he oft-feted Half-Life was one of the greatest first-person shooters (FPS) ever to
grace a PC monitor. A solid, original story, stunning graphics (for the time) and the
game's friendliness toward modifications and conversions have all ensured that it's a
game that's still a success today. Now, an all-new game built entirely on the
Half-Life engine has arrived, a cowboys-in-space oddity known as
Gunman Chronicles. The chronicles began as a "total conversion"--that
is, a way to take the original Half-Life game and give it a new
"skin" and plotline (among other things). Along the way, the development
team that named itself Rewolf (many of whom only ever met over the
Internet) and the folks at Sierra (who published the original game)
decided to release Gunman as its own game. Was this the right
choice?
The game saddles up and gallops straight into the action: a squad of
gunmen--futuristic, Western-styled soldiers led by a general who apparently
modeled his look on that Custer fellow--encounters alien Xenomes on the frontier
world Banzure Prime. In the frenzy, silicon-based Xenomes that resemble 20-story
pitcher plants quickly overpower the gunmen, who flee for their lives, leaving
behind the general, whom they presume is dead.
Flash forward to the present: the player becomes Major Archer, a survivor of the Banzure
Prime debacle, who responds to a distress signal on Banzure Prime, only to find
out that it's a trap set by the general himself. Not satisfied with merely
fading away, this old soldier has decided to exact revenge on Archer and his fellow
"cowardly" gunmen for leaving him behind years before. Surprisingly, he has decided
to use the Xenomes themselves as the tools of his revenge. The Xenomes will be
familiar to anyone who played Half-Life: they're the basic fleshy, slimy,
eyeless aliens. As the general attempts to fulfill his vendetta on
four planets, the player gains access to modifiable weapons, enters into a dangerous
bargain with an artificial intelligence, and even drives a completely
indestructible tank.
Can I go back to Half-Life now?
As recently as two years ago, Gunman Chronicles would have been a
groundbreaking single-player experience, and in fact it was--though at
the time, it went by its original name, Half-Life. And while it
may not seem fair to take an admitted total conversion of a previous game
to task for being similar to its predecessor, Gunman is particularly
shameless. The alien infestation plot is ported over wholesale from the
original game, as are many sound effects.
Of course, Half-Life did
feature more character models than Gunman--every single gunman is
apparently cloned, as are any scientists, velociraptors
or A.I. drones Major Archer encounters.
In fact, the whole cowboy angle
is a bit baffling. Why does everyone in the future dress up like they're
getting ready to ride to Gettysburg? Levels in the game are also simplistic,
and offer very little that's new. This game is also quite a bit easier than its
predecessor. Even the one arena where Gunman could have really shone,
multiplayer, feels like an afterthought and only offers deathmatch or team
deathmatch options. All of these factors make the $30 price tag hard to
accept.
Gunman Chronicles is not an unmitigated disaster, however. Players
who've never picked up Half-Life could find this to be an interesting
introduction to the FPS genre. The animation and textures on some of the nastier
critters and bad guys do look pretty good, if a bit goofy, and the weapons are,
as promised, modifiable in-game. This modification system is cumbersome, however,
and quickly becomes too awkward and impractical to use (and in multiplayer, forget
it). Most players will simply find the setting that works best for them, and stick
with it--if they stick with the game at all.
