Gunman Clive is a very cheap game with a quite expansive journey. It’s a platformer that truly shines using the classic NES traditions in its gameplay. Also it consists of really great art and music in the old west. Last, the game presents good replay value. Gunman Clive is one indie that proves the town is more than big enough for the classic throwbacks.
Basically, you’re in the old west as the titular hero who runs, jumps, and shoots his way to save the damsel in distress. The stages, items and enemies behave in manners similar to those of Mega Man, Super Mario Bros., Contra and maybe a few more NES classics. Mainly, as you travel across the west to even…the moon, you’ll fight outlaws, robots and more as you go on your journey.
To aid you during the game, there are different power-ups for the gun like lasers, bombs, and multiple bullets. The boss battles are indeed fun. And if the stages aren’t challenging enough with timing jumps and dodging enemy fire, then the big bosses having a lot of health and changing patterns would keep you on your toes.
The art style is nicely done. Definitely demonstrate a cool display of sketch art. The animation overall indeed is fluid and non-distracting or glitchy. In 3D, the background and all looks great. It captures that old western setting.
The music at first gives you that feeling of being Clint Eastwood or John Wayne getting ready for a showdown. Then it goes into moments where you think you’re playing an actual NES game. It is an interesting mixture of the Old West and 8-bit instruments that sets a strong tone for the game.
Gunman Clive may not have more than 20 challenging stages, but it can provide some fun features and stuff to unlock. There’s a difficulty setting for those who either want take a cakewalk or prove they’re better than Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. Also, from the start you can play as the gunman’s damsel in distress herself, who has a unique ability to float a la Peach from the Mario series. And there’s one more hidden character unlockable via beating the game.
Gunman Clive is a great indie that’s way worth than its 2 cents (or dollars in this case). It may not provide a whole lot of features, but the time you can spend on it can indeed be more than hours. With many throwbacks to the NES gameplays, cool art, nice music and many characters to play with, Gunman Clive is one indie that is worth to keep in the holster. 8/10 [❤]
Buy: Nintendo 3DS, 3DS games