un takes place in the Wild West, but dust and horses alone aren’t enough to make the journey worth taking. Instead of filling in the backdrop of the adventure with clichés, however, developer Neversoft has worked very hard to create a world that is made of more than sand. It’s not just that there is a slew of side missions to take on, or that you can roam the open-environment freely in search of them – it’s that Gun surrounds you with characters and a story that put their own stamp on the genre and make you a participant in a grand adventure that stands up to the rich tales of the legendary west.

The trail of Colton White through this game may take him in contact with some staples of the western genre such as hookers, saloons, and Native Americans, but at each turn Neversoft does a good job of adding its own touches to make the experience anything but stale. Whether it’s half-crazed renegade cavalry soldiers or sadistically brutal villains, the game’s world is original enough to be compelling but realistic enough to ring true. The voice-acting talent really nails the script, and with lines like, "I’ll slit you open and make a boasting of your guts," it is as good, if not better, than that of any other game.

Besides making Colton White spring from the screen, Gun delivers on its promise to bring the brutality of the West to life. Gruesome headshots and the targeting of other body parts reward you with more time in the slow-motion Quickdraw mode, which only leads to more lethal barrages from your pistols. The game does a good job of mixing up your arsenal, including quick bow work, dynamite tossing, and some rail levels with cannons that splinter and destroy with great effect. I was happily surprised that the on-horse combat is very smooth, and includes good camerawork that doesn’t confuse you as you guide your horse among the hail of bullets and oncoming riders.

Although the critical path in Gun won’t take you too long to finish, the game does a good job of always making sidequests available. Best of all, since they garner you stats and valuable money, you won’t feel like a gopher doing menial tasks. That being said, I thought the game could have take the integration of the optional objectives even further to bring the world of Gun to life. I wanted to hunt for food and live the rough-and-tumble life of a western outlaw more. When I cheated at cards, I wanted guys to pull a gun on me and challenge me to a duel. I wanted to rob towns and have to lay low for a while. As much work as was put into the critical path to make it shine, the game doesn’t quite feel like a fully developed world that exists in spite of you.

Neversoft has shown that it knows how to craft good gameplay through its Tony Hawk series. But with Gun, the developer also drew on its experience while also focusing in on the details that make a game stand out and grab people in order to create an adventure that is worth playing.