Gun Update

[thermalsatsuma]

I’ve been working on some more of the side missions, and I can exclusively report that ranching is most excellent fun. Rounding up calves, fighting off a gang of rustlers and finally driving the whole herd to Dodge City is a supremely satisfying gaming experience. The mechanism for riding a horse and controlling the beasts in front of you is perfectly judged – watching for breakaway steers and sending them back toward the lead longhorn, combined with some excellent sound effects and a stirring orchestral score as the sun sets in the west makes for a superb cowboy-em-up.

The only drawback is that the game isn’t as open-ended as Grand Theft Auto – it really would be the cherry on the icing on the cake if you could buy and run a ranch of your own. Rustling cattle from over the border, branding them as your own and then driving them for several hundred miles up the trail, fighting off bandits and Indian attacks would make a fantastic game in its own right.

Ah well, maybe in Gun 2 …