GunBound

"A fun, free download -- truly a rarity"

Gunbound is a game similar to Worms. In Gunbound, you control one of fifteen mobiles with separate attacks. The objective of the game is to defeat your opponent (Solo, Score, and Tag modes), or to get 100 Jewel Points before your opponent by destroying little creatures called Jewels. The premise seems simple enough, but throw in a plethora of maps and multiplayer action, equipment and items, and you've got an awesome game of strategy and skill.

STORY: N/A

Ya blow stuff up. That's it.

GRAPHICS: 7

The graphics aren't in the same class as most PC games you can get today (Which can be a good thing -- the system requirements are quite minimal. I'm running it on a five-year old 500 Mhz computer that's gone through two hard drives, I'm sure your machine can handle it), but they're sharp nonetheless. Even though most of the game is in 2-D, there are some 3-D effects, not to mention some extremely detailed background pictures. The design scheme is very futuristic-looking, and when the game looks up, you'll probably be thinking ''And this is only 95 MB?!''

In short, decent graphics due to low system requirements.

SOUND: 9.5

The sound is a masterpiece in this game. Not only are there sound effects for nearly every action and attack, but there's phenomenal background music. It's not uncommon for the first chat entry of a game to be something like ''I love the music for this level''.

GAME MECHANICS: 9

It's a simple premise, but with a few tweaks. And the result is an astounding success. By performing certain tasks during a battle (Such as hitting someone with a really high shot, firing an extra-precise shot, or killing another player), you gain G (Gold), which can be used in the 'Avatar' shop later to purchase power-ups later for your character. In addition, doing lots of damage in battles, killing enemies, and winning battles gets you rank points (GP, or P). The more rank points you have, the better your rank picture will look (You start as a ducky, then a hammer, then various axes, and plenty more after that....) You'll also earn some free equipment at certain rank levels.

There's also a bunch of little things that make it great, such as teams earning a cash bonus if a teammate disconnects to make it fair, and rewarding players who take the chance with the 'Random' mobile selection with the possibility of two ultra-strong mobiles. All in all, the system is quite balanced and effective.

REPLAY VALUE: 9

This isn't the type of game you can just shelve for a later day. You'll find yourself playing day after day, trying to get the next rank, trying to get enough for some exotic weapon, or just trying to get better so you can beat your friends. I can't put my finger on what makes it so addictive, but whatever it is, it got me hooked on Gunbound.

OVERALL: 9

Hey, what can I say? It's fun, it's free, fairly small filesize, and it won't kill your computer. You can download it at the official Gunbound website, http://www.gunbound.net

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/03