Lost Worlds Gaming

remembering video games and media from yesteryear

Gun – Xbox 360 Retro Review #007

Five years before Red Dead Redemption, Neversoft released an open-world Western game reminiscent of the classic PS2 Grand Theft Auto’s. Neversoft put this cross-gen game out for both the original Xbox and as a launch title for the Xbox 360 in 2005. Your character Cole (voiced by Thomas Jane) is on a quest for both revenge and the legend of treasure, making your way across an open world of two towns, badlands, mines and more.

By modern standards there is little life to the world, though it is fun to see random saloon patrons start brawls that spill into the street.

Gun has basically everything you want from a Western, including collecting bounties, slow motion shoot-outs and horseback riding. As well some things you don’t want (racist caricatures of Native Americans, herding cattle and optional scalping???) Like GTA, you travel between towns working your way through different factions, starting with a sheriff before working for a corrupt mayor and the local tribe of Apache warriors. I completed most side missions and the main story didn’t overstay its welcome. I could see myself putting tons of hours into this if I had a copy when I was a kid. In 2026, I enjoyed the bite-size open world experience compared to many of the bloated games we get nowadays.

Gun has a grimy violence to it that lends itself well to the chaotic shootouts.

I haven’t played Red Dead Revolver yet (released one year before Gun) but I may have to check it out soon to see how it compares to Gun and 2010’s Red Dead Redemption. Gun was Neversoft’s first original game after seven consecutive Tony Hawk games, and their last one before working on Guitar Hero until they were absorbed into Activision’s Call of Duty machine. Like my earlier review of Raven’s Singularity, I think video games are worse off for not having studios like Neversoft putting out unique, quality titles.