in-spur-ational (sorry, horrible pun)

graphics- The game starts off with a brilliant set of stills to engage the player in the mood and story of the game. These opening images are really detailed and numerous, and the amount of work which went into them must've been massive. This doesnt let up when you get into the main game, easily being the best looking GM 3d game i've ever seen.

sound- sorta repetitive considering you use your main pistols all the time and there's the one noise. Plus, everything seems to be really loud (compared to all other things i've got running). The music was pretty good, i noted at least four tracks, opening, game, cutscene and in a fight, but another one when you're out and about would be great.

gameplay- Here's where the game falls a bit flat. There are two mission types. Race, and 'wanted' missions, where you go kill a guy and some of his henchmen. Both give you cash you can buy things with. Both get a bit boring after the 3rd or 4th one you do. Also, what is the point of having sheriff office which is empty that you can go in, when theres nothing to do? You should be able to buy bullets in the gun shop, rather than just guns and the whole game just needs more variety. Buyable safe houses was a nice idea, but they were in the middle of nowhere! The final boss battle was uninspired. He seemed to have a shotgun yet it didnt act like your shotgun. In fact, it looked and acted like a long range pistol that did more damage! It was a bit anticlimactic to have this final boss battle exactly the same as all the others.

As for the end button click one, maybe some variety would be good here. It was always up arrow, down arrow. Plus, you never knew where the mouse pointer was going to show up. I died so many times because the timer was so low and the mouse started all the way over to the right or left. It was not fun having to redo the mission

story- a very well portrayed if cliche storyline. Cutscenes, especially the beginning and end, were used to excellent effect.

interface- A few minor niggles, like being stuck outside the bank for a while, not being able to get on horse always, etc etc didnt dent the game too much. Most things worked perfectly and i had no lag. One thing, i couldnt find any tutorial on the keys, not in game, no text one, nothing.

overall- overall, a great looking 3d GM game, but not enough variety. I had to force myself to finish the 10th wanted mission, because i knew there'd be a story payoff at the end. If i weren't reviewing this, frankly, i wouldnt have bothered finishing this.

How bout some beer, only $5.


EDIT: oh and i forgot: only minor graphical downside: the running animations. The game gets 3.5 stars overall, rounded to 4