Just before he takes his last breath, you realize your father isn’t who he says he is. You need answers, but greed, lust and revenge have poisoned those around you. Now the only thing you can depend on is yourself, your whiskey and your gun. Sometimes breaking the law, sometimes defending it, you are Colton White – and you’ll stop at nothing to discover the truth.

Neversoft Entertainment sends you galloping full speed through the dusty old West of the late 1800s. Written by Randall Jahnson (Sunset Strip, The Mask of Zorro, The Doors, Dudes), this action-adventure title tells an intense, dramatic and sometimes chilling tale. Still, you’ll get your fair share of grade school giggles when characters say things like “Whore Wagon” or talk about “gettin’ a poke”.

Without good actors, it’d be easy for the story to slip out of the dramatic category and into to the cheesy. Thomas Jane (Colton), Kris Kristofferson (Ned) and Ron Perlman (Hoodoo Brown) are just a few of the star-studded cast members who breathe life into the folks you encounter.

Between swigs from your whiskey bottle (a way to keep your health meter up), you’ll sling your guns across town both on foot and horseback. Aiming weapons on your own takes a bit of practice, but you can also take advantage of “Quick Draw” mode when fighting a crowd. This limited burst of power will slow down time and let you auto-aim.

As you advance through the main story line, you’ll also unlock side-missions. While missions like riding for the Pony Express or wrangling for local ranchers are optional, don’t put them off for long. They’ll help you improve your stats and earn cash for important weapon upgrades. Without them, you’ll end up stuck in a boss fight with no way out and far less skill than you’ll need to win.

Free-roaming is a nice break from rabble-rousing. Between missions, you can mount a horse, ride into the outskirts and explore the countryside. Once you’ve bought a pickaxe, you can go gold mining to earn some extra cash.

No matter what you’re doing across these dusty plains, you’ll enjoy realistic, gory graphics, smooth game play and an epic tale of betrayal, murder and revenge.

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The latest news:
In early February, the Association for American Indian Development posted a petition at BoycottGun.com demanding Activision “remove all derogatory, harmful and inaccurate depictions of American Indians from the videogame GUN.” In response, Activision provided GameDaily BIZ with a statement saying it wasn’t their intention to “offend any race or ethnic group with GUN, and we apologize to any who might have been offended by the game’s depiction of historical events which have been conveyed not only through video games but through films, television programming, books and other media. ” No mention of editing the game was made.