Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West Hands On

by Steve Butts - IGN.com | 31 March 2010 12:00
 
The cowboy's version of Counter-Strike.
 
No, it's not a game about the alchemical transmutation of metals. Instead, Fatshark's latest effort is a frantic third-person multiplayer shooter set in the Old West. The two elements feature prominently in the game -- lead in the form of bullets, and gold in the form of coins. We've been playing around with this game for a few days now in anticipation of next week's release and we're encouraged by the Battlefield Heroes style simplicity and the appeal of the Wild West setting.
 
It's true that the game is missing some of the setting stereotypes -- there are no natives, no horses and no smallpox, for instance -- but it does a good job of recasting the multiplayer shooter mechanics in this less familiar framework. Four standard classes and six familiar modes gives players a chance to jump into the game without much of a learning curve.
 
You can tell by his coal-dusted clothes and mining helmet that the Blaster normally works in the cramped confines of the mines. As such, he's ideally suited for close combat. Armed with a coach gun (that's a double-barrel shotgun to you), he can drop any target with a mere two shots, provided they're standing within just a few feet. Of course, getting that close can be problematic, but many of the levels have enough confined spaces that the Blaster can really find ways to force the enemy to fight up close. For large groups, the Blaster can also toss out the dynamite that he normally carries as part of his profession.
 

When you carry the sack, you can't shoot back.

The Gunslinger is another close-combat class, but he works a bit better at slightly longer ranges. His Negotiator pistol has a high rate of fire, so accuracy isn't a particularly great problem. Throw in a fast reload and the Gunslinger is able to keep more bullets in the air than any other class in the game. For true volume of fire, however, the Gunslinger can activate a special fan shot that quickly shoots several bullets in a wide spread. It can be great both for taking down large groups at short range or simply chewing through a single enemy who's made the mistake of getting too close.
 
My favorite class is the Deputy. Armed with a repeater carbine, he's able to fight at the middle ranges that the levels seem to favor. His shots are very accurate and very damaging but his greatest asset is the carbine's large magazine. Not having to reload as much as the other guy can definitely be the decisive factor in a firefight. His special ability allows him to tag enemy players and reveal their position to every other player in the match.
 
The Trapper is the typical sniper. Armed with a Buffalo Rifle and a saucy coonskin cap, she's best positioned near some handy cover with a wide field of view. One lucky shot with the rifle will take down most players but she's not able to make much use of the rifle in close quarters. To help protect herself, and her team's objectives, she can lay traps that briefly incapacitate enemies.
 

The game modes might be familiar but the setting is a nice change of pace.

The classes also have unique synergies, which are powers and buffs that can be shared with nearby players. The Blaster, for example, will give a small defensive bonus to his allies, while the Gunslinger will boost all friendly accuracy. Since only one of any type of boost can be active at a time, it's a nice way to encourage players of different classes to work together. If you combine the Trapper's increased critical hit chance with the Deputy's increased damage, you'll be able to make short work of your enemies. Right now, players level up during each match, but it's not clear that there's a persistent element to your character. So you gain XP regularly through the course of the match, and even level up from time to time, but there's no way to track this across an entire career like you can in other online shooters.
 
Two of the modes, Robbery and Greed, require players to pick up sacks of gold and turn them in to score points. The cool thing about these modes is that players who are carrying the sacks of gold can't run or shoot while holding them. So it's up to the other players to make sure they're safe while transporting money to the drop off point. Even if the other players aren't particularly helpful, the carrier can always temporarily drop the load to fire off a few shots at any nearby attackers.
 
The same is true of the Powderkeg mode. In this mode, players have to use kegs of gunpowder to blow up certain objectives or open up new keg spawns closer to the action. The kegs work just like gold in that they prevent players from running or shooting while they're being carried. The big difference is, if you set a keg down, other players can make it explode by shooting it, so you'll need to be especially careful if you're drawn into a firefight while carrying one of these.
 
One of the best ways to practice all this is to load up a Gold Fever match. This is essentially a Robbery mode for one or two players against waves of AI bots. You'll learn the ins and outs of the classes in a slightly less intimidating environment and get a good feel for the basics of stealing gold and using powder kegs.
 
We've been having a lot of fun with the beta version these past few days, so look for our review after the game is released late next week.
 
Supplied by IGN.com