Normally I wouldn't review a game without first finding out what the story behind it is, but since I bought this game with no manual and since I was so thoroughly entertained by it, I feel that I can give a worthy review. The story, according to the game's intro, is as follows: in 1849, a western town called Hicksville was thriving during the gold rush. Then one day, a group of outlaws known as the Wingates killed the sheriff, terrorized the people and raided the town every day. Then, as suddenly as the Wingates arrived, a lone gunman rode into town with a sunset behind him, whose mission is to rid the town of the Wingates. I always was a fan of movies, books, and games where a lone hero arrives out of nowhere to destroy some evil force.
I couldn't seem to put this game down once I started playing it. Gun Smoke joins games like 1943 and Commando as one of the more addictive Capcom shooters. Even if you don't like westerns, I recommend this game. USAgent's personal scoring meter:
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The game itself reminds me of one of Capcom's other top-down shooters,
Commando. The graphics are good, considering that this is one of Capcom's
early games, and it isn't coded as poorly as some of their other games (Trojan,
Commando, and Ghosts & Goblins immediately come to mind). The game plays
very similar to commando, outlaws pour in from the top and sides of the screen
and you have to shoot them before they shoot you. The A button lets you shoot
to the right, the B button shoots to the left, and both buttons together
shoot forward. One unique thing about this game is that you can buy things
from the townspeople along the road with the money you get from shooting
outlaws, such as a horse to make you move faster and better guns. The Shotgun
is similar to Contra's spread gun, though not nearly as effective. The Machine
Gun is just like the regular gun except that you can just hold down the button;
this is pretty much useless if you already have a turbo controller. The Magnum
is a slower but much more powerful version of the normal guns. And since
I don't have a manual, I couldn't figure out what the Smart Bomb does or
how to use it. A little help, anyone?
