Old school style 2D platformer/shooter that's the cheapest great game on the 3DS eShop.
Story:
For a small title like this, no actual story is presented to you, but it's quite clear what you have to do, save the girl.
Visuals: 8/10
Gunman Clive is presented in a sepia toned hand drawn style rendered in 3D and it looks pretty awesome and charming. Although the lack of color might make things a bit bland looking, environments are somewhat varied and the game has an overall kooky atmosphere to it (which you'll immediately recognize the moment you run into an enemy that's not a bandit).
+ Cool style that stays true to the theme
- Visuals can get a bit bland due to lack of color
Sound: 7/10
The music is good but not memorable and the sound effects are rather silly. It's adequate but nothing special.
+ Enjoyable music
+ Silly sound effects
- Nothing memorable
Gameplay: 9/10
Gameplay wise, Gunman Clive is probably the closest to the old school Megaman games (without the whole absorbing of powers of course) although power ups are present in the game but are lost the moment you are hit. The game does move a bit slower than Megaman and the jumps are a bit floaty but are easy to get accustomed to.
Like I stated earlier, the game is silly and has no problems showing it off, enemies are scattered about and while there are the obvious bandits, there are other enemies present also which you'll first think "WTF?" when you see it and as a head's up, everything that resembles a living creature is an enemy.
There are 5 different power ups, a 3-way scatter shot, homing shot, power bullet, piercing shot (goes through objects), and a bouncing fireball (only got this one once). Recovery items are found in the form of a cake. There are a total of 5 stages, each with 5 levels ending with a boss (each being different from the last), and the game automatically saves every time you finish a level.
The game is fairly challenging but nothing that'll require intense concentration and a great deal of precision. There are difficulties but it only affects the amount of health you have as opposed to adding more enemies or making the overall level more intense.
+ Great controls, handles well
+ Multiple power ups
+ Varied boss battles
- Difficulty makes little difference
Value: 9/10
The game is $1.99, making it one of the cheapest games on the eShop and it's a great and enjoyable game, making it definitely worth your money, even if you can beat it within an hour (the initial campaign) but even after that, there's the girl you save who you can play as (can slowly descend because you know, skirts allow girls to do that XD) and another character you unlock after beating the game once (Which you will find amusing).
+ $1.99
+ 3 different characters
+ Game encourages you to play through it multiple times
Overall: 8.5/10
Gunman Clive is a charming and great throwback to old school 2D side scrolling shooters with a unique atmosphere. Despite it's length, you'll most likely run through the game multiple times, trying to up your best time as well as playing through again with the other 2 characters. It's funny and downright silly and amusing (watch the trailer).