Most of the rewards can be found at the end of each main mission. Here you will find new weapons, power-ups, money and accessories. Side quests are another way to obtain money that you can use to upgrade your strength and shooting skills but I really didn't notice any difference since the upgrades are subtle. Earn as much Quick-Draw time as you can, at least that's something you can use although you won't find it very useful in boss battles. Getting killed is not a big deal. You will respawn, with full heath I might add, not far off from where you got killed. Even with the difficulty ramped up you will notice an increase in the power of the enemy's hits.

Playing GUN on an high definition TV is not recommended since this game just looks better a little blurred. The gratuitous increase in resolution gives the game a decidely un-next gen appearance due odd-shaped objects that should look rounded and smooth in addition to ugly seams and blocky textures and will probably have a few eye candy purists bawking at the sights. The motion-captured animation looks great but there is definitely room for improvement. There are some clipping issues along with some camera angles that get confusing, especially during the horseback shoot-outs. Bumping a game up to high resolution when it wasn't originally created for it is akin to recording a tape onto a CD. You're going to come face to face with the flaws in the original source material. We saw all sorts of examples of texture and resolution issues when the industry began porting titles from the PSone to the PS2 and we're definitely seeing it again. It's just part of the natural evolution of developers moving from one gen to the next. Naturally this will improve but to do so will involve developers completely focusing on the next gen consoles.

Voiceovers are strong and the actors deliver lines that are as authentic as a bean fart. The cowboy vernacular seems real and great pains were taken to avoid cliches which are all too common in classic Westerns. Voice talent is supplied by veteran actors Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Thomas Jane (The Punisher) and Brad Dourif (Deadwood). The subject matter, like GTA, is adult-oriented and contains themes of violence, brutality and sex. The musical score changes with the scenes so you will always feel as though each encounter is a new one. Instead of twangy guitars you will hear epic symphonic themes. Sound effects are well presented and there are lots of variations of gunshots to illustrate the various environmental ambiences such as indoor and outdoor locations.

It's nice to see Neversoft unchaining themselves from the Tony Hawk franchise for a moment to flex their creative muscle. I can only imagine how much they probably enjoyed leaving the dirty grimy world of skateboarding behind for the dirty grimy world of the Wild West. Gun is a darn good Western and really the only action title of its kind available for the Xbox 360, but since its already available on current gen consoles I wouldn't purchase a new system to play it. If you're one of the few cowpokes who enjoy Western games like Gun or Read Dead Revolver I would definitely recommend dishing out some of Neversoft's 6 gun justice on any console you own.

By StewXX
CCC Staff Writer