History of videogames dedicated to the Wild West - Part 4

Here is the fourth appointment with the titles set in Wild West who have written history in the gaming field. Our exciting adventure is about to come to an end (the fifth appointment will also be the last). The sky slowly turns red in the west. Happy reading, cowboys! (here you will find the beginning of our adventure, here the second appointment, here the third, in case you missed them!).

The Oregon Trail II (1995)

The Oregon Trail II is the sequel to the educational videogame created by MECC and was published for PC and Mac in 1995. In reality, more than a sequel, it is a real reinterpretation of the original work, where women have been assigned more important roles and more attention has been paid to racial minorities.

SilverLoad (1995)

Silverload is a graphic adventure, developed by Millennium Interactive and released by Psygnosis in Europe and Vic Tokai in North America in 1995. In this title, the player controlled a Wild West cowboy in first person while he was wandering around a haunted town in order to save a child. The title was available for PC and PlayStation.

Outlaws (1997)

Outlaws (from the English "Outlaw") is a first person shooter developed and published in 1997, for PC, by the legendary LucasArts (Monkey Island). No dialogue based on the "jelly-sound books" and no trace of zombie pirates, though! In Outlaws they take on the role of James Andreson, a former sheriff called to defend his farm from the evil Bob Graham, who wants to expand in a way that is not entirely law-abiding. Lead is the answer it deserves!

Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive (2001)

Based on the famous "Wanted" posters, complete with the classic "Dead or Alive" quote, Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive was developed by Spellbound and released by Atari in 2001 to the delight of PC owners. The player is on the trail of the fearsome train thief "El Diablo" and, in the role of John Cooper, assisted by five other characters, will have to get the better of the evil individual, strictly in isometric view. The graphic sector of this title was particularly inspired, don't you think ?!

Wild Arms 3 (2002)

Known in Japan as Wild Arms Advanced 3rd, Wild Arms 3 was released in Europe in February 2003 for PlayStation 2. It is the first title in the series in which all party members can use “ARMs”. This title was the first RPG released in the United States to use the "Cel-Shading" graphic technique (ie when the "edges" of any object drawn on the screen are "marked" by a thick black line, which gives the graphics a cartoon look).

Red Dead Revolver (2004)

Red Dead Revolver is certainly the "first stone" with which Rockstar Games has approached the Western genre, for our luck and infinite joy. The title was developed by the San Diego division and released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The adventure was clearly inspired by the 'Spaghetti-Western' movie genre of the 60s. Some characters, which came to life here for the first time ever, were introduced in the multiplayer mode of Red Dead Redemption (of which Red Dead Revolver is the prequel).

Gun (2005)

That frowning guy you see in the picture above is Colton White, star of Gun, title developed by Activision for PC, GameCube, Ps2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PSP in 2005. In its "portable" version the title is called "Gun: Showdown". Gun boasted a certain freedom of action, in perfect Rockstar Games style. In spite of the titles of the American Software House, here the stealth component played a much more important role.

Samurai Western (2005)

This crazy title developed in 2005 for PlayStation 2 by Acquire, on behalf of 505 Games (in Europe), asks players to take on the role of a Samurai known by the name of Gojiro Kiryu, desperate for his brother Rando. At the time it certainly didn't scream a miracle, but a Samurai riding at sunset in the Wild West… Well, when does it happen again ?!

Darkwatch: Curse of the West (2005)

Darkwatch: Curse of the West is a first-person shooter developed in 2005 by High moon studios (no, not "High Noon") for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is part of this special dedicated to Western titles because it combines the typical atmospheres of our beloved genre with the classic ones of horror and steampunk titles. The rivers of bullets hitting enemies were unleashed by Jericho Cross, a nineteenth-century American frontier outlaw gunslinger turned vampire. First a samurai, now a vampire. Ok, we're degenerating!

Call of Juarez (2005)

Still a shooter! Call of Jaurez, developed by the Polish Software House Techland in 2006, it was designed in PC and Xbox 360 versions (two years later). The title boasted an online multiplayer mode divided into 4 different modes: Skirmish, Robbery, Gold Rush and Duel to the death. There are 40 “WANTED” posters in the Call of Juarez game world, each bearing the face of one of the game's developers.