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When you think of a free roaming western-themed computer game, you'll probably immediately think of Rockstar's seminal Red Dead Redemption. What may not spring to mind however, is an altogether less well known game, Neversoft's 2005 cowboy epic, Gun.
Gun follows the story of Colton White, a huntsman who is thrust into a world of gunslingers, prostitutes and outlaws. Along the way he must race horses, rob trains and ultimately avenge his father's death, all the while shooting plenty of bad guys in the face.
Gun's shortcomings are soon made apparent to the player. The world itself is actually quite small, comprising of little more than two towns and the countryside inbetween, and a player very quickly feels that they have explored all there is in the game. The story is also quite short, and the lack of things to do once the story is completed is a little disappointing. While the makers have clearly made an effort to extend playing time by adding bounty hunting and other side missions, 100% completion of this game is relatively easy and once it has been achieved there is virtually nothing left for Colton to do. Because of this, this sandbox western lacks the depth and replay value of Red Dead and Rockstar's other games, but please don't let these criticisms lead you to believe that I wouldn't recommend Gun to anyone.
What Gun lacks in certain areas is certainly made up for in many others. While I said the story is quite short, I must say it is one of the best written storylines for a computer game I have ever seen. Featuring a quest for revenge, an ancient legend about a city of gold and an evil maniacal priest, all the elements for a great story are there and I genuinely found myself caring about the characters and events as the story unfolded. The cut scenes move the story along brilliantly and are made even better by voice acting from names such as Kris Kristofferson and Brad Dourif. The music is also well worth a mention, aptly composed by Christopher Lennertz, it is all original score with a real orchestra, is incredibly evocative of the soundtracks of the old Western films.
There are other nice little touches to the game that a fan of the romantic vision of the Wild West would appreciate. Dodge City makes an appearance (of course), many of the characters are inspired by real-life figures from the cowboy era, and the player can even ride for the infamous Pony Express. All these elements give Gun the feel of being a classic, yet I feel its limitations are what stop it quite being so.
Gun is certainly not for the faint-hearted, thoroughly earning its 18 certificate with its over the top violence (the ability to scalp downed enemies has been included for seemingly no real reason) but if you can stomach that, then I strongly urge you to dig out the old Playstation 2, buy a second hand copy of Gun for a couple of pounds and lose yourself in the Old West for a few hours. It's certainly not Red Dead, but you won't be disappointed.
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