Western 1849 Reloaded

Review

The year is 1849 - inhabitants of the Far West have gone nuts in search of the golden nugget! Gold is the major currency in this era and truly gives a chance to anyone to make their mark in life. But where gold is found, it also attract scumbags to the nearest town. This is exactly what happened to the small, quiet town of Sunset Bluff. So cowboy, we need your help to drive these bandits out of town. Oh and by the way, welcome to the Wild West!

Western 1849 Reloaded is an action /third person/ arcade type of game where you take control of the saviour (sheriff) of Sunset Bluff.

The game offers five levels of difficulty from rookie to champion, but you will have to beat each level to unlock the next one. As a rookie, you will have to eliminate three waves of gunslingers in two different locations which give you a total of six waves to clear. When you reach the champion stage, you will have to clear out eighteen waves in six different locations. That’s not going to be easy! 

Western 1849 gameplay is surprisingly good. In each of the six locations, you can move your character between four different points within the map. Your choice of position will depend on where the bandits are located. So if you have a bandit on the far left of the map and you are on the far fight of the map, you can’t shoot him before you move closer to his location. Gunfights start to become tricky when you have several outlaws in different positions. Some are waiting on higher ground (like on a roof) and others are hiding behind chariots, barrels or rocks. You can only take them down (with your gun and rifle) when they are in the open or leave their cover, unless you have a stick of dynamite. When five or more of them do this at the same time it can lead you to a quick death, if you are not careful. To help you out, the enemies you can’t see on the other side of the map will be identified by an exclamation point on your screen. If the exclamation mark is white, this means the bandits are still hiding but when it becomes yellow they are out of cover and ready to shoot. Each time you take one bandit down without being hit, it will increase your multiplier points; but if a bullet reaches you, it will restart the countdown. Also, if are an incredible gunslinger and shoot enemies at a fast pace, it will activate a rage mode where you become invisible for a while.

Well done - you have cleared your first wave! Before you start the next one, you have to choose one of three perks available to you. There are twenty-four of them, from common to legendary, and they are totally random at the end of each wave, which makes this game fun and full of re-playability. Whether you manage to win the stage or die (most likely), stats will be added up and you will receive coins.

With coins, you can upgrade your arsenal and purchase new abilities. You can add up to six of them to your inventory.

Graphically, the game looks great and runs smoothly. If you like country and western music, like myself, you will enjoy the soundtrack.  I prefer the mouse and keyboard rather than the gamepad in this game; I find it easier. I would love to see more than five types of enemies.