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Wild West Guns originally entertained players as a WiiWare shooting gallery title that borrowed elements from Link’s Crossbow Training and Wii Play, and bundled them together with a loosely drawn western plot. While the Wii title had players shooting bad guys with the Wii Remote, the iPhone iteration utilises a far simpler tapping of the target approach. There is still a degree of skill involved in tapping bad guys as they pop up, but there isn’t the same level of satisfaction as seen on the Wii. What’s more, to compensate for the smaller screen, enemies now have a larger ‘hit box’ around them meaning it’s much easier (and far less satisfying) to score those crucial headshots.
Each of the six levels on offer is broken down into three stages, two challenges (shooting spinning hats, taking out targets or saving little white bunnies from vultures) and a boss-like set-piece (where you actually get enemies shooting back at you). Shooting outlaws in succession before they shoot back adds to your multiplier and it becomes essential later on in the game to nail every one with a headshot. The stages themselves are diverse to begin with, and nearly everything on screen is at the mercy of your six shooter. Shooting up the background further adds to your point count and becomes a necessity on some of the shorter stages. Sadly after level three it becomes apparent that you’re playing stages that closely resemble those you’ve already completed, meaning you’re blasting through slightly jacked up retoolings of what’s gone before.
The music actually does a very good job of conjuring up feelings of old John Wayne classics and the sound of smashing windows and splintered doors adds weight to the destruction. As you would expect from Gameloft the presentation is of a high quality and there is certainly a pleasing quirk to the cel-shaded, sprite based graphics.
It’s a real shame that there isn’t more on offer in Wild West Guns. What starts out as an entertaining shooter quickly becomes an exercise in repetition with no real pull to get you coming back for more. If you’re a fan of shooting gallery games then Wild West Guns is certainly worth checking out, just don’t expect too much diversity.
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