This game is very entertaining, but falls short of being truly great. The music is beautifully scored and fits right in with the scenic landscapes that you play in. The acting ranges from decent to very well done, with the preacher, Reverend Ray, probably having the best performance overall. The gun and bow & arrow combat is very fun, especially with the Reverend where you get a special 'bullet time' ability that lets you mop up a handful of enemies and watch them drop all at once. Unfortunately, other parts of the game aren't nearly as good. Billy's sections are full of sneaking around, but you'll have a better time just letting loose with a revolver or bow. The whip mechanic is especially rough - I never felt any compulsion to use the whip on enemies, and lassoing onto a branch is finnicky and feels incredibly janky. In gun fights, taking cover behind something often gives you space to shoot back without much danger of getting shot yourself, so it's really easy to 'cheese' fights. The dialogue feels appropriate to the time period, with a couple anti-Mexican slurs and general bigotry thrown in. A shame that this bleeds into some of the cheeky easter egg wanted posters of the game's devs scattered throughout each level. 2006 was a different time, but it was still a surprise to see a dev's wanted poster called them the r-word. Not to mention the (admittedly typical for Westerns) stereotype-filled representation of the Native Americans that show up, both as enemies and as allies. All in all, definitely worth playing if you are a fan of Westerns, but people more sensitive to the bigotry of yesteryear may be put off by the writing. My advice is to play on the easiest setting, as the mix of a meh cover system and insane fall damage can have you limping around even if you're dropping bodies left and right.
