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Gun, a shooter featuring an over-the-shoulder perspective, is a tale of revenge that mashes together almost every wild-western convention I can think of. You've got the grizzled pa/mentor character (who looks like and is voice by Kris Kristofferson) with a hidden past, a whore with a heart of gold, good guys who turn out to be bad, and twists and turns ... that are pretty much obvious from the get go. All of this is expected from a western and it makes the game feel comfortable and accessible, if a bit tired. The designers got their period detail right; the research is obvious, even if they couldn't resist the urge to rely on cliché.
So we have excellent graphics, a strong sense of period and history, but it all falls apart when we come to the gunplay. It's arcade-like, where it feels like it should be far more realistic. Enemies pop out and shoot at you, absorbing countless bullets before falling down dead. The body count is absurdly high and the game relies on Bosses (big tough bad guys at the end of each level), instead of interesting tactical setups. The best tactics aren't hiding and popping out from cover; they're rushing the bad guys and circling them guns a'blaze. The vaunted freedom the game offers is an illusion. It's just a way to gain cash for better weapons. Don't get me wrong, Gun is a fun shoot ﾑem up and it is nice to see the western done with this much love and care (the art, music, and most of the writing are above average) it just feels like the combat, mission, and gameplay designers had something else in mind. The fit isn't very good. They probably should have either tweaked the story and setting into something that better fits an arcade shooter, or made the combat more realistic, methodical, and with a lower body count. I will say this, the game features the best horse racing I've ever seen in a game and, again, it is a western.  
Gun is a rip-snorting arcade style western shootin' game with a decidedly adult theme. It's not quite Deadwood (HBO's excellent if violent and foul mouthed epic), but a bad word is tossed in here or there. There's prostitution, but it's implied and the developers showed restraint (unlike Grand Theft Auto games, there's nothing you can interact with), but it includes a silly little trope where drinking Whiskey bottles replenishes your health. It's also not without a little political controversy. Native American activist groups (who, judging from their rhetoric haven't played the game) have protested the portrayal of Native Americans in the game. There is a mission where Indians attack and it's somewhat appalling how many you have to kill before it's over. This is countered, somewhat, by the main character's Indian heritage and the many later missions where the player is tasked with protecting them from savage whites. Aside from that, the game is very violent, bloody and presents mass-murder as par for the course against a realistic historical backdrop. Seriously, this body count puts Sam Peckinpah to shame. That's great for an arcade game... but feels excessive in a game with this much attention to historical detail.
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