Reviewed on:
Xbox 360, viewed through a component connection at 720p on a Panasonic TH-42PX50U 42-inch Plasma Viera HDTVAlso available for:
PlayStation2, GameCube, Xbox, Windows PC
The Good:
Great horse-riding and shooting controls; sandbox-style design lets you decide what to do and when to do it; some of the best voice talent I've heard in a game.
The Bad:
Sticking to just the story missions will result in a very short game; the explorable world is small compared to similarly designed games; the graphics are inferior to every other Xbox 360 game I've played.The Verdict:
It's short and not particularly spectacular in appearance, but it's also one of the most entertaining, authentic, and open-ended western games around.
REVIEW:
Members of the media have been affectionately referring to Activision and Neversoft's new Western-themed Gun as "Grand Theft Horse" for some time, and with good reason. Not only does it share the Grand Theft Auto franchise's sandbox style of game play that allows players to do pretty much whatever they want whenever they want, it also has several decidedly mature themes.
We take on the role of Colton White, a skilled marksman and hunter following in the footsteps of his father. When his dad is killed in a vicious attack on a steamboat led by a crazed preacher, Colton is forced to leave his simple life in the wilderness in order to follow his pa's dying request that he find a woman in Dodge City who is in possession of important information.
The cast of movie caliber stars — including Kris Kristofferson as Colton's dad, Lance Henrickson as an evil cattle baron, and Brad Dourif as the preacher — is terrific and goes a long way towards legitimizing the story. It helps that the cast is reading lines written by Hollywood writer Randall Jahnson, who penned The Mask of Zorro and The Doors.
The first few missions are designed to get players acquainted with the controls for shooting and horseback riding. These two activities compose the vast majority of the game, and both are a pleasure to engage in.
Players simply tap the B button to draw Colton's weapon (it could be a pistol, a rifle, or even a bow), use the control stick to hone in on a target, and pull the right trigger to take a shot. In more desperate situations, players can press the right bumper to enter quickdraw mode, which slows down time and seamlessly transitions us from a third-person view to a first-person perspective, providing enhanced accuracy that allows us to take down several enemies in a split second.
The slow motion effect also serves another purpose: it provides players with an opportunity to better examine the visual results of their handiwork. You'll see horses you've shot buckle and throw their riders over their heads; lengthy blood trails extending from your foes' bullet wounds, and even skulls blown open.
Needless to say, Gun isn't meant for kids.
We can steal pretty much any horse in the game at the tap of a button without anyone kicking up too much of a fuss. Once mounted, the act of shooting remains virtually unchanged. Movement on horse is much the same as movement on foot, except that horses can't strafe and we have the option of galloping (which quickly wears down our horse) by repeatedly pressing the left bumper.
