GunZ: The Duel (PC)

Review by: Kain50bc

Reviewers Score: 9 / 10

Posted: August 01, 2007

And they say WoW gives you RSI

Gunz - The Duel, is the solution to any gamer's boredom with traditional shooter's or RPG's they just cannot get into. I was introduced to International Gunz by a friend on a forum and for simple non-thinking pleasure I'm continuing to play the North American version. Here's why.
Graphics: 7/10

Like mostly everyone says, nothing really special. You get two genders, four heads and four faces to choose from (if I remember correctly). Then equipment (and premium equipment if you fork over the money) and there's your character models. Not a hell of a lot of variety but not too bad. Level designs are good enough, the Mansion and Castle levels are ones you will see most commonly. Although some of the graphics can get quite blocky up close. Special effects too are flashy but admittedly dull after the first couple of times.

Sound: 10/10

I'd like first to point out that this is one of the few game's I have reviewed which has a sound section longer than two lines. Why? Sound can do you wonders in this game. First the music is NEVER annoying. Hard to hear at times over gunfire yes, but it does not get repetitive. And it's actually decent music too, very fitting for the action.

As for SFX, keeping an ear out can save you. Explosions behind, the tell-tale ping of a massive attack charged up, keeping aware of your surroundings keeps you alive for that extra couple of seconds. At my level of playing anyway, K-Stylers would last a while longer using that tactic. Which brings me to my next point.

Gameplay: 9/10

Where do I begin? Well, basically this game is a third person shooter with a melee alternative. Think of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 for a vague idea. Add in Matrix-style movement, a lot of glitchy software and a variety of match types to choose from. That's Gunz in a nutshell.

Shooting? Yes you have a choice of pistols, revolvers, shotgun's, Uzi's, automatic rifles, heavy machine guns and rocket launchers. Different weight's, damages, ranges and accuracy means you will have to mix and match to find what works best for you. Or use whatever you can carry, weight does cause some problems shifting your offensive and defensive capabilities. "Styles" are not real big in this section, Spraying (automatic weapons shot everywhere and anywhere), "Rocket/grenade sprayers" (similar to spraying except with explosions) are the two main ones. Unfortunately my "A-style" (Aussie style, drink and shoot) hasn't quite kicked off yet.

Melee alternative? The aforementioned K-styling (Korean style), most popular of the melee styles, this takes advantage of a glitch where slashing your sword (or kodachi) cancels out most effects. Where you may not be able to do anything one moment, the next you can jump, shoot, flip or slice again. Other melee styles include D-style (dagger style, fast attack, low damage and a nasty trick), E-style (European Style, Hit and Run, mainly defense) and a few others. I should add a disclaimer, while K-style IS probably the best way of melee fighting, IT WILL HURT YOU! There is a good chance you will get Repetitive Strain Injury over time, possibly Carpal Tunnel. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Matrix Style Movement? Dodge, duck, dip, dive and... oh wrong movie. Tumble, roll and dash are the three key movements. Tumbling and rolling are performed while using guns, which is a simple dive and roll, or rolling whilst in the middle of a jump. Dashing is a faster movement performed when holding a melee weapon and is key to performing most of the K-style moves.

Glitchy Software? Sound bad? Not really, this allows you to try many fun things amongst battle, as well as provide you with the means of using the different styles. Although this section is the one the brings gameplay to 9. The reason? Many players have found ways to hack and cheat their way ruining what may be a good match at the time. Why not just kick them? Because for some reason the votes have to be unanimous or very close to it. Which means hacker A gets his buddy in to hit N every time a kick option appears.

A variety of match types? Yes Death Match and Team Death Match, Gladiator and Team Gladiator (Melee only), Berserker (Death Match with a super powerful player who gradually loses life over time until he kills someone), Assassination (Team Death Match with a glowing weakness), Extreme TDM (rather than eliminate everyone on a team for a round to end, continual respawn until one side gets the kill goal) Training and Quest mode (Team up and fight NPC's for items).

Finally, there is some slight RPG elements, being that you level up, buy your own equipment with bounty gained from killing people and teaming up in quest mode.

Overall: 9/10 Perfect for that space of time in between work, school, sleep and other games.