An ugly (but profitable) occurrence in the current generation of gaming is the fad of adult-themed games marketed to immature “thugs” – namely impressionable kids not yet in high school. This unfortunate trend has given us “gems” like “187 Ride or Die” and “Crime Life: Gang Wars.”

“Gun,” which comes to us from the developer and publisher of the “Tony Hawk” series, is yet another one of these adult-themed games. Obviously, they have some major street cred when it comes to making quality games. At its core, “Gun” is a “Grand Theft Auto” clone set in the Wild West. Instead of skyscrapers, there are saloons, and instead of cars, there are horses. Hmm, yes, there is nothing quite like carjacking Black Beauty. There are still prostitutes, though, and they play a major role in the story.

The story of “Gun” is told through excellent cutscenes and dead-on voice acting. Both of these factors really bring the characters to life. Featuring prostitutes with hearts of gold; corrupt, prostitute-addicted mayors; and cowardly, “edjicated” Northerners, the “Gun” universe is never short of, well, character.

The plot of “Gun” is supposedly a tale of brutality, greed and lust in the hell-like West, but really, the story is a basic revenge story where the main character, Colton White, is avenging the deaths of some minor characters, including, again, prostitutes. Still, it’s a very engaging story, rife with twists, revelations and some of the most racist depiction of Native Americans and Chinese immigrants (lovingly referred in the game as “them Coolies”).

The gameplay of “Gun” is less impressive than the story. On one hand, the missions that advance the plot are some of the most entertaining bits of gameplay ever. Blowing up forts, protecting wagons and the almost puzzle-like nature of the boss fights – all these missions are varied and executed well.

Unfortunately, however, the open-ended missions are the definition of cookie-cutter. The player can choose jobs as a bounty hunter, town deputy, federal marshal, pony express rider and even a rancher. Pretty much all that these jobs require is to find the wanted character, then mash furiously on the “shoot” button until that wanted character is nothing but ground beef scattered in the wind. After about five of these missions, they lose their charm. The critical flaw is that the player is forced to play these drab missions because it is the only means available in upgrading character stats and being paid to spend money on weapon upgrades. After head-shotting the bad guys 30 times, the enjoyment of “Gun” slides a little.

Because “Gun” is set in the lawless West, violence is expected – nay, encouraged. This could be considered another drawback (or plus, for some) to “Gun.” Obviously, a lot of people get shot.

There are, however, cutscenes where prostitutes get manhandled, tomahawked in the head and decapitated. Psychotic Confederate soldiers strap dynamite to themselves and blow up spectacularly. There’s even an option in the game where the player can choose to “scalp” fallen enemies, which is accompanied by grisly cries of pain.

Overall, despite being a game in a overcrowded genre, “Gun” presents a unique twist on the same old thing. The engaging missions, intense action, interesting story and memorable characters make “Gun” a solid title.

Pop in the game and prepare to shoot bad guys and avenge the deaths of prostitutes.