Wild Guns Reloaded review

Not long ago, publishers relied on a persistent procession of new titles to survive. But now, a steady stream of remakes and remasters are an important part of most business models. As the practice of reinvigorating older games endures, players are seeing an increased number of recreations rescued from the threat of obscurity. First made available to PlayStation 4 owners earlier this year, the Steam release of Wild Guns Reloaded gives the lapsed SNES title another chance at earning public sentiment. And where many remakes fail to capture the essence of their source material, Reloaded succeeds- preserving the play of the original game while adding some satisfying supplements.

Original protagonists Clint and Annie are on hand, with parodies of Mr. Eastwood and Ms. Oakley joined by two, new, playable characters. Bullet is an adorable long-haired dachshund accompanied by a robot drone, while Doris is a midriff-baring, corpulent young lady with a penchant over explosives. The game’s returning heroes play just the way you might remember. Both remain rather fixed to their position when firing their weapon toward the on-screen cursor, extending an evasive roll to avoid enemy fire. Lay off the trigger, and they’re able to jump, double jump, melee nearby opponents, and even throw dynamite back at foes.

But Bullet are Doris control differently. The former is able to move and fire at the same time, and can even hover with the help of his drone. Tempering this capability is a rather limited firing range, with his drone automatically targeting foes across a small radius. Doris is significantly slower and lacks the rapid-fire ability of her comrades. Instead, she’s able to charge her grenades by folding the fire button down, potentially forging a path of explosive fury across each stage. Mutually, the pair of new playables bring a welcome dose of diversity to the game, extending longevity into Reloaded.

Regardless of which heroes you select, Wild Guns Reloaded remains focused on wanton destruction, thinning out the packs of pugnacious opponents, picking up new types of ammo, and earning score bonuses by eliminating targets strewn across each battlefield. Success stems from learning to prioritize and handle different types of opponents, from the nimble gunman you tend to scamper across the screen in groups to the armored robots who can absorb quite a few shots before they collapse. At least some of the enjoyment stems from the title’s whimsical take on the wild west, where stages are filled with comical characters and a healthy amount of collateral damage.

Beyond your basic rapid-fire gun, Reloaded lives up to its name, extending an array of weaponry. From shotguns to Ghostbusters-like energy beams, picking up power-ups gives players the occasional upper-hand. And largely, you’ll want any perk you can get because shifting your attention between dodging enemy bullets and ensuring your shots are hitting opponents can be a challenging endeavor, even on the game’s easiest setting. Reloaded’s decision to keep the single-hit deaths of the original game mean that play sessions are intense.

Performance-wise, Wild Guns Reloaded runs proficiently on PC. With both windowed and full-screen options and resolutions that range up to 1080p, the game’s deliberately pixelated output channels the look of the ambiance of the original game, even if the running resolution is much higher. Complementing the game’s visuals is a chiptune soundtrack which pleasingly modernizes the melodies of the original game, and sets the manic tempo of for the on-screen mayhem. However, one element that might dishearten players is the lack of any online cooperative mode. With stages becoming hectic affairs filled with moving protagonists as well as both player and enemy bullets, multi matches are wonderfully rowdy experiences but probably too busy for modern netcode to handle.

Whereas the PlayStation 4 iteration released at a slightly exorbitant thirty dollar MSRP, the Steam version comes in at the much more reasonable twenty dollar mark. As such, if you like frantic, firepower-filled arcade action, Wild Guns Reloaded is an entertaining shooter, revealing retro revision done right.

Not long ago, publishers relied on a persistent procession of new titles to survive. But now, a steady stream of remakes and remasters are an important part of most business models. As the practice of reinvigorating older games endures, players are seeing an increased number of recreations rescued from the threat of obscurity. First made available to PlayStation 4 owners earlier this year, the Steam release of Wild Guns Reloaded gives the lapsed SNES title another chance at earning public sentiment. And where many remakes fail to capture the essence of their source material, Reloaded succeeds- preserving the play of the original game while adding some satisfying supplements.

Original protagonists Clint and Annie are on hand, with parodies of Mr. Eastwood and Ms. Oakley joined by two, new, playable characters. Bullet is an adorable long-haired dachshund accompanied by a robot drone, while Doris is a midriff-baring, corpulent young lady with a penchant over explosives. The game’s returning heroes play just the way you might remember. Both remain rather fixed to their position when firing their weapon toward the on-screen cursor, extending an evasive roll to avoid enemy fire. Lay off the trigger, and they’re able to jump, double jump, melee nearby opponents, and even throw dynamite back at foes.

But Bullet are Doris control differently. The former is able to move and fire at the same time, and can even hover with the help of his drone. Tempering this capability is a rather limited firing range, with his drone automatically targeting foes across a small radius. Doris is significantly slower and lacks the rapid-fire ability of her comrades. Instead, she’s able to charge her grenades by folding the fire button down, potentially forging a path of explosive fury across each stage. Mutually, the pair of new playables bring a welcome dose of diversity to the game, extending longevity into Reloaded.

Regardless of which heroes you select, Wild Guns Reloaded remains focused on wanton destruction, thinning out the packs of pugnacious opponents, picking up new types of ammo, and earning score bonuses by eliminating targets strewn across each battlefield. Success stems from learning to prioritize and handle different types of opponents, from the nimble gunman you tend to scamper across the screen in groups to the armored robots who can absorb quite a few shots before they collapse. As least some of the enjoyment stems from the title’s whimsical take on the wild west, where stages are filled with comical characters and a healthy amounts of collateral damage.

Beyond your basic rapid-fire gun, Reloaded lives up to its name, extending an array of weaponry. From shotguns to Ghostbusters-like energy beams, picking up power-ups gives players the occasional upper-hand. And largely, you’ll want any perk you can get because shifting your attention between dodging enemy bullets and ensuring yours shots are hitting opponents can be a challenging endeavor, even on the game’s easiest setting. Reloaded’s decision to keep the single-hit deaths of the original game mean that play sessions are intense.

Performance-wise, Wild Guns Reloaded runs proficiently on PC. With both windowed and full-screen options and resolutions that range up to 1080p, the game’s deliberately pixelated output channels the look of the ambiance of the original game, even if the running resolution is much higher. Complementing the game’s visuals is a chiptune soundtrack which pleasingly modernizes the melodies of the original game, and sets to set the manic tempo of for the on-screen mayhem. However, one element that might dishearten players is the lack of any online cooperative mode. With stages becoming hectic affairs filled with moving protagonists as well as both player and enemy bullets, multi matches are wonderfully rowdy experiences but probably too busy for modern netcode to handle.

Whereas the PlayStation 4 iteration released at a slightly exorbitant thirty dollar MSRP, the Steam version comes in at the much more reasonable twenty dollar mark. As such, if you like frantic, firepower-filled arcade action, Wild Guns Reloaded is an entertaining shooter, revealing retro revision done right.

Wild Guns Reloaded was played on the PC with review code provided by the publisher.