
	Platform Wii Genre Arcade Shooter Publisher Majesco Developer Digital Leisure ESRB T (Teen) Released June 19, 2009

- First live-action shooter on the Wii - Allows up to 4 people to play at once - Good value – 3 games in one budget package

- Game play timing can be frustrating - Limited replay value - May appeal only to those who liked the originals

Review: Target: Terror (Wii) Review: Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii) Review: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)
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Mad Dog McCree: Gunslinger Pack

Score: 5.5 / 10

Digital Leisure is a company that has kept the laser disc community happy with updates and re-releases to classic games that were brought to the public attention in 1983 when Dragon’s Lair was released. On newer consoles, the remakes of these classics have been limited to DVD or other video releases that could be limiting on what features were implemented. Now, that has all changed.

Mad Dog McCree: Gunslinger Pack is actually a combination title that includes the original Mad Dog, Mad Dog 2: The Lost Gold and The Last Bounty Hunter. It’s also a native Wii game and not just a DVD (which wouldn’t work on the Wii anyways).

This series is about you going on a Wild West adventure to take down Mad Dog and his cohorts. The original arcade game used a laser disc to play live action video and

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a specialized computer controller with a light gun attached to it to ensure you were shooting the screen in the right place at the right time.

Now, the video is encoded on a Wii disc (and although it doesn’t look perfect, it’s pretty good considering the age of the source material) and your Wiimote becomes your trusty six-shooter. Support for the Wii Zapper and other

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similar gun peripherals are supported although not required.

The cheesy acting is either going to make you laugh or turn you off. If you can get past that (I actually rather enjoy it) you will then find that you have to shoot at the bad guys at just the right time, while avoiding the good guys at other times. If your gun runs out of bullets, you have to shoot off screen to reload – all classic light gun fare.

The problems start when you realize just how little time you actually have to make some of these shots. In the first part of the game, I found myself in a barn where you have to take out approximately half a dozen bad guys. The game does randomize the order they appear in (which adds to the challenge) but one misfire and you have to repeat the entire sequence over again. This results in some phrases sticking in your brains for days afterward, and they aren’t always welcome.

Overall, the game play is as shallow as other laser discs from this era. The random factor in certain areas helps but overall, it’s simply a matter of memorizing the placement of your six shooter and the time in which to squeeze out a shot.

I have to give this game points for how it was implemented on the Wii. The multiplayer, the integration of the Wiimote and the video all work very well. The fact that you get all three related games in one package at a budget price also works greatly for this title.

So before you consider this another piece in the shovelware pile on the Wii, consider that it faithfully recreates the original source material and it is very clear that care was taken with the original source material. With two different modes (one where you are on your own, the other where you work together) there is some replay value here but you may tire of the repeated video sequences after a while.

If you remember the originals (fondly of course), you will definitely want to pick this up. If this is your first time packing a six-shooter in the Wild West, you might want to consider a rental first. Giddy up!

- Syd Bolton

(July 28, 2009)

Syd Bolton is the Curator of the Personal Computer Museum (www.pcmuseum.ca) and has been playing games since the days he rocked Omega Race on the VIC-20.