Good game thats a little too short...

Reviewed by i_love_games11 on October 29, 2006  |  report this review

Its not every day you see a game based on films your grandparents used to watch vividly. When it comes along, you may think, "This is going to suck, I bet you!" But this one pleasantly surprised me a lot.

You are hunting with your father, for a contract. When in the meeting with the contract, a weird priest approaches you. He then follows your employer and kills her. The priest is part of a brotherhood, who wish to recover a lost artifact for use against the indians. Since they killed your "father", you seek revenge.

The story is a hard one to describe, since there is a lot going on at once, but once you grasp the plot, it unfolds quite nicely. There are plenty of things to do in the game besides the usual shooting, but we'll get onto that in a bit. Its your average third person shooter, which is okay, but the thing that really sets it apart is the Quickdraw (which kills a lot of enemys quickly, if your lucky), the Western environment, and the fact you can ride a horse and shoot at the same time. These mechanics work very well together.

The plot missions follow the usual heading into danger and shooting almost everyone in the room. They also include one or two platforming elements. New weaponry can be found by doing story missions, and greatly improve your efficiency. The side quests are really the thing that will be helpful to you in this game, as they boost stats up for every mission completed. There are quite a few types. The Wanted Posters are basically Dead or Alive. To get them alive is a challenge, but worth the trouble as the rewards are bigger. Deputy missions are similar, but on a larger scale. Pony Express make use of horse speed, and Ranch makes use of hearding skills. There are also hunting missions, which improve attacks. There is also an optional side quest of Gold Mine hunting, which gives more cash, and Poker tournaments which also rake in the gold. Gold can be spent on new upgrades. All of these side quests are a lot of fun, but may get boring after a while.

Visually, the 360 version is appealing. The colours are very bright and the game looks just like a western. The soundtrack is amazing in this title, and the voices make you feel just like your grandparents did watching John Wayne strutting his stuff. I don't have any real complaints about the game, other than it gets tedious after a while, and once you've completed the side quests and main quest, there isn't really an incentive to do it in a harder mode. Other than that, this game should at least be played, just to show you westerns can work in games.

The description of the game

Reviewed by gameguide on March 10, 2007  |  report this review

When life robs Colton White of all that matters, the only thing left he can trust is his GUN. From award-winning developer, Neversoft, and accomplished screenwriter, Randall Jahnson (The Mask of Zorro, The Doors), GUN follows Colton on his quest for discovery as he seeks to exact vengeful justice on those who have wronged him. GUN is a realistic epic action/adventure that lets gamers experience the brutality of the lawless West.

My brother loves this game & IGNS review

Reviewed by TCW on January 26, 2008  |  report this review

Gun
Neversoft has emerged from its Tony Hawk days with a high-action Western. But what does the 360 offer that the others don't?
by Douglass C. Perry
November 15, 2005 - After seven years of solely making Tony Hawk games, Neversoft, the Southern California developer that's made a mint on perfecting the best skateboarding games on the planet, has branched into new territory with a rowdy, spirited action game based on the Wild West. The subject matter of Old West shooters is hugely popular with gamers, who anxiously awaited Rockstar's Red Dead Revolver last year and have shown substantial interest in more Western goodness. Now, not only is the newly created IP on all the current gen systems, Neversoft stretched itself to put Gun on Xbox 360.

Why is there a dearth of Western videogames? Why has the Western been neglected so much in the videogame realm? Nailing the right control and camera system has something to do with it, but riding, shooting and generally interacting on horseback is also a concern. It's the same reason that motorcycle and bike games are so hard to develop -- the character and bike must physically react independently of one another but also work in synchronization. Camera angles have also been an issue. Neversoft hits those subjects head on and with general success.

Gun, however, is not the Western to beat all Westerns. Remove it from the genre, take it purely as a shooter, and it's less impressive. The vast landscape is too often vacant of action. The side missions are easy, even simplistic. And while the shooting aspects of Gun comprise an excellent set of weapons and the fun, arcade mechanism of QuickDraw, the lack of precision and wily controls will leave many gamers scratching their heads. There are both positive and negative aspects to Neversoft's western action game, and the positives win out, whether you play it on Xbox or Xbox 360.