shooter

Dead Man's Hand is a game set in the old west. The game has a great storyline with some good single player mechanics. You can do so many things in single player it is a blast. You can shoot other objects and if an enemy is near them they will feel the effects. The game also has some good multiplayer through System Link and Xbox Live. It has Death Match, Team Death Match, Posse, and Bounty. All are quiet fun with my favorite being Bounty. Bounty is a form of not it. Posse is you and your buddies are trying to hold off wave after wave of enemy soldiers. I gave this game 4 stars cause it did not have splitscreen multiplayer and the frames per second could be just a tad better. You won't really notice it very much at all if you don't know much about frames per second. The thing I didn't like was when I died it took a split second to fall down and for the game engine to recognize I was on the ground dead. Overall this game is one to get because it is good, cheap, and has a good lasting appeal.

If you are looking for an awesome Old Western Gunfighting game then Dead Mans Hand is the game for you. The graphics are sweet and one of the coolest features are the interactive objects. By this I mean if you shoot at objects (such as tables, chairs, bottles, powder kegs, signs, etc.) they will explode or react in a way that will effect the game and sometimes even kill enemies. Its very fun to walk into a saloon and start firing and everything reacts to your bullets. You can even shoot the hat off an enemy! The levels are detailed and free roaming. Dolby digital surround in this game has all the sound effects, believe me you will feel like Clint Eastwood. Very fun and realistic game to play especially if you are into the gunfighting old west.

For those of you familiar with the HBO series "Deadwood", the "Dead Man's Hand" title is based on the cards (Aces over Eights, suited black) that Wild Bill Hitchcock died with while being shot in the back of the head during a poker game. Just an interesting bit of information.

That said, this game's first level looks horrendous, the graphics aren't anything too great (sharp, but often bland), there is an auto-aim feature that can not be turned off and often screws up a bullseye shot, and before you die the game pauses for a brief second. So, the game's not perfect, and at times feels unfinished.

All the bad stuff aside, after playing the game for a couple hours I found myself involved in the atmosphere that Dead Man's Hand creates, and it creates it well, for some. There are some great gun battles and the difficulty advances significantly as you progress through the 25 or 30 something levels--which is really much longer than I think anyone expected this game to be. On normal difficulty expect a game that gives you something like 40 hours of gameplay due to a few hard situations, consequentaly making you re-play some levels a bunch of times.

Online mode is great fun and an excellent addition to a $30 game like this. Although it feels limited, this game is a great time killer and not a bad game at all.