Gun (2005 Video Game) User Reviews

Grand Theft Horse

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 7/10 · 26 February 2006]

Gun has so much going for it, but it's such a short game that as soon are you build up your stats and really get going...there's no more of it to play. Which is quite annoying.

You play as Colton White (Thomas Jane) in a free-roaming western landscape. You can grab whatever horse you want, kill who you feel and take-on a fair amount of side-missions if you feel like taking a break from the main story, which is itself interesting but way too short.

The villains are all evil bastards but brilliantly acted by the likes of Brad Dourif, Ron Pearlman and Lance Henriksen. Other actors with cool voices like Kris Kristofferson and Tom Skerritt fill out supporting roles and the dialogue and cut-scenes are all pretty good and avoid the unnatural, forced feel that many video games have. Many of the characters and situations could have been fleshed out more but they merely conveniently contribute to the slight 'search for a hidden goldmine' plot.

The action of the game is brilliantly done (the controls take a little practice though), with great use of slow-motion when blowing large chunks of bad guy heads off. Weapons range from twin guns, rifles and shotguns to swords, bows, dynamite and whisky bombs. You can even scalp people, but it adds nothing to stats, so it's kind of pointless. Side missions can either be errand boy tasks, rounding up cattle or killing random bad guys. The destruction factor could have been higher, but you could say that about a lot of games.

The actual gameplay universe is quite small too. But it still feels superficially expansive. With loads of little valleys, railroad tracks and and coyote trails it can be fun exploring, but you'll get familiar with it too quickly.

My fave thing about this game however is the music. It's a shame it's not available on CD because it really is exciting and echoes John Barry's main theme to Dances With Wolves. With so many lesser video game scores getting CD releases these days I wouldn't be too surprised if the Gun score came out eventually.

Add it all up and you have a fun, if all too slight, game that is worth it if you can pick it up half price (like I did) but not a full RRP. If only they made it longer, we could have a classic.

the best western game i have ever played

[Josh-Prows · 9/10 · 30 October 2006]

i just bought this a month ago and i beat the game in about 5 days. i had a good time playing as colton white(Tomas Jane). his voice was also in the punisher movie and game. he does a great job on acting in the punisher and he was good in this game. i loved all of the boss battles in this game...it was perfect. the graphics were good and the sound effects were my favorite! this game is almost as fun as narc the game is. i enjoyed it because it was not loaded with sexual themes or strong language. i did not even find it to be that gory. riding the horse has good control system as of all the other things you do. this game was perfect and me and my best friend Scott love western games and most of all the movies!!! there is a huge chance that you will love this game forever so if your a western fan then you have to get out there and BUY THIS!!!!!!!!!!! that is all so HAVE FUN!!!

Great game, if not a little short.

[MisterSunshine · 8/10 · 12 April 2007]

This is one of the finest and most entertaining Old West games out there. From fighting off Apaches to dispensing justice vigilante style, this game succeeds in providing all the joy one would expect in this kind of game. The graphics are decent, the fights are wicked fun, the voice acting is top-notch quality, and the storyline is unpredictable and exciting. The only drawback I can think of is the game's length. Yes, the side missions give the game more depth and longevity, but it seems you've only just got started when you beat this game. Consider a game like GTA:San Andreas. That game went on for hours. Side quests, hidden quests, and a very lengthy main quest made that game enjoyable and very replayable. Gun got it right, just not enough of it. Overall though, Gun was fantastic and a great buy. Perhaps better to rent, but great nonetheless.

An Incredible Open-Worlded Western that holds a place in my teenage years.

[jay_amer · 10/10 · 1 December 2021]

Man this game is a hell of a lot of fun. The story is definitely short and wish it was longer. A future Remastered request along with some new DLC for Gun in the future that will help extend the story, the map, the characters and the places you can go. I can see Where Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 got its referencing from. I will always go back to this game as it exceeded my expectations as a teen and up till now it is still such a fantastic game. Over, Would Highly Recommend! 10/10!!!

Gun 2

[tonycastle-76773 · 10/10 · 25 October 2021]

This game, in my opinion, was incredible. As a kid i never got into cowboys and indians, but this game got me. It had an incredibly, smart, cool story that took you all over the wild west doing everything from barroom gunfights to assaulting a town with a cannon. The locales and environments are stunning and beautiful, from the wide open grazing plains, to the desert expanse, to the rocky mountains, it had it all, the map was a bit small, i would have preferred a much larger map, but what was there was amazing. Tthe acting was top notch and Thomas Jane really nailed the vengeful vigilante gunslinger of the wild west, even the background characters had interesting things to say and said them well. The gameplay was fun, deep, easy, and had a strange ability to stay fresh and avoid repetitiveness. Now the few problems, length for one. While it had a great story and some interesting side missions, the story was far too short, as are the side missions, so after a few hours you are left with a wide open world and nothing to do. The side quests could really be improved on to the level of a gta game. Also the map, the map was far to small for my taste and after a few of the main missions was completely explored. It also only consisted of 2 towns and a tiny few side areas that are only active during missions coresponding with them. GTA is another great example for Gun to strive for, it needed a much larger map with a living world with animals, people, multiple towns and settlements and maybe more locales, perhaps forests, and snowy mountains, larger plains and just an all around bigger world. I thought this was an incredible game with great graphics, gameplay, story and just about everything else. Just needed to be a bit longer and bigger but besides that, gold. I highly recommend this to anyone yet to play this game, go pick it up, its cheap by now and well worth it. Im eagerly looking forward to Gun 2 and i pray it comes! Whoever was taking names for a petition for Gun 2 on the message boards, add mine!

Incredible and underrated, if a bit short

[wlaudeman125 · 10/10 · 3 January 2009]

This game, in my opinion, was incredible. As a kid i never got into cowboys and indians, but this game got me. it had an incredibly, smart, cool story that took you all over the wild west doing everything from barroom gunfights to assaulting a town with a cannon. the locales and environments are stunning and beautiful, from the wide open grazing plains, to the desert expanse, to the rocky mountains, it had it all, the map was a bit small, i would have preferred a much larger map, but what was there was amazing. tthe acting was top notch and Thomas Jane really nailed the vengeful vigilante gunslinger of the wild west, even the background characters had interesting things to say and said them well. the gameplay was fun, deep, easy, and had a strange ability to stay fresh and avoid repetitiveness. Now the few problems, length for one. While it had a great story and some interesting side missions, the story was far too short, as are the side missions, so after a few hours you are left with a wide open world and nothing to do. The side quests could really be improved on to the level of a gta game. Also the map, the map was far to small for my taste and after a few of the main missions was completely explored. it also only consisted of 2 towns and a tiny few side areas that are only active during missions coresponding with them. GTA is another great example for Gun to strive for, it needed a much larger map with a living world with animals, people, multiple towns and settlements and maybe more locales, perhaps forests, and snowy mountains, larger plains and just an all around bigger world. i thought this was an incredible game with great graphics, gameplay, story and just about everything else. just needed to be a bit longer and bigger but besides that, gold. i highly recommend this to anyone yet to play this game, go pick it up, its cheap by now and well worth it. im eagerly looking forward to Gun 2 and i pray it comes! Whoever was taking names for a petition for Gun 2 on the message boards, add mine!

The West Is Fun!

[The_Wagon · 9/10 · 2 June 2006]

In this game, you play as Colton White, who's getting revenge for all the times he got screwed over. You can do the story missions. This is really fun. This game has one of the best story lines I've saw in a game. This has a better storyline than some movies. The story has many unexpected events, and the cut scenes are great. The story is short, but you don't have to do the missions if you don't want to. Eventually, you'll have to do the story mode missions if you want to advance to another area or unlock more side missions. Side missions are awesome! You can play poker, do bounty hunter missions, go hunting, and more! But you'll eventually run out of side missions that are cool, and be stuck delivering mail for a measly 10 dollars on the Pony Express. Not as exciting as traveling through the west on a random horse looking for a wanted group of men who have prices on their heads worth 30 dollars, is it? With the side missions, weapons, and great storyline, Gun is definitely one to buy. The only downside is that veteran gamers may think it's too easy and short. I'm not a veteran gamer, and I can't beat the final boss, so who cares? I liked this game. Rental for veterans, buy for medium gamers.

History of our legacy

[GBMpersonal · 8/10 · 25 April 2021]

One of the most didactic video game games I've ever played. The experience is very expressive, and made me understand much more than I thought about our legacy. Like the "Scarface" game, thid made me a little disturbed by everything I had to do if I wanted to move forward, like invading a place and fighting for that place as if it were mine. Of course, there are many teen games that also work with this argument, but the script much more serious, accompanied by a visual with "lifeless" colors, makes this an impactful work in all aspects. Technically, I can also talk about the sound: the dubbing and the original score give a spectacle, leaving a much greater immersion. A great thing for this type of game.

Gun Review

[crickenbergerr · 28 March 2006]

I definitely agree that the music score in this game is unbelievable. I found myself playing the game just to hear it. Unfortunately the game is actually a lot shorter than I'd hoped. Although I enjoyed it a lot, there are really only a few main story missions while the rest are side missions made to build up Colton's (your character) attributes. I think that a lot more could have been done to make more story missions and ultimately make the game longer. Since the story and cast for the game was pretty amazing, I hope that a sequel is made for this game and that it is made much longer. Don't let my disappointment with the length discourage anyone from buying the game because I think it is definitely a worthy game. Let's face it, any western game is going to be awesome.

competently made and reasonably fun while it lasts, but too short

[movieman_kev · 6/10 · 26 August 2006]

Anyone who has seen their fair share of Westerns will know everything that's going to happen in the game plot-wise and even when it's gong to happen. However the game's still fun to play (while it lasts, as it's on the short side. It's also the smallest 'sandbox' type game I've played. 'sandbox' being a go almost anywhere right from the start type of game akin to GTA, True Crime, Saint's Row, Etc...etc.. While the longevity and small nature of the game might be detrimental to this game, the great musical score and brilliant voice acting make it worth playing. The 360 version, of which i rented, is much more of a direct port and certainly didn't take hold of the massive potential that the system is clearly capable of. And the achievements which require you to play through the entire game no less then 4 times (??!!?) can grow quite tiresome indeed. But since I did get 1000/1000 it's still pretty doable.

Positives: Voice acting, story, musical score

Negatives: short, small area to explore

My Grade: C

My current 360 Gamerscore: 32822 out of a possible 49760

Probably the best Western game to date, but still room for improvement.

[concerned_observer · 8/10 · 12 February 2007]

If Gun were two or three times larger and longer, it could have been truly great. It just seems to move way too fast. I wish the timing of the game was more like GTA or Mafia, and there was more to do. Even better would be a completely free-form western role-playing game. A Morrowind style game for the Wild West would be perfect.

They needed to do a little more research on the real Wild West, too. They did do research of course, but as they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Gun mixes elements from many historical eras of the American West with no concern for reality. It is set in 1880, but you have 1830s mountain men with percussion rifles and keelboats right alongside 1870s Colt Peacemakers and 1880s lever action shotguns. And 1850s Volcanic Repeating Pistols being presented as superb state of the art weapons in 1880 is laughable. The Volcanics were abandoned in 1860 as they were too underpowered. The basic design became the basis for the Henry & Winchester rifles. Also, Colton's arm tattooing is from the Eastern Woodlands Iroquois of New York and Ontario. Not the Apache of New Mexico.

Another thing that I HATE about Gun are the huge guiding words everywhere. For God's sake, let me find the wanted poster or the shopkeeper or the Marshall or Hoodoo Brown by myself. Don't show me huge words floating in the sky. If you really think most players are too impatient to search for themselves at least give me the option to turn the guide words off. The same goes for the constant prompting telling me what to do next. I can play my own game, thanks very much.

I love the blood and crsing myself, but I would also appreciate an option to turn off blood and profanity for when my kids play.

I also would prefer a primarily first person viewpoint with the ability to go third person as an option. Seeing my character on screen knocks me right out of the feeling that I am really there in the game world. Sure, it's nice to have third person for screenshots and checking out the costume, but playing first person is much more immersive.

Finally, making the renegades look like undead zombies was just stupid and probably meant to lure in kids who won't play a game that doesn't have fantasy or supernatural elements. I wish the renegades just looked like scummy desperadoes in tattered cavalry uniforms, and not like walking corpses.

But, all in all, having the chance to ride a horse and fight outlaws and wild Indians is worth putting up with all these problems. I really love Gun. I just wish it was bigger and you had more freedom and things to do.

An okay game with much potential

[darth_bilbo · 11 November 2005]

I'd heard many a rave opinion about this game, it's been sizzled by everyone I talked to who knew about it. Then again, they just happened to work at Gamestop and were trying to sell it to me. In any case, in a few words, great rental, not worth $50.

First off, this game is violent. I don't mean, guts coming out someone's mouth grotesque, but rather stylized violence in the cut-scenes. The intensity doesn't come in what they show you, there's worse in other games, it comes in the cinematic way its presented. For a more mature player, the scenes have a thrilling sense to them, not because there's murder, but rather it's done with style. Think Kill Bill: varying degrees of overdoing violence, so its not as believable. You have people get killed in the cut-scenes, and some of it is brutal, but it's the idea of a throat getting slashed that makes it intense, not actually showing it because the graphics engine isn't really that good.

I know I dwelt a lot on the cut-scenes, and that's because I find them the best part of the game. They're brilliantly written with an excellent cast. The dialog is natural, and feels natural coming out of the actors' mouths.

The plot, unfortunately, is very thin. Without giving anything away, the story could have been fleshed out much more. The first "twist" in the story isn't much of one because it happens within the first hour. By then, you're already 14% into the game. The game moves very VERY fast. It operates in the free roaming/mission manner made popular by Grand Theft Auto. It progresses the story along really quickly, a little too quickly in my opinion, but quickly nonetheless.

Along with the root story missions, you have several side quests you take to improve the character's stats and to make money to buy upgrades. These themselves are what make up a bulk of the game, and what bring it down. These side quests become repetitive after a while since you're doing the same thing over and over again: Find something and kill the bad guys; Get on a horse, kill someone; escort someone, kill everyone else. You pretty much become a murderous errand boy. Yeah, that's fun and all for the first hour, but the game play's shallowness becomes apparent.

In short, there's too much story that this game can hold. The characters are all interesting, the story is deep, there're twists and turns, and stuff shown at the beginning reappears later on for an "Ahhh, I see" moment for the player. Unfortunately, the game is just too short. It could have been a great epic with a little more polish. It felt like it needed a few more months in developing to really feel finished. Rent it Friday, play it, finish it, return it Monday, and you can go on with the rest of your week.

Gun 2 Love game

[jovicstefan-18998 · 10/10 · 8 January 2022]

Man this game is a hell of a lot of fun. The story is definitely short and wish it was longer. A future Remastered request along with some new DLC for Gun in the future that will help extend the story, the map, the characters and the places you can go. I can see Where Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 got its referencing from. I will always go back to this game as it exceeded my expectations as a teen and up till now it is still such a fantastic game. Over, Would Highly Recommend! 10/10!!! Gun 2.

Not as bad as I thought

[emeraldchickenboy · 8/10 · 13 October 2022]

When I first played this I was expecting to be bad. Then I played a little more and just got into the story with Colton White. It's just a beautiful story I recommended for people's first cowboy games if they do get into any other cowboy games like red dead redemption one and two this is a great start to a cowboy Sean Rowe if you're looking to play some one of the first great cowboy games ever made I do recommend it to a lot of people a lot just fantastic games. I'm trying to say I want you to play it so you could think it's really good, great turns in great acting. This is a great game. I know I said that but I forget I'm Sorry.

Despite it's hitches, it would make a good transfer over to a movie. (May contain spoiler)

[xiomar___ · 1 January 2006]

I rented the game, and I was speculative, but I found out that I was overall impressed with it. GUN, which the lead character is Thomas Jane as Colton White -- is about his life; and the answers he seeks in it. He's been done wrong in his lifetime and he wants to know why.

The storyline itself is incredible. However, like another person pointed out, it moves a bit too fast. It's storyline is that of an action adventure drama. They threw just about every element of a Clint Eastwood style western gunslinger into this game.

It's very bloody and violent. There is a cutscene where a doctor has his head cut off, if that is any indication of exactly how bloody it is. Also, you are given the opportunity to dismember people you get into gunfights with. (Shooting them in a joint on their arm, leg, or in their head, with normally blow their head clean off.) It also has a lot of swearing. This definitely isn't a kids game. This is without a doubt as bad, or worse than letting a 13 year old play San Andreas.

But.. if you can see past the swearing, the excessive blood and gore, it's a pretty good game on the whole. It has a good storyline, with the hitch that it progresses too quickly, a nice cast of characters, with very good voice acting.

Now, onward. To the specifications of the game. The game is amazing with graphics and detail. That being said if you play it on computer you won't find that it's easy to run. I have a very high end computer and I still lag on occasion. Just keep that in mind.

Eh.... what else. Getting back to the summary line. I think this would make a good movie, because of the story. This could easily be stretched to a 1 1/2-2 hour movie, which I think would be great. Some people would probably call it a "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" rip off, but I'd like to see it anyway.

My rating - 9/10.

nice Western game

[swift127pk · 20 November 2005]

This is the first western game i start playing and i found it it interesting because it has a good story and cache music.The story starts with some mystery u don't guess the story, it is full of surprises.

The game has a problem while riding a horse it suddenly stops i don't know whether its a fault in a game or it begins to load.May be my VGA card wont support it well. any how you will find this game interesting based on western type set in 18 century.

on the whole i say you will never get bored playing it.

i rate it **1/2 out of ****