Gunman Clive Review

TGunman Clive

Publisher: Horberg Productions Developer: Horberg Productions Platform: 3DS Players: 1 Release: 2013 Genre: 2D Platformer / Action Rating: 7.5 \ 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is Clive onboard a train

Gunman Clive may sound like some sort of shooter, but it's not. It's a unique blend of platforming and shooting action that combines the level designs and gameplay elements of Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man. The game chronicles a cowboy named Clive, who is on a mission to save Mayor Johnson's daughter from a posse of bandits. When you create a new file, you may select to play as either Clive or Mrs. Johnson, and pick a difficulty level: Easy, Normal, or Hard. From there, a simple cut-scene showing the Mayor's daughter / Clive being carried away in a wagon, and the game begins. The game, made entirely by the two Horberg brothers, is charmingly primitive. The serene  music suits the simple-drawn environments well, and the game has little sound effects. There are four worlds, each with five levels. On the fifth level of each world, you face a boss. As good as this all sounds, I found the game challenging, even with the short levels and on the Easy difficulty level. The first few levels, I didn't even know how many hits I could take before I died, because it took me a while to notice the thin line the represents your health on the side of the screen. The challenge is what took away most of the fun, but an average gamer like me can beat most levels in just a couple minutes and beat the entire game in an hour or so, but the game's brevity explains the low price tag of $1.99. Well, that's all the trash talk out of the way, so now I would like to explain more: Your default weapon, used by pressing the Y button, is a revolver, but there are a variety of weapons to use. Some are randomly dropped by enemies, some appear normally. There is a spread gun that fires three bullets at a time; an odd firearm that allows for faster fire, but shoots homing bullets; a slow-firing gun that shoots small missiles that instantly obliterate most foes. In the fourth and final world, which takes place aboard an alien ship whom the mayor's daughter / Clive has been taken, which is especially Mega Man-like, you can find an laser blaster and a rapid-firing laser machine-pistol. In a neat twist, when you complete the game, you unlock Duck Mode, in which you play through the entire game as a duck, unable to collect power-ups but able to fly temporarily.  Although brief and challenging, Gunman Clive is still an exceptional game, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better platformer for just a couple bucks.

Ups
Super Mario Bros. / Mega Man elements
Charmingly primitive
Great Western and electronic music
Duck Mode

Downs
Very short
Very hard

ESRB: E 10+ Content: Fantasy Violence Price: $1.99 (Download)