GunBound

"Unless you're willing to waste the money, don't waste your time"

Gunbound was, at its inception, a very clever online game that was based on the always-classic system of angle+range firefights. However, what made Gunbound stand out from the rest was the sheer versatility; like Worms, Gunbound takes the system and develops it so that things never get old and there is always something new to do.

From the outset, you're presented with close to two dozen different "mobiles." These mobiles are the weapon turrets that you sit on, so to speak. Each mobile has unique life, attack and defense values, making some of them great for absorbing damage while others are great for dealing damage. Even more unique than that are the weapons available for each mobile; each mobile possesses three separate attacks. The attacks do various things and have varying degrees of power. To make it even more interesting, each shot has a different level of "delay"- that is, how many turns your opponent gets before your next one.

What this creates is a powerful form of strategy. Will you pick the boomer mobile, whose powerful boomerang attacks and versatile range allow him to hit fast and hard? Perhaps, but be careful- the boomer can't withstand a lot of damage, so you better act quickly or you'll be a goner. Perhaps you'd prefer to use JD, whose electric shots are very fast and have the ability to suck the opponent into the holes they create, thereby throwing off their angles. However, be warned that their damage isn't substantial, so if your opponent is good they will plow right through your schemes. Some mobiles even possess two different styles of attacks. The Raon Launcher can fire projectiles at the enemy or it can launch tiny little bombs called raons that walk towards the target before blowing up.

Again, like Worms, the versatility is massive. It's a real challenge to master just one of the characters, and knowing all of the ins and outs of the characters strengths and weaknesses can allow a good player to wipe the floor with a player who might even be more powerful.

Of course, how does one get more powerful? Through the use of avatars. The second factor of Gunbound lies within customizing the character itself. You have an avatar (something that we've all gotten familiar with thanks to XBox live) that represents you in the Gunbound world- your avatar rides the mobile, aims and fires it onto others. Initially you're pretty boring- male avatars wear nothing but a white tank top and shorts. However, you can purchase new pieces of clothing and equipment. By wearing these, your character will become stronger. For example, wearing gold armor will give your character a dramatic increase in his defense, while wearing the robes of the Angel of Death will increase your attack dramatically.

So how does one purchase these avatars? Simple- collect gold. The way to collect gold is equally simple; play Gunbound! As you finish matches, kill opponents and win, you will accumulate a steady supply of gold for your character. Once you have enough gold, you can purchase the item of your choice to bedeck your character with majesty. Don't feel like paying a huge amount? No problem- you can pay a smaller amount and get the item for a week or a month rather than permanently.

Overall, there's not much more to say about how Gunbound is played. Really, you have to just try it for yourself to really experience it.

...However, it's not something I'd recommend, because unfortunately, there's a very dark side to Gunbound that I did not mention, and that's the realm of pay-to-play. Now, I'm no opponent to online games having features that are advantageous to the players who donate. It's hard to find a good free game today where you can get by without donating in some way to improve your experience. However, Gunbound does not make it a nice way to improve your experience- it necessitates it.

In recent years, Gunbound has come under new management, and that new management has implemented a plethora of features that are obtained only through donating to the game. I'm not talking a couple of bucks, either. The donation system allows for $1 donations, but in order to access anything useful, donations typically have to be upwards of $20, and it's not a one-time deal, either!

You see, one of the biggest drawbacks to the system is that if you are a player who DOESN'T have the top-of-the-line gear, you will find yourself at the nasty end of a really sound beating, one that you really can't avoid. You can purchase weapon upgrades that make your character obscenely powerful, along with some truly game-breakingly powerful avatars that make everyone else look like weaklings. You can buy items for 5 or 6 different facets of the character, and around each corner, another shiny $ pops up. Without these things, it's impossible to win against those who DO use them, and unfortunately a large % of players seem to be made of money, because they run rampant.

And worst of all, in the classic way that Magic Trading Cards keep you buying more, each new addition essentially cripples the last one. You can drop $50 on your character upgrades and additions and still find yourself getting trounced because you need to spend another $30 to get the new upgrade.

It's ultimately up to you- the game requires you to spend what I and many others consider to be an absurd amount of money on downloadable content just to be able to reasonably try to compete. I guess if that's your thing, then have at it! I wish you the best. However, especially given that times are kind of tight right now, I can't imagine we all have that kind of money to spend on this game, especially when for under $20, you can just buy Worms Armageddon and have the same quality experience without the unfair balance.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/09

Game Release: GunBound (US, 2004)