Amazing Design, Disappointing Gameplay
While playing Simplicity Games’ Gun Guys, you are likely to ask yourself: What is the point of this game? Gun Guys is a visually appealing, simple to play shooting game. The problem is that it is too simple. Usually as one progresses through the levels most games become harder to beat. You as a player need to develop your skills and go through a learning curve to progress further. But, unfortunately, the difficulty level in Gun Guys has been set to amateur for all levels.
Too Easy to Play
Gun Guys feels more like an interactive video than a game. All the player needs to do is tap the screen and the game does the rest for you. The sole objective of the game is to kill the “bad guys.” The “bad guys” are stationary characters placed on a specific location on the map and in order to complete a level, you need to guide your bullet toward them overcoming the various barriers placed on the map.
This can be done by having your favorite gun guy—which can be a retro zombie, a roman warrior, the killer from Friday the 13th or any of a number of other quirky character to fire your weapon of choice from a particular angle to ensure that the bullet bounces off the wall and kills the “bad guys.” Achieving this requires almost no skill and minimal effort. The margin for error given to players is immense, even a misclick on your screen will lead you to complete the level on the first try.
There is almost no payoff for completing the levels mainly due to the lack of effort needed to beat the game. This also stems from the fact that there is a complete lack of consequence for your character in game. The bullet might bounce off the wall and go straight through you or a misthrow of the grenade might lead it to land right on your head but the only thing it’ll cost you is one try.
Gun Guys’ fails to create an immersive gaming experience. The game does show promise and creativity in some levels. This is especially true in levels where a hostage is inserted in the map as an additional barrier. Killing the hostage leads to you losing the level. But even the inclusion of the hostage has no effect on the game’s difficulty. The maps seem like they are specifically designed to ensure that no damage is done to the hostage.
Creativity Comes Through
Gun Guys’ interface is its best feature. The maps are designed using bright colors and contrast, which grabs the player’s attention. There are no on screen buttons which leads to a clean on screen appearance. The game is also divided into numerous chapters, each with its own set of surroundings. Chapter 8, “Where the Devil is Awake,” is set in hell where the “bad guys” are devils. In the very next chapter “No One Will Hear” you are transported into outer space to fight inter-galactic aliens. From a design and creativity perspective, the Gun Guys hits all the right spots.
Gun Guys’ also has numerous customizable options. Once you rack up points you can choose to unlock the game’s characters the game has. There are also more than fifteen guns to choose from to match with your choice of a quirky character.
Needs Balance Badly
Currently, Gun Guys has 200 levels, which might sound like a lot but it will barely take you 20 minutes to complete all of them. New levels are being developed and will be released soon. The game has a solid base to build upon and simply needs to make the gameplay more challenging to play. Gun Guys’ certainly has depth in terms of creativity and design. Sadly, this is not reciprocated in its gameplay.
But is it Hardcore?
Not at all.
Gun Guys has the potential to be a fun, quirky and challenging game. Unfortunately, at present the game is ridiculously easy and thus boring. All Simplicity Games’ needs to do is turn up the difficulty.