The audio and music are also superb. Positional audio can be frightening as weird monsters growl and call, random explosions detonate around the facility and an evil computer AI (perhaps too reminiscent of Shodan from System Shock) mocks and taunts you.

Rewolf put a lot of work into the weaponry. Here the alt-fire key doesn't fire the gun a second way. It lets you access special features. A shotgun can be modified this way to expend 1-4 rounds per shot and fire it using shot, riot pellet or rifle. The laser pistol can be used in rapid-fire mode, single shot or a shot that explodes. Grenades can explode on impact, proximity, or with a trigger. All the weapons have several uses and learning to use them all is worth the effort when the action heats up.

Sierra promised us vehicles in the game, which would have really made it stand out because that's never been really successfully done before. But instead we have a Tank. It's a cool and very powerful little tank and controlling it is a breeze but, sadly, you're indestructible in the tank and you can't run out of ammo. You'll occasionally run out of gas and have to leave the tank to find more, but you can't help but think this cool idea could have been implemented much better.

All of the above is just reminiscent enough of Half-Life to put a smile on your face but different enough to keep you playing, which leads directly to Gunman's flaws. First off, the Half-Life engine (two years old) is loosely based on the Quake 2 engine (three years old) so the graphics are admittedly behind the curve. Especially aggravating is seeing an army of Gunmen who all look and sound exactly alike. Half-Life still looks good though, so this is a minor problem.

The game is too short, lasting about as long to a dedicated player as Opposing Force did. The problem is the game is priced at a steep $39.99 and that's just not enough gameplay for your buck. There's only Deathmatch and TeamDeathmatch multiplayer and while the maps are decent, they are nowhere near the quality of Half-Life and its famous mods. You can't even use the Tank in multiplayer, but again, it's indestructible so there would be little point to it.

Weigh those cons against your need to experience a shooter in the vein of Half-Life again. If you're like me, you'll find it worth your while just to play with a shooter that gets it right more often than wrong. Otherwise wait a bit and pick it up from a bargain bin, it's worth playing and I can't wait to see what the ardent fans at Rewolf come up with next.

Andrew Bub
Contributing Editor & Beatdown Scribe