Doom 3. Ultimate Spider-Man. X-Men Legends II. Our good friends at Activision have been busy bees lately, publishing some of the best selling and critically acclaimed games of the past year. Attempting to keep their hot streak intact, they now team with developer Neversoft to bring us GUN, the highly anticipated western adventure. However, in this instance, the game fails to live up to the incredible hype surrounding it.

Right off the bat, before anyone ever plays a demo or reads a review, GUN is fighting an uphill battle for our attention. The reason is: it’s a western. Let’s face facts, this is not the era of Shane or the Wild Bunch. If video games had existed decades ago, everyone would be playing the latest movie-to-game adaptation of a John Wayne film or, in more modern times, an Eastwood title. But as time moves on, society’s interest in the never-ending battle between Cowboys and Indians and gunfights at the O.K. Corral has waned considerably. Barring a few exceptional movies such as Unforgiven and Tombstone, and what you have is a dead genre.

The gaming industry has not had an abundance of western adventure/shooter games. The only two of note in recent memory are Red Dead Revolver (Rockstar), an average-quality title that sold decently but was quickly forgotten, and Strangers Wrath (EA), a combination fantasy/western from the makers of the excellent OddWorld series. While it was unique, it failed to stir up any buzz at all. I understand that not every game has to be great, and there is a need for diversity in order to give the consumer a greater selection to choose from, which is what period-specific titles like these do. However, if you are going to heavily promote yourself as the next big thing, and you are a western, it is not enough to be decent, you must be amazing.

From the moment I picked up my Dual-Shock controller and took control of the main character Colton White, I found myself numbed by how disappointingly average everything was. Graphically, the game is not horrible, just adequate. Controls are exactly what we have come to expect from a third-person type action game, which is immediately accessible to novice players. GUN’s music, while appropriate for the era, is something to be ignored, rather than enjoyed. Even the environment as a whole just seemed bland.

Only the voice-overs are impressive right from the start, with rising star, Thomas Jane (The Punisher), veteran character actors Lance Henriksen, and Ron Perlman, and the always reliable Kris Kristofferson (Blade’s Whistler) who round out a talented group that brings a legitimacy to the game that we can only hope continues in all big budget titles.

After the first fifteen minutes of GUN, which uses a hunting scenario with your mentor as a basic controls tutorial, the game evolves into the mission based game play that advances the story. Taking place in the lawlessness of the late 1800s, it follows mountain-man Colton in his quest for revenge on an evil preacher and his followers who ambush him and a companion. This culminates in a sudden revelation and a narrow escape. From this promising beginning, GUN deteriorates by putting you through one too many double crosses, switching sides and surprises without ever giving the character proper motivation.

It appears the developers tried too hard to be mysterious and shocking, and while Colton jumps through every hoop in front of him, you as the player care less and less about his reasoning and subsequently the story.

Any game with the name GUN had better put the emphasis on its weapons. To its credit, GUN does just that. Colton uses real firearms from the late 1800s, and not only do you get to plug the bad guys with a Colt Navy revolver, and a Winchester rifle, but you can also buy parts to upgrade your gun to load faster and have more kick to it. Additionally, when you defeat a key enemy, you get to keep his weapon. (Unlocking the peacemaker handgun, made famous by legendary lawman Wyatt Earp was especially enjoyable.) The only flaw here is every firearm you unlock is usually more powerful and efficient than the prior one, leaving little incentive to use your original weapons.

Combat would be run of the mill if not for the inclusion of the quick-draw mode. Basically, yet another take on the extremely overviewed Matrix-like slow motion ability that every action game uses, except in this case, it fits well. Going into first person view everything slows down and you can flick the left analog stick back and forth as you cycle through enemies, blasting each one. It makes you feel like the fastest gun in the West, and was the most fun I had in the game. Even amidst the pleasure in this mechanic lies another issue: quick-draw makes the game too easy, gives Colton far too much of an advantage. There were missions in which I was supposed to blow up explosive barrels or snipe from afar to dispose of multiple foes, but I instead just jumped right in the middle surrounding myself, and quick-drawed them to death. It takes the challenge out of it.

When not engaging the story, GUN encourages you to explore Dodge and Empire City and participate in numerous side missions. Most of these are hit and miss in terms of fun, but they do reward you by giving bonuses to your gun-fighting reflexes, which gives an almost role playing aspect to it. Bounty hunting was entertaining; you read a Wanted poster and track down a fugitive, getting a larger bounty if you can subdue him without killing him. The Texas Hold-Em’ and Pony Express mini-games are also cool diversions, and easy money makers. I found the hunting and ranching to be outright boring though. At any rate, take advantage of these games because outside of them and the story, there is almost no reason to explore at all. There are very few random events and hardly anyone outside of town. Even in Dodge City, there are not many people to talk to. Also, the only decisions are whether to kill the townsfolk in order to bring out the sheriffs so you can kill them as well, and watch as everything goes back to normal like nothing happened. Where is the interactivity? Where are the consequences for my actions?

GUN is by no means a bad game. But in this current market of modern combat (SOCOM) and futuristic majesty (Halo), a western game has to be exceptional to make the gaming community trade their machine guns and energy swords for six shooters and machetes. By having as many flaws as it does strong points, GUN is the very definition of mediocre and it fails to reach its goal. For now, gamers are just going to have to keep an eye open in the hope that we will one day get that cowboy game even the Duke would be proud of.