Gunman Clive (3DS, IOS)

[AceofBrokenHearts]

This is my first time doing a review for a game in quite a while. I know it's nothing special, but if anyone's still (somehow) on the fence about this game with a 3DS or smartphone, my goal is to clear it.

Games that are carbon copies or remakes of other games are nothing new. Case in point; Mega-Man clones are especially nothing new. Krion Conquest and Journey to Silius are the common examples. And they have, for the most part, been long forgotten. They didn't bring anything new to the table in terms of theme or story (let's face it- you can't count the number of sci-fi shoot 'em ups in the late '80s or early '90s on your hands). It's rare when a clone can rival its source material. Bertil Hörberg, on his own time, has managed to pull something of parallel quality to Capcom's long line of run and gun games. It comes in the form of Gunman Clive, a stylish western shooter that anyone who grew up playing the NES in the golden age will feel instantly at home with.

In lieu of Shigeru's Miyamoto's classic principle of introducing the story in just a few moments (His original masterpiece, Donkey Kong, setting a perfect example), the game opens up with a damsel in distress kept hostage in the back of a mobile wheelbarrow. Your character is shown shortly thereafter; a faceless gunslinger. The rest is up to your imagination. Although I have mentioned that this game is very similar to Mega-Man, you won't conquer the levels in any way you please. Progression in this short romp through the West into outer space is strictly linear. However, what captured my attention beyond "Oh, it's another clone", was the game's spiffy aesthetic It's hard to describe, even though I've played and seen games of many types over the years. The only way to truly describe the game's art style is to actually play it. To generalize, the environment is a cell-shaded side-scroller with a sepia tone color scale (perhaps to depict a quality of vintage photographs). All of it is set in the midst of a traditional "Wild West" soundtrack. The diversity pays off, and it gives Gunman Clive a unique quality over any run-and-gun game out there.

Gameplay, however, is extremely bare-boned and basic. It doesn't throw any curve-balls. You make your way left to right, shooting away at bandits and vermin of the Wild West. Yes, you do pick up power-ups, and they're nothing new. There's homing bullets, heavy bullets, a weird type of purple gel that does immaculate damage, and of course; the beloved Spread-Gun that might as well be stolen out of Super C. Clive even borrows those meticulously annoying flashing blocks from Elec-Man's stage in the very first Mega-Man. At the end of each fourth stage that closes a world, you'll fight a boss. They're not very challenging, however. Once you figure out their patterns, they're as good as dead. You're even given a selection of power-ups before a good percentage of them enter the arena, and playing well rewards you with even more or health pickups. Even on the hardest difficulty, the game is quite a push-over. You're given infinite lives, continues, and saves (which really aren't necessary, given you can beat the campaign in under an hour). What truly makes this game worth playing again is the merit of not taking damage and beating the stages under par times (you'll get a "No Damage!" under the level name in the world map if you play perfectly, and a red star if you reach the par time). Alongside this, you can play as the damsel in distress, Miss.Johnson, and a duck (yes, you read that correctly) after one run through the game. There's also difficulty settings, although they only really affect the amount of health you have.

That aside, what's really attractive about this one is its low price tag. $1.99 for a game that pays homage to a famed franchise, multiple difficulty settings, multiple characters, and times to set and levels to clear without taking a hit, certainly sounds like a bargain. And indeed it is. If you're looking to accomplish all there is to accomplish in the game, you may easily spend 2-3 hours and spend hundreds of lives perfecting your skills. (I spent roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes getting through each level without taking a hit, and getting the par times, dying about 300 times. The game logs all of this in the slot selection screen.) And, when you take into consider that, like Cave Story, this game was independently created, you have to give props and support to the developer.

My Final Verdict- If you have a 3DS and an Eshop Account, you should have Gunman Clive. Unless you wield some kind of unusual hatred for platformers or shooting games, there's really no reason not to have it. In comparison to all of the other 3DSware games out there, this one by far has the best value for its price. AND it's a great example of how a game in its genre should be done. My only real gripe is that the game doesn't reflect the brutality of the games it apes whatsoever. The game is a cakewalk even on its hardest setting. Although, on the contrary, that makes this one great for newbies or children.

[gtmtnbiker]

At $1.99, you definitely can't go wrong with this game. It wasn't a cakewalk for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm currently at the second boss (the train boss).

[AceofBrokenHearts]

At $1.99, you definitely can't go wrong with this game. It wasn't a cakewalk for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm currently at the second boss (the train boss).

I guess the reason this was such a cakewalk for me is because I played Capcom's games to death. Mega-Man, Bionic Commando, I even finished Ghouls and Ghosts on one credit once. The Train Boss is a bit of a pain, but I have a strategy down pat that allows me to kill it in a short amount of time and without getting damaged.