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Neversoft goes in a new direction. This is a very interesting direction for the developer best known for its work on the Tony Hawk franchise. Gun is something like a historic Grand Theft Auto since it lets you explore an open-ended environment and lets you move about on foot or horseback (the 19th century equivalent of vehicles). The game is quite a lot of fun though it only makes you wish that it lasted a bit longer for you to really take it all in.
In Gun, you play as Colton White. Ned (who raised Colton) was made aware of a ship carrying an important artifact but as he tries to get it the ship is captured, hardly letting Colton escape. Eventually you’ll make your way to Dodge City as the game places you against a number of big shots in town. The story in Gun is pays homage to a typical western flick but everything is so well presented that the story manages to grip you. The cinematics are excellently directed and motion-captured making every bit of the story jump out at you in a very stimulating fashion. One complain with Gun is that the game is a bit on the short side – running at a little over six hours – but since those hours are so action-packed you wouldn’t want Neversoft to tinker with the game and make it longer for length’s sake.
In Gun, you’ll spend a lot of your time shooting things as you can probably guess from the game’s title. It does a good job of mixing the random shooting bits with some strategic gameplay. The game includes a number of weapons including bows, shotguns, pistols, rifles, knives, hatchets and even dynamite. Some of the weapons let you use first-person shooting to more efficiently kill the enemies. You’ll also have access to a quick-draw skill that slows everything down for you to get a clean shot in. The gunplay in the game is pretty authentic and gory with plenty of blood going around in the game’s various gunfights. The deaths and shootings are pretty graphic, though that is somewhat expected from a Mature game. Other touchy issues like racism and misogyny are also in the game.
That isn’t to say that you can go around shooting everything you want with no consequence. If you kill random people, you’ll exhaust the town patience meter. Once you do this, you’ll have to fight a group of townspeople who are tired of your antics. If you win, everything goes back to normal. There isn’t much consequence, actually, but having something happen does make you aware that you’re in a living world. There are other side quests in the game that are all pretty unique. Completing these side quests will make Colton a more capable gunman by raising his skills or giving you money to purchase new weapons or power-ups yourself.
Aside from the straight shooting, the game also has you riding and fighting on horses. The gameplay mechanics are well executed, giving you a lot of control when on horseback. The animation is top-notch and looks natural. Like Grand Theft Auto, these “vehicles” can be easily found and borrowed.
The game’s visuals are great throughout the entire length of the gameplay. The game’s characters are well-modeled and animate in a very energetic yet natural fashion. The different western environments are equally authentic with great detail in all of the different areas of the game. The game’s explosions are a big part of the flashy nature of Gun and thankfully they are all an amazing sight. The lighting is especially good thanks to the amazing day and night effects that the game throws at you. Aside from that, you can definitely tell that you’re in the Old West since you’ll see the animals, familiar flora, and tumbleweeds. The game’s framerate manages to keep up with the onscreen action well. The Xbox version of the game looks the sharpest out of the consoles, though the PC version is notably sharper if your computer can handle it. All three console versions support progressive scan.
The game’s audio is equally impressive. The game’s music fits a Western-themed game very well while providing enough oomph to make the battles appear even more dramatic. The sound effects are equally authentic, with accurate sounds for everything from the horses moving around to guns going off. The voice work is the audio’s highlight however. Aliens’ Lance Henriksen and Deadwood’s Brad Dourif do a good job as the main villains but Deep Blue Sea’s Thomas Jane is excellent as the confident yet soft-spoken Colton. All versions support surround sound which really helps immerse you in Neversoft’s rendition of the western world.
Gun is a very solid title. The core gameplay is very refined and every aspect of the presentation is top-notch. If the game was a bit longer, there really wouldn’t be anything to complain about.
Adam Nunez & -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 9, 2005
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