I love western games, I won't lie. Red Dead Redemption, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and now that I've got a gamecube my second favorite is GUN. It's fast paced, action-packed, and challenges your skill every second of every mission in a fun way.
This may contain minor spoilers, but here's the story. It's set in 1880, where you and Ned first hunt some animals and then fight a boss. Whilst on a boat to sell their meat, it gets attacked by an insane preacher, who calls in a group of renegade soldiers on boats. You escape and kill some soldiers, but Ned dies as the boat explodes. Several days later, you wake up from a knockout and are then attempted to be robbed by a thief called Honest Tom. After racing him, killing wolves with him, and he teaches you to fight, you're ambushed by him. And then... the west!
You know what I love about old games? Maybe they're short, but hell, the guns feel like guns. The revolver is sadly a little underpowered, but it still kills. Quickdraw, a feature that allows slowmotion, lets you switch targets as much as you want and shoot everyone. It's a really epic feature that I hope developers put in newer games.
The rifle is, arguably, the best weapon. It takes a short time to load a bullet after it's shot, has a decent sized magazine, and does a lot of damage. Your best use for it is on bosses, as fighting Indians with it will give them a chance to run up to you and attack as your gun loads the next bullet. It has an aim too! Your knife can do some damage, but it isn't recommended to be used constantly, as the stronger revolver has infinite ammo. But if enemies get close then let it rip.
The shotgun is the best to use on meele enemies. It has a large bullet spread, instakill, and will satisfyingly throw the enemies back on kill. It also takes a shorter time to load than the rifle, and is like a buffed version of it. Definatley use it whilst fighting the boss on the bridge.
Missions are fun, but the friendly AI is hit or miss. Jenny is the worst. She does next to no damage whilst just getting in the way, forcing you to restart the mission if she dies. Ned is useful in the boat mission, and so is the bartender in the missions where you save Jenny, but some AI really shouldn't be there at all.
Surprisingly, the escort/protect missions are really sweet. The thing you have to defend is given a ton of health, you get to checkpoints commonly, they're kinda short, and you don't get enemies shoved down your throat every 2 seconds. Ah, the good ol' days when Activision wasn't cheap...
The money system is balanced and fair. Not too much nor too little amounts are given out after a mission, which you can spend on weapon upgrades, or a pickaxe. But that pickaxe when you can, it's really useful.
Characters are memorable. Despite being stupid in combat, Jenny is a great character, and even enemies are likeable. They're just that well designed. Minor characters like the bartender are actually great, as he helps you and fills a lot of the cutscene INSTEAD OF RUNNING AROUND.
For those that care, graphics and sound are good for 2005. They're your general western graphics, but the sound is awesome. I didn't honestly expect the voice acting to be so good in an old game, but I enjoyed it obviously. Cutscenes show off the limits of graphics, but when you headshot someone in quicktime it is AWESOME.
Health is nailed. Enemies don't do too much damage, even bosses don't, and even when they do get you low health, a simple tap on the top of the d-pad will make you take a swig of your flask. You can only do it 4 times, but it restores full health without taking ages.
GUN is one of Activision's great, older games. If you want to shoot cowboys, have fun, and blow the heads off people with a revolver then pick it up.
Story: 7. A little confusing, but good.
Fun: 9.5. Nearly the most fun I've had on Gamecube.
Level Design: 8. Cover in suited places, and checkpoints common.
Sounds and Graphics: 8. What you would expect from a western game in 2005, but the heads exploding is sweeeeeeeeeeeet.
Writing: 7.5. Good script with amazing voice acting for a sixth-generation game.
Control: 8. It surprisingly masters the controls for the Gamecube.
OVERALL RATING: 8/10, aka 4/5 stars.
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