GUN PS2 (Gun (PS2))

Member Name: CaimheKnox

Product:	Gun (PS2)
Date:	27/02/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Side missions, weapons

Disadvantages: Short game, quite repetitive, small map and no multiplayer .

We very rarely hear about popular Wild West games hitting the shelves; most free-roaming environments are based in cities, such as the Grand Theft Auto games. So it's no suprise that GUN is quite popular, and as I began to play this unique but addictive game, I could see why it had received such positive feedback from people.
It is not only one-of-a-kind, but the interesting story line and variety of challenged to complete make it a simply wonderful game.

When you first start out, you'll see that you're playing the part of a cowboy named Colton White, who is accompanied by his father Ned. You'll begin by going hunting for a variety of different animals, and this lets you learn how to move around, aim and shoot (which you'll be doing alot of), and really just get used to the controls. You'll also see a bit of minor action when you get attacked by wolves and then later have to save Ned from a huge bear.
Once you've got the hang of that, you'll soon find yourself on a huge ship, where Ned meets up with a friend. All seems calm and well at first, but the ship eventually gets attacked by enemies and you and Ned will enter a battle for survival. It's relatively easy and using the quick-draw is a great help, but nevertheless, your father is killed and you're sent off on your own. He gives you a single token for the Alhambra saloon in Dodge City, as well as a load of other random information about your life, including the fact that he isn't your real father.
Waking up in the same woodland you were hunting in earlier, you'll meet a shady-looking character with a spare horse, who tells you if you beat all of his challenges he'll give you the horse for free. You must shoot a couple of bottles, win a horse race against him and a few other things that I wont get into. Of course, you can't trust him, and even when you complete every task he and his friends try to kill you. Finishing them off isn't too hard, and by the end of it you can steal his horse and ride away to Dodge City to find out what to do next.
Besides the main story line, there are lots of things you can do, either to pass time, increase your skills or to earn some extra cash. This includes a number of different side-missions, as well as mining for gold and playing poker. The side-missions don't last long but they are quite entertaining, if a little repetitive. But you get rewarded for everything you complete, so it's definitely worth a go. Here are the side missions:
Wanted Posters - These can be found anywhere there are buildings, so keep an eye out for them. They involve capturing or killing a certain criminal, depending on what the poster says. Sometimes, criminals wont be alone; some like to travel in gangs, in which case you must kill all of them in order to complete the mission.
Deputy Missions - Ever since you saved the Alhambra saloon from the rowdy gangs, the sheriff seems desperate to make you a deputy. Luckily, this means earning a little money and occasionally an increase in your skills. All you have to do is fight off gangs, rescue hostages and just generally protect the town.
Ranch Hand - For these missions you get to take a free horse and head on down to the nearby fields, where you'll have to herd some cattle around and get them safely back to the ranch. I found these missions quite boring and very repetitive, but at least your riding skills increase.
Pony Express - To complete these you simply need speed. You'll be delivering messages from one citizen to another, while evading or fighting off bandits who like to chase and kill you. You must deliver the messages on time in order to earn some money and gain riding skills.
Hunting - If you visit the indian hunters, usually found in the middle of nowhere, they'll tell you to hunt down a certain animal such as the big wolf. You'll be using a bow for this, which makes quite a nice change but can be a bit awkward, and you must do it without scaring away your prey! This is easier said than done, and it took me a few tries before I could really hunt anything, but once you've got the hang of it it's a good way to get your gun handling skills up.

Apart from completing missions, you also have the option to simply ride around and do nothing, or spend your hard-earned cash in the local store. You can play some poker in the Alhambra Saloon, and this is a pretty good way to earn a few bucks without having to kill something.
Riding your horse around is great fun and, although the map is relatively small, you can still waste a bit of time exploring the lands and killing bandits on the way. However, this gets quite boring after a while and, although the horse movements are extremely good, your faithful companion does have a limit and if you push him too hard, he's likely to die.
The store is a good place to pick up quality weapons, such as a scalping knife (you'll soon find out what THAT'S for) and lots guns. You can also buy things like an increase in your quick-draw time, which comes in handy later on in the game.
The choice of weapons varies greatly as you advance through the game, ranging from rifles and shotguns to pistols, bows and knives. There are also a few TNT thrown in here and there which makes blowing up the Natives quite a lot easier, not to mention much more fun! The variety of weapons comes in handy when you're faced with so many different challenges and you'll definitely have a lot of fun (and then you'll be disgusted) once you've worked out how to use the scalping knife.
Despite the great gameplay and variety of missions to complete, GUN also has it's downsides. The game is extremely short and it could probably be completed in a couple of days. The main storyline doesn't last long at all, if it weren't for the side missions I would have finished everything in about three days - and that's only because of the difficult boss missions. There are quite a few boss missions, and I thought these were also a bit disappointing. They increase in difficulty (I found the end extremely hard) and they are all placed in a different setting, but the overall task is always the same.
The only other problem I found with the game was that the map was a little too small for my liking. As I mentioned earlier, once you've explored everything (trust me, this doesn't take long) it gets quite boring. If you've already completed every mission and you're hoping the lands will give you some extra entertainment, then I'm afraid you're mistaken. The land of GUN is probably good for about a day, and then everything becomes familiar.
Nevertheless, I still found that the positives outweighed the negatives and overall it was an excellent game. It can provide a good few hours entertainment, and the side missions add alot to the experience. Overall, I would definitely recommend buying this game.

Summary: Overall a great game, would definitely recommend it.