Originally developed as a Half-Life mod, Gunman Chronicles starts out with a fresh storyline but soon becomes so predictable that you will have to try not to figure out what's coming next. You begin the game by assuming the role of a Gunman, humankind's last line of defense against an alien race known as Xenomes. While engaged in a heavy battle, you and your fellow Gunmen retreat from a hostile environment with the assumption that your commanding officer is dead. From here, the story is so predictable that any additional information could spoil the rest of the game.
Many of the aspects of this game are almost as poor as the storyline. The artificial intelligence offered by the alien Xenomes and the rogue Gunmen is horrible. Many times, your computer-controlled enemies will run into a wall, but instead of turning around, they continue to run into the wall. You can either destroy them or simply walk right by them without fear of retaliation. There are other problems with the enemies you encounter, as they sometimes seem to be invincible. For instance, an enemy that will normally require only three hits to expire will occasionally require 10 or more.
The graphics in Gunman Chronicles are not are as good as those offered in games such as Quake III Arena, but they are above average and in some places actually very compelling. First, the alien Xenomes', which should serve to frighten the player, appear to have been modeled without much thought. They are vanilla in appearance and lacking characteristics that would make them a frightening villain. On the other hand, the level designs are very good and make use of some creative lighting sources and textures.
Along with some of the graphics and level designs, the customizable weapons are probably the best feature in the game. Instead of being limited to the basics offered by each weapon, you can modify them to work in the manner that benefits your playing style. For instance, you can adjust the force that ammo is shot and even the amount of ammo that is shot at a given time. The options can be confusing to get used to, but the difficulties disappear quickly, and you will soon find yourself customizing them to meet your own preferences.
The sound effects in Gunman Chronicles, which use several small variations to greatly enhance their overall potency, are well done, but the lack of music really hurts this game. The minor differences in the sound effects include simple ideas such as changing the sound you make to reflect the surface you are near. Unfortunately, the lack of music means that you'll probably soon tire of the explosions and various other effects. In fact, you'll probably simply turn the sound off in an attempt to avoid the same effects that originally sound so promising.
Overall, this is a game you'll probably want to pass on. It's very short and predictable, leaving the graphics to stand on their own as the best feature of the game.
Graphics: The graphics are not as good as some of the advanced engines available, but the Half-Life engine, which this game is based on, is still very good. The graphics are probably the best feature of the game, although they are not given much of a challenge from the other categories that are very weak.
Sound: The sound effects are very good, but you will soon tire of them as the game does not have any music.
Enjoyment: The game is so predictable that you'll find yourself becoming agitated as you play.
Replay Value: Playing the game once is more than enough. If you happen to like it, you can probably finish in a single day.
People who downloaded Gunman Chronicles (a.k.a. Half-Life: Gunman) have also downloaded:
Half-Life, Half-Life: Decay, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Half-Life 2, Doom 2, Half-Life: Opposing Force
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