Before playing the game: Based on trailers, the game appears to be a first person shooter with a lot of action, violence and blood. Based on the trailer, it looks like it’ll be fast-paced and centered in the Wild West, focusing on a bounty hunter named Silas Greaves. The game has a leveling system based off XP gained from killing targets, which grants skill points to specialize in different combat styles. This is unexpected of a Western gun game, but adds an interesting aspect to it. The game doesn’t seem realistic at all and it looks as if it’s made for gamers who are looking for pure, unadulterated action and entertainment.
First Look: The story itself follows Silas Greaves’ narrating as he tells a story to people in a bar. It has a storybook style using animated pictures as he narrates. Greaves also narrates in the bar as you play the game, with some minor interruptions from the people in the bar, adding a comical effect to the storyline. Greaves tells the story in Abilene, 1910, but the gameplay starts off in the 1880s as Greaves meets up with Billy the Kid in a farmhouse, killing enemy cowboys along the way. The controls for this game are the standard WASD keys for movement and it uses the mouse to aim and shoot. XP points are awarded for kills and it is very satisfying to see your foes fall. With those XP points, your character levels up, granting a skill point. With those skill points you can choose between three different combat styles: gunslinger (duel-wield desperado), ranger (long distance sharpshooter), and trapper (close-quarters fighter). As for the graphics, the textures are very animated and colored with a lot of contrast. When an enemy is shot, the blood is over-exaggerated in a deep, deep red color. The developers certainly weren’t aiming for their game to be realistic, but rather colorful and appealing to the eyes. The music is very typical of Western-based games, as American folk music plays in the background. The audio becomes intense as you have a one-on-one duel just like the cowboys in the movies. So far, this game is very entertaining and I look forward to playing it more.
Final Overall Review:
Now, after doing a full playthrough of the game, I’ve gotta say I was not disappointed in the slightest. The game exceeded my expectations. I expected the game to be a fun shooter game that kept me entertained for a few hours. The consistent narration by Silas Greaves and the talking in the bar as he narrates the gameplay kept me well-interested in the game’s storyline. Greaves makes references to notable historical outlaws and gunmen in the Old West throughout his tale, such as Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and John Wesley Hardin. This definitely kept me interested in the game to see who might be next. I don’t want to spoil the game, so I won’t discuss the story in detail.
As for the aspects game itself, I found the graphics to be purposely colorful and in high contrast with solid, animated textures. The developers glorified its intense color and contrast in making the game. This made the game very appealing to me personally. Maps are well-designed and large. The blood that spews from killing an enemy is over-exaggerated and makes it that much more satisfying to kill enemies and get multipliers for killing multiple enemies within a short period of time, earning more XP points. With these XP points, your character levels up and you gain a skill point, which can be used on one of three branches of skills, depending on your preferred combat style and weapon. There’s gunslinger (pistols), ranger (rifle), and trapper (shotgun). I personally chose ranger, as the rifle is powerful and very effective for precision from any range, far or not. I’d say gunslinger is my second choice, as you can carry both a pistol and a rifle, but not a rifle and a shotgun. Also, shotguns just aren’t appealing in this game because of the dynamics of the game in placing enemies in multiple directions and multiple distances. Having a couple rounds available just doesn’t cut it for a game like this; since, for the most part, you won’t be up close and personal with enemies.
Furthermore, the “bosses” in this game are just traditional Western cowboy duels starting with a standoff. I personally didn’t like this about the game. This made the game less challenging to beat and for the most part when I got to duels, it just became an irritable experience. While it was enjoyable to “honorably” defeat your opponent by drawing your pistol after your opponent, doing that itself became irritable because of how it’s done. You have to move your mouse to gain focus on your opponent and it drags and it doesn’t move fluidly. While doing this, you also have to adjust your hand to the holster using A and D to increase your draw speed. Duels mainly rely on luck to win. These duels aren’t necessarily hard, but it doesn’t fit in with how the game is played. It seems too forced into the game for me to enjoy it. They really wanted to fit standoffs in the game, but it doesn’t go well with how the rest of the game is played. One moment, you’re quickly aiming and gunning down everything in sight, then suddenly things get serious and you slow down to focus on an enemy. Although, I may not like it because I’m playing on PC with a mouse and keyboard.
The controls on a mouse and keyboard are standard. WASD is used to move, the mouse is used to aim, space is used to jump, and shift is used to sprint. This is like any other shooter game, so playing with a mouse and keyboard shouldn’t be hard to adjust to. The only things that are different is Q is used to concentrate as time is slowed down for you to get a precision shot, which isn’t hard to get used to.
The audio playing in the background is mainly folk music, as expected of any Western game. It fits in pretty well with the game since Silas Greaves and the others in the bar are talking in the background while the actual game is played. The audio also stops and gets intense for duel scenes and any significant events in the story. Overall good audio and background music.
The pacing of the game and story is relatively quick. It took me roughly 6 hours for me to beat the entire story mode on normal difficulty. There isn’t anything particularly challenging enough that takes up a lot of time to complete. It would be nice if the story lasted longer though.
As a game as a whole, I found it very entertaining. Something you can play casually and enjoy with leisure time. If you wanted, you can easily beat the game in one sit-in, as it doesn’t get boring or too challenging at any part of the story mode. Shooting enemies and getting multipliers for XP made me more focused since I wanted more XP for faster level ups and better skills, so I had to make every shot count. However, this game can get repetitive for those who enjoy a challenge.
Too long; didn’t read:
Pros:
+ Remarkable story with some twists here and there
+ Narration and conversation in the background is entertaining and humorous
+ Voice acting is superb
+ Well-designed maps and colorful textures
+ Historical references to notorious Western outlaws
+ Three different combat styles to choose from instead of one fixed style you must follow
+ Graphics are good and runs smoothly on any half-decent graphics card
+ Gameplay is straightforward and focuses on story - no side quests or puzzles to solve
+ Controls are standard and easy to adjust to
+ Audio is fitting with what’s happening in the story
+ Multipliers to gain more XP makes you challenge yourself to kill enemies quickly, one after another
+ Entertaining game for casual gamers
Cons:
- Pacing of the story is too quick
- Colorful textures make it difficult to see enemies sometimes
- No real challenging bosses
- Repetitive gameplay
- Dueling mechanics mainly rely on luck
- Story mode is too short; only requires ~5-6 hours to beat
- Only a few weapons to choose from
- One pathway you must follow instead of open world
- No skill required to beat the game
Overall rating: 8.5/10
If you’re looking for a casual fun game to play during leisure time, I highly recommend this game.
If this game is on sale, you’re wasting time reading this review when you should be downloading and installing this game.