Gun.Smoke
System: NES
Release Date: February 1988
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
Here we’ve got Capcom’s February 1988 shoot ‘em up with Gun.Smoke. Surprisingly, I had never played this before. Honestly, I don’t know if my rental place had it as a kid or not, but I missed out on a pretty decent game. Now, I’m coming off the high that is Contra, but this certainly doesn’t rate low. You take the role of Billie Bob. It’s 1849 and you come to the mining town of Hicksville with the sun setting at your back. I take it this is supposed to be California as the game mentions the Gold Rush. Coming from the west, Double B must have been tired of early San Francisco.
The controls are novel, pressing the B Button shoots at an angle to the left. Pressing the A Button shoots at an angle to the right. Pressing both together shoots straight ahead. Now, I’ll admit, when I first started, I called bull on only shooting one shot at a time and used the turbo function. I then powered along into level 5. My play was interrupted and I came back and played it without using turbo.
I realized the game was designed specifically around the single shot, as Bill E. Bob can purchase secondary weapons from shopkeepers in the level. The Machine Gun is basically the Normal Gun on turbo. Seeing that the game gave me the option of turbo, in a weapon choice, I only used cheating turbo when absolutely necessary. I didn’t care a whole lot for the shotgun, which sprayed a bigger angle than the 45 degrees the normal shot did. What I got a ton of use out of was the Magnum. This high power weapon did enough damage to defeat all the normal enemies in one shot instead of multiple shots as required with the default gun.
Littered around the stage are barrels. Within these barrels are powerups. Boots allow you to move more quickly. Rifles increase your shot distance. You can hold up to 4 of each. You lose one of each if you die or collect a bull skull. You gain money (points) for each enemy you kill or money bag you pick up. When you have a secondary weapon, any money bag drops from enemies become ammo for the secondary weapons. This means you can feel free to equip the magnum and go to town on the bad guys.
There are also rare hidden items in each stage. You might find a red Yashichi (a Capcom favorite), which gives you a free guy. A blue Yashichi, which give temporary invincibility. A PoW symbol, which kills all enemies on screen. A horse, which you then ride and takes a couple hits for you, acting as hit points. And the most important item of all, the hidden Wanted Poster. You need to collect this to fight the boss of each stage. If you aren’t able to locate it (by shooting the right spot multiple times), you can buy it for an exorbitant price from one of the shopkeepers. I thought these guys wanted me to save their town…
Graphics: 2.5
The game doesn’t look bad, but it doesn’t look as good as some of the games we’ve seen.
Sound: 3.5
The music is your typical good Capcom work. I expect it from them at this point. No more terrible Micronics crap.
Gameplay: 3.0
I think the game is designed well until around stage four. At that point enemies start spawning from behind and you don’t have a way to shoot behind you.
Difficulty: 2.5
The aforementioned enemies that spawn from behind make for many cheap deaths, which I didn’t appreciate.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I think this is a fun shoot ‘em up. If I ever finish this series, I may go back and play it.
Overall Grade: 2.9
Gun.Smoke earns a B. I can recommend this for a playthrough or two. Give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed.