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Gun Review / Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

Gun Review / Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

Gun’s graphics or gameplay don’t exactly scream ‘Next Gen’ but it is a wild romp nonetheless. by StewXX

November 20, 2005 – Gun is like a combination of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, HBO’s Deadwood and Rockstar’s GTA. It’s an open-ended, gritty Western filled with action, violence, side quests and a degree of realism that doesn’t necessarily glorify the Old West or turn it into a cliché fest.

But the big question on your mind is probably “If I’ve played the game already is there anything here worthy of playing the next gen version? There’s no reason to spend the extra money on this 360 version as it’s too similar to the other next-gen console titles. If you’ve been saving this one for your new console purchase, there isn’t anything else like it on the X360 and it’s definitely a worthy action title to add to your collection.

Colton White, as a youngster, was aboard a steamship with his adopted father when it was sabotaged. But before the ship exploded, old Ned threw Colton overboard and left him with a medallion inscribed with the name of a saloon in Montana. Ned lost his life and Colton vowed to put the pieces together of his father’s death which he is determined is not an accident. Colton first makes his way to Dodge City where his adventure begins. It will take him throughout the Old West from Kansas to Montana where he will face a variety of outlaws, Indians and lawmen.

The cutscenes hurry the story along and don’t simply mosey. Situations are moved along at a cattle drive’s pace. Colton rarely gets to stay in one place too long before he’s off on another adventure. The developers could have expanded on some of these situations such as when he becomes a sheriff in Empire City. There are lots of scenarios that could have been culled from this development but it’s not given time to bloom. Instead we’re rushed off to the next mission; and you can’t help but feel a little jipped.

While travelling from town to town, Colton never settles down and the characters that he meets very quickly become memories. Save for the greedy and evil ex-railroad tycoon and his henchmen. A variety of gameplay elements keeps things interesting but at times they seem forced and disrupt the pace. There are puzzles to solve, elements of stealth, strategy, horseback riding and of course shooting. All of these elements are very basic and easy to perform although the horse can be a pain in the ass when shooting. Although there is a pervading mystery to the storyline that needs to be solved these elements don’t relate so much to the unraveling of the mystery as they act more like gates that you must open to get closer to the truth. Although it’s not linear the game directs you to specific areas instead of making it feel as though you discovered these leads of your own volition. Overall there is a lack of cohesion to many of the gameplay elements.

Side missions give you a taste of various lifestyles in the Old West although you can imagine that these are disparate elements that few people would ever have the chance of experiencing in their lifetime. In real life, people actually made their living performing one of more of these activities. To assume that one person would be able to tackle these tasks just for a little food or extra cash between shoot-outs is unrealistic. But this is a videogame and it beats having to wash dishes in a different saloon each night which is more likely the case. You will get to try your hand at ranching, hunting, mining, bounty hunting, law enforcement and poker.

Stealth combat lets you sneak up behind your enemies and stab, shoot or scalp them. It all depends on the situation. You may want to knife them to keep them from alerting others in the party while they are camping or you may want to torture them by scalping them. In the case of the bounty hunter you will earn more money if you can sneak up on your prey and take them in alive. Stealth comes in handy when shooting arrows. More on that later.

Shooting is the preferred method of combat in Gun. I wonder if the title gave away that sharp bit of information? Guns are plentiful. Period-specific rifles and pistols with names such as Winchester, Colt and Schofield are available. Larger guns such as machineguns and cannons are also included. The targeting system has a large reticle which makes shooting very forgiving and arcade-like. Headshots reward you with messy graphic animations that may appear a little too realistic to some viewers. It can be horrific or a whole lot of fun to watch depending on your perspective – sicko.

Taking on a posse is not very difficult thanks to the large targeting radius. If you need even more help you can access the Quick-Draw feature which is the game’s version of bullet time that slows down the surrounding action allowing you to move about in real time and gun down as many enemies as you can within that window of opportunity. The rifles are more powerful and should be used to kill enemies in the distance. You can sight the barrel for more precision during ranged shots. The rifle is also great for flushing out enemies from their hiding spots. Ammo for pistols is unlimited and locating ammo for other weapons is not difficult. Supplies are plentiful but you have to be careful not to venture out in the open in the middle of a gunfight. You’re not invincible, although the health tonic that you drink manages to bring you around in no time should you find yourself filled with lead.

Gun is not restricted to the use of guns as weapons. Knives, bayonets, hatchets, dynamite and even bow and arrows will find their way into your hands. These items will avail themselves for specific duty such as when stealth is required or they may be the only weapons available to you in a certain situation such as when you fight on the side of the Apache Indians. There are plenty of things you can do with arrows such as light them on fire or attach explosives to them. They make an excellent stealth weapon as you can’t hear them being released.

Horses are the game’s vehicles. I can’t say they are a great addition but they do get you through some of the vast and boring landscape a lot quicker than walking. As huge as the maps are there sure is a lot of empty wasteland. Exploring is encouraged but you’re not likely to find much between towns. Shooting while on horseback is a challenge, even with the forgiving targeting system. At the very least it seems as though this would be the case in real life. The best you can do is to point the gun in the general direction and hope for the best. You can also run down enemies as you trample them underfoot with your horse. Spurring the horse will help to speed it up. You never develop a relationship with your horse since you can just take one the same way you jack a car in GTA. The horses are like disposable vehicles with no distinct personalities.

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

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