Western (Im)Press(ions)

Like the duels of ages past, there isn’t much time for talking. Spit an insult at your opponent and show them you’ve got the stones to follow through.

The latest in old western dueling technology has come to steam on April 21st of this year. Western Press pits you against your enemies in hilarious fashion as a dueling cowboy/girl. Based around the best way to settle disputes of all time, the game provides an easy way to prove your worth against bots or other players around the world in up to 16 player bracket tournaments. Grab a pistol or shotgun and strap in.

Western Press is a relatively simple game: Two characters face off, spit some insults at one another before the narrator tells you to get ready to settle your differences. A string of button combinations runs from the top of the display to the bottom, and pressing them in the right order with no mistakes before your opponent results in landing a powerful shot in the chest of your mortal foe. Each mistake costs you time on the clock, and your total time is compared to your opponents so the computer can decide who shot first. Sprinkled with old western jokes and music that places you in the mindset of destruction, it\’s easy to get lost in the mayhem.

The game is available for 4.99 on Steam for PC and Mac, which is pretty well priced for a game of this size. Each character you play as gains in stats as you move forward in your tournaments and play throughs. It\’s easy to keep track of your lifetime kills/deaths as each character in the menu between rounds. Each new character that you drop like a sack of can\’t-button-mash-fast-enough potatoes becomes available to play, meaning a wider range of insults and attacks as you continue to play.

There are a few things I like about this game. In particular, I enjoy feeling like a gunslinger who isn\’t afraid to stand up to those speaking poorly about his momma. Secondly, it\’s a great way to settle arguments. I enjoy the idea of a duel, but do not enjoy the idea of getting blasted in real life. You can imagine how relieved I was when I discovered I could live this fantasy digitally across the net from the safety of my chair without putting pants on.

Though the graphics style is very simplistic, I also quite enjoy the art and design of the worlds in the game. There are a huge number of interesting backgrounds for your duels, as well as character specific attack/death animations. Similarly, there is a seemingly unending supply of insults that your characters toss back and forth, which does wonders for adding to immersion. What lacks in graphical horsepower is more than made up by environment and depth of involvement with the game.

There are a few things that the game I feel is missing. First and foremost, this game is incredibly fun to play. I want to show it off to friends when they come over. The difficulty becomes apparent when strapping in for local play. If for no other reason than, \”I\’d like to play this as a couch co-op game on my television at social gatherings\” I find the over the net multiplayer a little restrictive. Having said that, the desire to play a game is never a bad thing, I wish I could share it with others more easily.

Secondly, the game is relatively straight forward. There\’s pretty much the one game mode: smash the keys and kill the target, and several variations of combos to keep it moving. Western Press has lots to offer to scratch the dueling itch, and for that I love it. However, it effectively calms my desire to duel after about 10 rounds, or after losing continually to another player/bot because I suck at button mashing. It\’s surprising how difficult it is to remember that the A key is not actually the LEFT directional key when shown a combo of UP, A, W, D, Down, Down, A, LEFT, S. As a result, I typically lose in spectacular fashion unless playing on my controller.

There is excellent custom-mappable support for keys and controllers, which allow for a more or less difficult play style; based on what keys will be shown during matches. This is great for giving yourself an advantage over other players, or at the very least allowing you to feel like you know what you are doing.

Western Press is a game is worth playing. Though replay value is perhaps limited by it\’s direct gameplay and nature of the game mechanic, it\’s absolutely something that you\’ll play multiple times with multiple people. There\’s no telling when you\’ll need to prove your worth, and no other game has come close to living up to the settling arguments factor that this game has.

Perhaps the developers will adapt this into a console/mobile friendly version in the future for a portable or party-friendly vehicle of old-time gun slinging.

Check it out here on steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/377360/

The Developer page here: http://surpriseattackgames.com/presskit/sheet.php?p=Western_Press

Game play in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntYEpsxvgbQ

7.5/10, would deliver justice through barrel of shotgun again.