Gunslinger should remind you shooters don't have to be about war all the time, just a good old fashioned cowboy slaughterfest.
Developer: Techland | Publisher: Ubisoft | Genre: First-Person Shooter
PS3 | Xbox 360 | Windows PC
Through a series of arcade-style missions and a generally unique narrative, you'll have a blast taking on various iconic outlaws.
The game starts in a saloon in Abilene, Kansas, which that looks like its straight from A Fistful of Dollars - here, a mysterious bounty hunter known as Silas Greaves takes a seat and is quickly recognised by a group of fellow drinkers known as Steve, Jack, and the teenager Dwight, who interrogate him on his past adventures.
It's through these stories the adventure begins - however, Greaves is presented by a dime novel, which only semi portrays his encounters with famous outlaws, and its through both versions presented in the novel and Graves himself that the game is played. Each mission is greeted with a gorgeous cartoon look, which resembles games such as Borderlands and XIII, and its through these graphics that you get a sense of playing through a comic book - this is visually symbolic as it reminds you this game is meant to be played for fun and not to be taken too serious.
You'll often hear Greaves' voice describing certain events, whilst Steve, Jack, and Dwight question his actions as they will compare the situation to how its described in the dime novel - this makes for alternative narratives being played out, for example you might be respectfully asked for a duel by an outlaw in the novel, but the real events according to Greaves are that you were ambushed unfairly. You are able to play out both versions, which adds a sense of gameplay that's rarely seen in other games.
You'll gain experience by blasting enemies with typical western weaponry such as a revolver, double-barreled shotgun, a long-range rifle, and sticks of dynamite - this experience gives you the ability to improve skill trees, which are categorised accordingly to each weapon type. Different ways of disposing of enemies will alter the amount of experience gained, for example if you build up a combo, you'll get rewarded for it - types of kills include headshots, dynamite explosions, and so forth.
If you prefer using the rifle and taking out enemies from a distance, it'd be advised to use your skill points on that specific skill tree to gain additional abilities and unlock special weapons, or you could mix up your points into all three and experiment with all the weapons. Typically, at the end of a mission, you'll be given the chance to duel with a boss - if you've ever seen a western movie, there's usually a standoff between two people and its him who is fastest to reach his gun and shoot that wins, this is exactly what you do in the game through a series of quick mini-games such as keeping your concentration of the enemy whilst you position your hand ready to grab your revolver.
To add a little replayability, you are encouraged to seek out 'nuggets of truth', which are scattered around each mission for you to uncover, these pieces of information reveal certain narratives about some of the game's themes such as characters and famous events. You can also start a new game plus to fully max out your skill trees or go through the game again on an increased difficulty, these are nice features and should be utilized if you're the completionist type.
Making gameplay more interesting is the use of the concentration ability, which when used puts everything in slow-motion and marks all known enemies with a vibrant red colour, allowing you to quickly pop them off one by one at a leisurely pace - well, until the concentration meter runs out. There's also the 'Sense of Death' - this will automatically activate if you're low on health and an enemy shoots at you, time will once again slow down and you'll have the opportunity to dodge an incoming bullet, deeming you fit to carry on fighting, but if the meter isn't full, you won't the chance to live, instead you'll simply die and have to restart.
At its core, Gunslinger is your run of the mill shooter but manages to capture a sense of uniqueness through its extremely fun arcade-style gameplay and a narrative that is both hilarious and engaging. It acts as a refreshing breather compared to the more serious shooters out there, and shouldn't be ignored as it provides a ton of fun complete with some extremely well-thought out gameplay. review1
8/10
