|
Have you ever seen a preview or trailer for a videogame and immediately known that you wanted to own it? Not even play it, you just wanted to own the game and have it as yours. It's not as if the world would end and you could stand amongst the rubble, thrust it in the air and demand that you lead the survivors into the new age because you have Super Puyo Puyo. But the point is, sometimes you just want to have a game because word of mouth and your own vast gaming desires have made something seem attainable and delicious. Gun did this for me. When I saw the trailer, I jumped and squealed as if someone finally marketed nanomachines.
Starting the game you are thrust right into the wild, Wild West with little else to do but take down animals that honestly, did nothing to you at all. You follow along some wily old man who is surprisingly voiced by Kris Kristofferson. (Yeah, I know -- you get to be lead around by The Whistler? Awesome, isn't it?) So you're banging along, shooting elk and pegging down quails so that you can learn the advantages of Quickshot and various other action moves. (This is just to prepare you for the rough and tumble path ahead that Ned, your "Pa", won't be joining you on.) Once Colton, (the hero) gets his feet on the ground, you're immediately sent into a crazed battle to protect the steamboat that carries both your precious cargo and your Pa. What happens after is a wild goose chase to kill every man who stands in the way of you and the answers you so desperately seek.
It's completely authentic, right down to the gorgeous graphics and mind-numbing visuals that only Rockstar could give us in a game. Think of mixing Tombstone with GTA and you've got something that isn't just a flash in the pan, but a true and raw game playing experience. While I think the graphics and sound were on par, there were a few things that seemed way too cheesy to be left in. Sometimes while being advanced by enemy Indians, some very Bonanza-esque music starts up and you almost shudder. It's great to pretend you're in chaps and fighting savages, but come on... couldn't we have something a little more interesting than pan flutes?
The gameplay left much to be desired though and that's not even including the dead silence that you have to endure through load screens. This game would be much better played on an Xbox, seeing as you spend a lot of time waiting for a loading panel to fill in. When you actually get through that hurdle, you're left with GTA type missions of saving brothels, getting people to safety and dismantling TNT racks before they blow up bridges. You don't get too massively involved with Colton, which is depressing, because you're supposed to FEEL your main character. A good formula was taken to make Gun, but so much more could have been done to give the people you're playing with and for, more of a human and organic feel to them.
With a first class cast of voices that range from Thomas Jane (Punisher) to Lance Henriksen (Aliens, The Terminator), it's like being included in a silver screen adventure. If only they would've put as much effort into their story and gameplay as they would in their cast and music, everything would've panned out to make Gun a classic game. Perhaps if Microsoft can get involved, a sequel will be made that will send fans of this game into a foaming frenzy, actually putting forth more energy to make it than they did with it's predecessor. We can only hope.
|
