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Hogan's Alley 2004

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: March 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Boy howdy have I waited a long time for a good video game set in the Western genre! Howdy doody is this not it! Darn tootin'!

Dead Man's Hand, unfortunately, is just a glorified shooting gallery. You score points for shooting random objects (hanging signs, wagon wheels, window shutters, lanterns, etc.) and, occassionally, an outlaw. But the outlaw AI is nothing like you'd expect, no, it fits right in with the shooting gallery theme, so that your enemies simply pop up (or run) into view so you can shoot them down, a lot like the ducks in ol' Duck Hunt. And the killing of these stupid bandits factors in the silly trick shot mechanic as well, with you earning the most points by shooting the hat off of a foe's head, shooting a nearby powder keg and exploding them, or what have you. The problem is that the auto-aim is so intrusive that you can line up with a powder keg or other environmental hazard, and when you shoot, the game instead registers your shot in the bad guy's chest, thereby losing you the points you could have earned by blowing him up with the powder keg. And in a show of really poor quality control and testing, many, many times I've shot a bandit dead, and had the auto aim still focus on his dead body (or even where it had BEEN before it disappeared), so that when I try to shoot a watermelon (*sigh*) that's halfway across the screen, my bullets instead completely ignore my crosshairs and slam into the ground where the dead guy had been! Ugh!

Boss battles? In an FPS? How exciting! And it seems as though the developers tried to rise to that expectation, with the obligatory "evaluate the boss' attack pattern and attack accordingly." For instance, before the battle with Apache boss "Flat Iron," your in-game persona suggests you keep your back to the wall (because the Apache is fast on his feet), and he only uses knives in his attacks, so do your best to shoot them out of the air. Okay, I thought. Boring, sure, unoriginal, yeah, but they tried. But you could've fooled me, because there's zero strategy involved, leaving you to simply shoot the supposed overlord repeatedly until he's dead, just like his henchmen.

Okay, okay, but what about the weapons? I've seen better weapon models come from an amateur mod team, the Peacemaker in particular. And on top of that, your "secondary fire" option (with the Peacemaker it's obviously the option to fan the gun, thereby shooting rapid-fire and generally just being really cool) has to be earned by filling up a meter with those boring trick shots I mentioned, and then it depletes with use, only to have to be filled again. And on top of even THAT frustration, the Winchester rifle's secondary fire isn't even the cool rapid-fire method seen in The Rifleman! It's a boring old sniper scope that doesn't even work anyway, because of the stupid auto-aim feature!

And while the story itself isn't very good either, being the expected rehash of every Spaghetti western you've ever seen, the atmosphere's alright. Once while inching my way down a canyon I looked up to notice, for the first time for any game in memory, the clouds in the sky actually blowing with the wind. But that's probably been in plenty of other games before Dead Man's Hand; it's probably that they just weren't so boring that I actually took the time to assess the cloud physics. The music, I've got to admit, is the high point of the game, with its combination of that classic Spaghetti western guitar and rythm with a modern drum beat. And finally, the art direction is just as boring as the gameplay, with all of the evil bosses being a pretty nondescript guy with a mustache and/or sideburns.

So really, this is just an update to those old novely lightgun shooting galleries of the '80s. I've longed for a Western adventure with a lightning-fast Peacemaker strapped to my leg, but walking around shooting bottles and hats is not what I had in mind. And unless that sounds appealing to you, you may as well just stick with Gunsmoke on your NES until Red Dead Revolver gets here.

Good game for $30

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

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.

FASTEST GUN IN THE WEST-BY DEFAULT

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

It is a pleasure to see a FPS that is not War-related, a super-spy or set in a Sci-Fi universe. If ever a genre cried out for being a First-Person Shooter (or better still, a Third Person Shooter) - it is the Western! Well DEAD MAN'S HAND fills the bill (if only by default as being the only game in town). It is neat the way inanimate objects (bottles, barrels, etc) will "dance" (and break and explode) by the dead-aim of the protagonist (you) as you seek to avenge your "being left for dead" by your former outlaw gang. Two quibbles - and the first was significant enough to cause the loss of 2 stars! The guys you shoot disappear almost the second they hit the ground (talk about losing any realism this game was striving for!). Very bad design! Imagine the effect of seeing the dusty western streets littered with the bodies of your enemies (Clint or the Duke would have been proud!!!). Also, being a Western cries out for a more adult rating than T (as in tsk tsk)!. Oh well - one can hope that the upcoming RED DEAD REVOLVER will pick up the slack. Either way...it is nice to see this overlooked genre finally getting some attention!!!

This game gave me hemorrhoids

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have never had such a pain in the (...) playing a video game as I have had with Dead Man's Hand. I've had 4 consoles in my lifetime and to date this game on the Xbox is without a doubt the worst. Targeting is the worst I have ever encountered. The crosshair will sometimes not even be close to the target but will register a kill when other times up close with the target dead on it will be a miss. On the mine level, I completely fell off the game grid and was looking up at the floating houses above me while I walked on a black plane through the mountains. I finally had to restart the game to start playing again. I will check other players ratings on games before my next purchase of any Atari product.

Great game set in the old west!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

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.

Great Old Western Gunfighter!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

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.

This game isn't that Dead yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Dead Man's Hand (and it's to bad since this game is really good) has been out since the dreaded Halo 1 and 2

People or gamers of today dont have the brains or will to think outside the box anymore. And i know alot of gamers are kids, but there are more adults like myself who should be able to appperciate alot more.

If you as a gamer can NOT compare Dead Man's Hand to Halo or Grand Theft Auto I think you might really enjoy this game.

The voice acting is first rate. El Tejon, the lead, is perfect. And the others are just as good. There are quite a few characters in this game.

The opening movie will draw you in from the get go! It's really very well done. It tells of a life you led with eight others. You were called "The Nine". it then peoceeds to tell of the betrayal, and i wont say anymore, watch the opening movie.

The first level is more of a learning the controlls level. You get a few guns with no enemies around and you can blast alot of things from watermellons to hanging lights. Only at the end can you squeeze off a few rounds and some baddies. But remember, this level is disquised as a walk through, only not as boring as most walk through first levels.

The many levels that follow are all well done. there are going be many weapons and alot of tough hombres!! Gameplay is allways smooth and i haven't come across any bugs in the game at all.

On-line play is very fun! Only promblem is everyone is playing Halo 2. To bad really. But if you have this or get this game, look up my gamer tag, Master Garret on xbox live and i'll play anytime.

this part of the west really does kill,those who play It !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the west,with a dumb @$$ story!All in all stay away from this.Really bad graphics,BABY like enemy AI,(their weapons never change!)but yours do very little I might as well add.Look this isnt the worst game I have ever played but it stands real close to #1!!!!!!!!!!

THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This Game is OK (I have not played the game on-line), but the graphics are just OK. The scenery is good, but the character models are not the most fluid.

Collision is also a problem. I shot right at the head of an enemy and the shot missed, however when riding a horse and flailing into the wind with lead, I hit every enemy. Even if they were not even close to their target.

Another problem is the load times. It seems really slow to load, and gets stuck in the loading process.

The game is a typical FPS, and it is pretty fun, but there is probably no reason to run through the game once you complete it. This game should of been so much more, but what do you expect from a game that was originally cancelled by the developer a couple of years ago.

Fun to look at, fun to play.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Very cool graphics, fun theme. Completely entertaining.

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