The Gunstringer – Review (360 Kinect)
There are very few developers out there that can boast the kind of originality and creativity that Twisted Pixel have produced in their famed digital titles, Comic Jumper, Splosion Man and The Maw.
For a studio on a small budget that team do a hell of an amazing job on anything they have created. The Gunstringer is Twisted Pixel’s first venture into big box territory and although cheaper in price and is a Kinect title, Twisted Pixel have created a little gem that works very with the real technical abilities of Kinect.
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Likes
- Fluid control system
- Superb presentation
- Good, clean fun
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Dislikes
- No longevity
The problem has been that nobody has really utilised Kinect in the right way yet, apart from a couple of titles. The nature of full motion body tracking has its obvious plus side in terms of exercise and dance games and unfortunately this tech has been flooded with them. So Twisted Pixel has found a way to utilise Kinect with a very simple control mechanic that makes The Gunstringer flow with ease, simplicity and fun and at the same time not lose any polish from a title that would be categorised as a “budget release”.
Twisted Pixel, as ever, have put their own little unique stamp on the title by introducing the character as an undead marionnette who is tracking down his old posse that shot him in the back and left him for dead. The story seems simple enough by when you realise that it is played out in a real theatre as a puppet show with a human crowd with all of the cheers and boos that come with a show like that which adds a little more gravy to the meat.
Being a puppet ties into the control system perfectly as you control the movement of the marionnette using your left hand to shift him left, right and lifting your arm to jump. You can also select up to 6 enemies to shoot with your right hand and with a snap of the arm towards your head pick them off for juicy combos.
It’s wacky and fun but in reality it is an on rails shooter, which, for this type of game works perfectly well. With a snappy narrative being driven from a voice actor with a spaghetti western gravely voice and obstacles and the like being placed onto the set by human hands on occasion to build the scene , The Gunstringer is one of the crazier games that you will play this year.
Although short in length, The Gunstringer’s gameplay is right on the money utilising side scrolling sections with forward running, jumping and shooting actions as well as boss battles at the end will have you running, covering and shooting like a man possessed but with a control mechanic that works oh so well and fits perfectly with what the game aims to achieve.
The simplicity in gameplay is however, overshadowed, by some amazing window dressing in terms of presentation and execution. The marrying of video game with real world authenticity in terms of story progression and how well you’re doing through voiceover and the cheering and booing of the crowd is design genius and is all wrapped up to envelop you into Twisted Pixel’s own little crazy world.
The Gunstringer is also aware of its longevity, or lack of it, and has catered to baying public with its own rendition of the Mad Dog McCree parody from the good ol 3Do days with free downloadable content that will give you a few belly laughs along the way. The Wavy Tube Man Chronicles weighs in at a hefty 1.94 GB and is filmed entirely in FMV and provides a nice little diversion from the original story to satisfy the most hardened gunslinger out there. Add to the a gratis copy of Fruit Ninja Kinect and you have a package that certainly deserves its price point.
Overall, The Gunstringer will never be a game of the year contender but Twisted Pixel have shown a few developers how Kinect can be used as something more than a glorified exercise machine with an original blend of theatrical design, superb narrative and outstanding use of a new control system. Although The Gunstringer is not long in gameplay terms there is a freshness, originality and wackiness that makes this title stand out a little from the Kinect crowd at a price point that won’t break the bank.
