GUN returns as GUN Showdown, totally reworked for the PSP and offering new content not found in the other GUN games, but is it enough to get fans of the original to play this Wild Western third-person shoot 'em up on the go? Read on and find out..

The gameplay mechanics in Gun Showdown are relatively the same as the original games, and are pretty easily picked up with a little patience. The first mission of the game lets players learn the ropes pretty quickly, schooling Colton in the use of the rifle, the knife for close range combat, shotguns and -- of course -- your revolver. A little later on in the game, Colton learns how to ride a horse, shoot from a mounted position and use his horse as a weapon. The gunplay is the most satisfying part, and there are lots of different ways to get the job done - from the usual shotguns, to revolvers and bows to rifles with scopes. The quick draw, which slows down the action to make killing multiple targets easier, is still in the game and as good as ever. Combined with a simple and quick targeting method, skilled players can easily shoot a group of baddies in very little time. The quick draw component is timed, so using it right is very important. The other interesting mechanic is the rifle scope, which allows you to zoom into targets and pick them off from a long range. Of course, players can also jump, crouch and lean around corners, making the use of cover important. The gameplay is GUN is fun, mildly bloody at times and well put together no matter how you slice it.

The missions in GUN Showdown range from cleaning out areas filled with desperados to escorting stage coaches and prisoners to safety. There's a lot of variety to these missions, and many of them are difficult to accomplish until you get the hang of exactly what you are supposed to do. Players will also find themselves facing off against some pretty tough bosses - these guys are slightly more challenging than the usual baddies you'll be shooting, and usually reward the player with some extra weapons or other goodies.

The game also features a lot of neat mini-games and activities like hunting, collecting cash from bounties, playing poker, working on a ranch, filling in for the law and mining for gold. While some of the side missions and activities aren't very deep they are fun and help the player to make money to buy various weapon and stat upgrades - and there are lots to choose from as you travel from town to town.

Beyond the main plot, side quests and mini-games in the storyline, there's also a set of mini-game challenges that are independent of all that. These range from quail shooting to playing Texas Hold 'Em against the A.I. As you progress in these mini-games you'll unlock other mini-games that will offer something altogether different. This additional content may be familiar ground but it's nice to have something small and bit-sized to play in between the storyline and the multiplayer.

Multiplayer is also in GUN Showdown - a feature that was sorely missed in the Xbox and Xbox 360 versions of the game. GUN Showdown offers three ad hoc multiplayer modes for up to six players including Poker (your standard Texas Hold 'Em game), Golden Cross (players try to hang onto an artifact for the longest time to score points) and your standard Deathmatch battles. Up to six players can play multiplayer through DM and Golden Cross, but Deathmatch does allow for bots if you are having trouble finding someone to lock horns with. Multiplayer is pretty fun (even with AI controlled bots), so fans that cried for it in the first game have an incentive to pick up GUN Showdown.

Before I wrap up talking about the good things about Showdown, I have to give credit to developer Rebellion for doing a good job of squeezing this game on the PSP and making look almost as good as its console counterparts. Even despite the limited resources and graphical real estate of the PSP, Gun Showdown looks pretty sharp on system and plays smoothly once you get by the control issues I mentioned earlier. Likewise, all the sound and music get the job done, making good use of the resources the PSP offers..

Now that we've talked about what has been done right in GUN Showdown, let's get it's low points out of the way. The first low point is the controls. While they are not completely unmanageable they do nonetheless make jumping right in and playing an impossibility. That's because you'll be using the analog stick for looking around and the X, Square, O and Triangle buttons to move around.

There is an alternate control scheme you can use where you move with the analog stick, but ultimately it's not any better than your first choice. While I could complain about the way the developers implemented controls for the game it's understandable why they chose this setup given that they had to cram all of those functions that were on the console version of the game into the limited buttons of the PSP. And it helps that you can get used to using this whole new control scheme if you have some patience.

The only other complaint I can really lodge against GUN Showdown is its lack of life in the two civilized areas in the game. Unlike it's console counterparts, GUN Showdown is devoid of life in towns. There's no frontier cowboys wandering around towns, no immigrant workers, nothing to populate the world.. Luckily this and any other complaints anyone might have about this game, are countered by more missions, the main plot, multiplayer and a series of unlockable challenges.