A brutally unforgiving, yet enjoyable, old school shooting game
The gameplay in Gun.Smoke is fairly simple - you walk forward, shoot at the guys who are coming for you, collect loot, and then face a boss at the end of each stage. It's actually pretty repetitive, but the increasingly steep difficulty makes the game quite fun and challenging. Making it past even the second stage will require some real skill (I had to resort to cheating, admittedly), as the boss battles can be frustratingly difficult. The mere three lives compounded with one-hit deaths and occasionally 'cheap' enemies can make Gun.Smoke quite frustrating if you don't have the patience of a saint.
Of course, this only pertains to folks who have an intention of beating Gun.Smoke - if not, this game is a hell of a lot of fun while it lasts. The controls are a bit limited by the NES controller, which only allows for a limited range of shooting motion, and the game is under an hour without counting the numerous times you'll have to restart from the beginning. Flaws aside, this is a fun and challenging old school shooting title that fans of the genre will probably enjoy quite a bit. Just remember... stock up on plenty of energy drinks and vacation days if you have any intention of beating Gun.Smoke. Or just buy a Game Genie and the NES Advantage controller. I recommend the latter.