Gun & The Two Minute Rule
January 6, 2006 6:02 AM | Simon Carless
The New Gamer's latest update deals with storytelling and Neversoft's new Wild West title Gun, which has swung quickly into the 'flawed but interesting' pigeonhole for most who have played it.
Writer G. Turner points out: "From varmit-hunting with Ned to being ambushed by Indians the absolute moment you exit the town boundaries, Gun is a halting, stop/start experience. There's no build-up, no tension, no excitement, just scenes where you're shooting and scenes where you're on the cusp of being shot at."
Nonetheless, the game has some interesting reviews, despite its definite problems, and we're hoping that a forthcoming Game Developer postmortem should reveal more about the original console IP's genesis, even if the game wasn't a Tony Hawk-ish slam dunk.
But Turner's conclusion is positively stark: "While a hail of bullets will keep most users glued to their controller, what's the point of a Western motif for your game if it fails to include uniquely or optimally Western devices?... There's a lot to fight for in the West, but sadly it's all glossed over in favor of making sure the audience is stimulated beyond thought."
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6 Comments
New Gamer has some great points, but Neversoft probably wasn't out to create art, but money. Keeping gamers glued to their controller sounds like they succeeded in terms of the traditional goals of a game (to make money).
John Beeler | January 6, 2006 9:45 AM
I'm also fairly ambivalent about Gun. The controls were alright and the actual gameplay was decent, but overall it was weak and, more importantly, as a Western it was absolutely lousy.
nowak | January 7, 2006 7:50 PM
I had a chance to work on GUN, and can tell you first-hand that the primary goal of this franchise was to ultimately bring in the amount of sales as a Tony Hawk product. When GUN was started (over 2 years ago) everyone at Neversoft was convinced that the Hawk franchise was losing steam, so something new needed to be developed to take its place. In the end, GUN ended up being a mish mash of elements all brought together under the guise of a Western, with emphasis on graphic violence and extreme gameplay. I also know that many people around the office were pushing to make the game more "western", but that the priority shifted towards violent gameplay, once Activision saw the initial stages of the game and figured that they could create another GTA.
I'm hoping that GUN is the starting point of what any future interations of the franchise will become, so that the focus can return to making something that takes advantage of the genre and has a longer plot-line.
Anonymous | January 8, 2006 5:33 PM
I'd agree that Gun had some severe problems Re: Storyline - but for me it was more of a case that the central narrative was so deliberately driven, taking time off to do anything *other* than the central arc broke any immersion.
"What - my dad's died and you know where the killer is? I'll be with you in an hour, after I've gone and rounded up some sheep"
KG
Kieron Gillen | January 9, 2006 4:59 AM
it seemed as though everybody wanted this game. obviously, with a great number of people come a great number of visions. the worst thing GUN did was enter an arena with a million opinions. and, most of those gamers are cynical haters. if you want more westerns, buy the game, try to enjoy it for what it is, and encourage a better sequel. unless you're looking forward to GTA 12.
Anonymous | January 10, 2006 10:09 AM
Though, it may have little replay value, and the map is a little smaller than what I'm sure the average player would have liked- Ironically, I believe the most exciting thing about this game is its room for improvement.
(Examples- Expand trading to buy and sell- wagons, horses, ammo and weaponry, gun holsters and ammo belts, custumizable outfits, posses/hands, and goods that could be traded from town to town. Maybe even allow the option of purchasing property to house all of your purchased goods at.)
The possible gameplay improvements are endless. Neversoft and crew would be out of their minds not to follow through with a sequel, expecially if the main complaint is that it left you wanting more. It's not like there's a lot of competition in the western video gaming genre. And seeing that it was their first attempt at anything outside of skateboarding, I thought it was a damn fine attempt.
Ryan Allen | November 16, 2006 10:20 AM