Majesco and developer Happy Happening's The Wild West is an interesting idea that doesn't quite pull itself together to create anything particularly exciting. The game puts players in an alternate reality Wild West world where you control either a humanoid wolf (Wolfy) or a cat (Catty) and go on your merry way shooting bad guys that are out to take you down. The story goes that both of these animals have a vendetta against the big bad guy of the game named Terano and his gun toting criminal gang. While the stories that play out for these two characters are different, the action is pretty much the same no matter who you pick (though there are a few distinctions that set these two tail waggers apart ever so slightly).

Besides the use of the dual screen to give you a longer view of the action, this game is your basic shoot 'em up in the style of classics like Commando. You play the game by tapping the touch screen with the stylus to fire shots that can go as far as the view screen to hit enemies. Likewise, you will have to avoid shots that can reach as far south as the touch screen as enemies swarm all over you. As I've already mentioned, it's like Commando with a very, very long view in these segments.

The other parts of the game you encounter are 2D side-scrolling screens that only appear on the touch screen and old school style 3D scenes that propel you forward. You go through these segments much like an old arcade game where you are propelled forward by the action (think Contra Lite) though things get mixed up depending on whether or not you are on foot or on horseback. On foot Wolfy and Catty move using the directional pad, but if you are on horseback you are automatically propelled forward and can only dodge left or right. The idea is that you simply shoot anything that comes at you by tapping the enemy on the touch screen.

In both types of sequences it can be difficult to connect your shot with the enemy you are trying to shoot because sometimes the touch screen just doesn't respond the way it is supposed to. This is most irritating when you are being rushed by screens of enemies - though thankfully most shots will connect with something anyways. Not exactly the picture of precision but it gets the job done sometimes.

And that's the game in a nutshell - a touch screen enabled clickfest where your clicking doesn't always translate to success.. or fun. The Wild West is the kind of game that you rent because you might want to play a mindless arcade game.

The game also offers some multiplayer in the form of some fun mini-games that can be unlocked by playing through the story. While these are fun you can only get them by doing the work in the single-player game, so player will have to weigh whether this small reward is worth the work..

Graphically the game looks good, particularly when it comes to the character design. The backgrounds aren't all that thrilling but they help to put an emphasis on the cute characters on both sides of the law. Music and sound are also adequate enough, but nothing to write home about at the end of the day.

When all is said and done, The Wild West is a mindless clickfest that may put a little wear on your touch-screen but leaves you wanting something more. The biggest problem is that the controls aren't as responsive as they should be and the gameplay isn't compelling enough to recommend this game for anything more than a rental.