Gun [GC]

At its best, the western is the genre that delivers classics like High Noon and Unforgiven. These stories strip characters and civilization down to the bare essentials, the better to highlight the best and worst about humanity. Gun is not one of those stories. But it is the sort of western that keeps company with Hang 'Em High and Silverado -- a great action tale that delivers the goods.

The cowpoke at the center of Gun is Colton White, voiced with growling gusto by smart action star Thomas Jane. After he and his father are ambushed by a crazy preacher, Colton rides in search of retribution, only to find a railroad baron who's mad for Spanish gold and a resistance movement that opposes the baron's rapacious methods.

Through the last few Tony Hawk titles, Neversoft has gained experience slotting rigidly linear story missions into a wide-ranging game environment. Gun makes good on that experience by offering a fantastic storyline that includes pretty much everything you need in a western -- even a Wild Bunch-style gatling gun. It's broken into pretty small chapters, and there's plenty of room to wander around the countryside in between. The balance is good, though it would be much better if there were more to do out in the brush.

It's a big world, at least. There hasn't been a better vision of the west on a console. The expansive landscape is riddled with canyons, paths, hills and valleys. It's easy to get lost, which is exactly as it should be. There's not enough life to fill it, though; Gun often seems to be trying too hard to recreate the loneliness of the west. When Colton does come across some life, it's often a cookie cutter "bandit attack" or an unlikely Native trading tent. These encounters feel like they could be from any old action game, which really hurts Gun's otherwise fantastic sense of atmosphere.

To fill that unsullied landscape, Neversoft has called on a handful of western standbys to do double duty as side missions. There's money to be earned hunting bounties, working for the feds, and riding with the Pony Express. Trapping and gold mining are viable pastimes, though each is barely a mini-game (buy pickaxe; find glowing hunk of gold; press a button to "mine"). Most of the missions feel too much like one another, however, especially compared to the variety found in Gun's main story. And they're not challenging enough to provide the rush found in GTA's extra tasks.

Most of the side missions really serve to improve Colton's stats, which helps defeat more powerful enemies. At least in theory. Though players can see their current stats and rankings, the system seems fairly arbitrary. Complete a side mission or two alongside the main story and most players will come out OK. The extra objectives do provide enough cash to get markedly improved weaponry, however.