TOKYO – As a developer so closely associated with Japanese role-playing games, Square Enix probably surprised Tokyo Game Show attendees with Gun Loco.
Described as a "sprint action shooter," the Xbox 360 game is loaded with muscular men carrying heavy weapons. If you're picturing Gun Loco as a(nother) Japanese take on Gears of War, allow me to put that notion right out of your head. Gun Loco is not a plodding, cover-based shooter, it's a fast-paced rush of a game where running is paramount.
Running in Gun Loco isn't simply a way to speed things along, it's essential for navigating the level. If you're holding the sprint button, some obstacles will gain a blue tint, not unlike the "runner's vision" in Mirror's Edge. Your character can then jump over or slide under these impediments.
Another crucial skill is shooting on the go. Gun Loco might be the first third-person shooter I've played where there is no way to hold a button and take precision shots at the enemy. Instead, the best way to take guys out is to run and slide towards them. This inexplicably boosts your firepower and can lead to chains of quick kills.
All this running left me exhausted, figuratively speaking. My first instinct when men are shooting at me is to take cover. Gun Loco demanded that I run towards my attackers and shoot them – and fast! There's no slow-motion assist when you slide. You're either quick or dead.
There's also the matter of seeing where you're going. I kept scrambling into corners and losing track of where I was in relation to the other shooters. Not helping matters were the constant splotches of blood that covered the screen. I know integrating health bars into the display is all the rage, but if I cannot distinguish my own fluids from a wall I'd rather go back to having a number and a line to tell me how I'm holding up.
Gun Loco has some definite points in its favor. When the run-and-gun thing works, it works wonders. When you nail someone while sliding, he practically explodes. The characters also all have a maniacal look to them that's somewhere between Borderlands and the Splicers from BioShock. My favorite was the guy wearing tighty-whiteys and a giant bunny head.
So while I wasn't enthralled by Gun Loco, it certainly struck me as something to keep an eye on when it is released in 2011.
Images courtesy Square Enix
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