper gameplay support.

Two-person multiplayer.