Neversoft's Gun, a gritty look at the harsh reality of life in the Old West, takes more than a few cues from what was put together in Grand Theft Auto III. However, while we have seen more than a few games attempt to recreate the same lightning in a bottle that was successfully captured by Rockstar, most if not all of these attempts has come away feeling like little more than watered-down copycats. That said, Gun succeeds on its own while building upon the ideas of somewhat open-ended exploration and a tight adult-themed narrative wrapped around an immersive set of missions. However, unlike GTA, Gun's timelessness is literally cut short by offering an experience that is over far too quickly. Gun's story has you step into the role of a vengeful gunslinger named Colton White who is on the road to find those responsible for the murder of the man he has until recently known as his father. In so doing you'll take on the absolute best and worst the Old West has to offer, including villainous outlaws, corrupt politicians, and brutal Native Americans. The story of how Colton's misadventures play out is helped along by some impressive voice talent which is headlined by the likes of Thomas Jane, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Skerritt, Ron Perlman, Lance Henriksen and others. While the dialog itself oftentimes is written in an amateurish manner, its delivery is more than competent. Neversoft has with Gun spared little expense in weaving a believable and engrossing tale of blood and revenge in the Old West.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Gun is that there is such a wide variety of tasks to be accomplished, and each of these is relevant to not only the overarching story, but also the particular mission at hand. Everything that you would imagine as being part of the Old West experience is tantamount to what Gun offers, from numerous gunfights at high noon to rampant acts of lust, greed and murder. You even get to ambush a train with TNT. As a set piece, this game plays to the period arguably better than most any other game to come before it, and it genuinely feels like you are taking part in a series of events in the untamed West rather than just playing a GTA clone that has been shoehorned into the late-1800s.

You don't judge a meal by how long it takes you to eat it, but it should still leave you satisfied. As good as Gun is, the fact that it can be completed from start to finish in a single sitting of just a few short hours definitely leaves behind the feeling of wanting more. The whole experience is equivalent to having an entire season of HBO's Deadwood condensed into a single feature film. Sure, it could be done, but the lasting impression would feel unnecessarily abbreviated, as it does here with Gun. There are times when you'll wish a given plot point could have been stretched out a bit more, but instead you'll be dragged along to the next entertaining yet equally brief task on the dusty road to the game's conclusion. Even with completing most of the side missions, you will probably be watching the credits roll by after only seven hours or so.

Part of the reason why Gun is so much fun to play is because Neversoft has managed to make instantly accessible to a variety of skill levels what is essentially just a typical third-person shooter control scheme. The analog sticks move you and the camera around, and when activated they take care of aiming as well. There is also a psuedo-bullet time mode called Quickdraw that can be briefly activated which slows down the action and allows you to quickly deal with swarms of enemies before they can react. In addition, for those who feel uncomfortable aiming on their own, Gun offers a way to simply flick the stick to automatically target the next-closest enemy, as well as a way to keep the reticule locked onto a target as they move. These settings can be toggled on or off at will, and when combined with the game's numerous difficulty settings this makes Gun easily enjoyably by most anyone.

There is a great deal of freedom in Gun, but that freedom is tied together by the game's numerous core and side missions. Unlike GTA, where you were basically dropped into a self-contained world and left to your own devices, in Gun you have a much more defined set of options, and it is simply up to you which ones you decide to take on to accomplish. The world feels vast, but it lacks much of the sandbox approach that players experienced in the GTA series. That is not entirely a bad things by any means, since much of the narrative's drama would likely have been lost if you could simply forego the plot altogether and go off doing your own thing for hours on end.

In terms of presentation, Gun shines on any system on which it is played. However, while it looks great on the current generation of consoles, the improvements made to the game's Xbox 360 version are so painfully infinitesimal that it begs to be asked why the game was even ported to the platform. Sure, some of the textures are more refined, but overall none of the improvements justify the higher price tag afforded by being an Xbox 360 title. The game definitely feels like it was forcibly ported to the new platform as a quick cash grab, and as such fails to take advantage of any of the benefits of being on a more advanced system.

Altogether, Gun is one of the best action games to come along in recent memory. It's unfortunate that the experience ends so quickly, but few games twice as long leave behind such a lasting impression as remains after completing this adventure in the Old West. A tight and well-told story, coupled with memorable characters and fantastic gameplay mechanics highlight what is in effect a terrific third-person action title that is destined to age much better than other similar offerings. In fact, this might just be the best Old West-themed game ever. Now go tell Miss Kitty to fix you up with a nice hooker.

Score: 80%

Nov 27, 2005 | 0 comments
Jason Dobson