ehalcomb: Gunman Clive Series || Game Reviews

Most gamers, like me, have been longing for a MegaMan-style shooter with much of the same tropes and tight controls as the old classics. The Gunman Clive series takes the formula of MegaMan and other similar shooters and strips it down to its roots while keeping the same amount of fun and difficulty.

The original Gunman Clive for the Nintendo 3DS is a very straight forward game. Give chase to the bandits who have kidnapped Miss Watson (or Clive depending on who you’re playing as) through a bunch of stages while jumping, shooting, powering up your gun, and fighting bosses. Like I said, the original is very straight forward with levels similar in theme and scope, though fun.

From the start you have a choice between two characters who play very differently: Gunman Clive and Miss Watson. Clive and generally jump higher and farther than Miss Watson but she has a Princess Peach-style float that she can activate by holding the jump button in mid-air. They do use the same basic gun but throughout a stage you can find upgrades hidden in enemies. The game itself isn’t too hard, but I did feel like some of my deaths weren’t very fair. Like a bird dropping a bomb from off screen. Minor complaints. When you beat the game once you unlock duck mode which is exactly what you think it is. You play as a duck. All the levels are exactly the same, besides bosses, but you play as a duck. I don’t know why this is a feature but it is a nice distraction and can be pretty challenging for those completionists.

Though Gunman Clive 1 is a very good game in its own right gameplay wise, there wasn’t a whole lot of new content being introduced to keep me very interested throughout the entire experience. Gunman Clive 2, on the other hand, adds new mechanics almost every single level and is constantly expanding. One level I’m platforming with interesting gravity mechanics and the next I’m riding a panda through ancient China. It gets crazy fast. Though this does make the experience a constant rollercoaster of interesting mechanics, I feel that Gunman Clive doesn’t keep these mechanics long enough which leaves me wanting more.

If you decide to check out the series, I recommend the Wii U Gunman Clive HD Collection with improved gorgeous graphics and an extra playable character. The HD Collection is $3.99 while Gunman Clive 1 and 2 alone are $2 and $3, respectively.

Gunman Clive and Gunman Clive 2 are worth checking out for fans of the NES classics.