Gunz Online: The Duel Review (no fat)

Game Description

Gunz is a fast paced game, featuring both melee and gun-based ranged combat. It’s set it a world of assassins, spies and mercenaries who’ve set out to prove themselves against their opponents. Gunz features a variety of different combat styles, weapons and weapons types, including Katanas, Shotguns, Daggers, Rocket launchers, pistols, and more.

Gunz Online Gameplay

Gunz is centered on combat with and against other players on public and private servers/games created by players. It features a handful of maps and Gameplay modes, ranging from beaches to Georgian manor houses, and team death matches to open carnage. Gunz also features some RPG elements. Players gain experience (honor) through combat which can be spent on upgraded and new weapons (with a faster rate of fire, higher clip capacity, greater damage, higher range, and so on…), armour and trinkets to provide miscellaneous bonuses. However, there is limited to what you can use with your level and weight limits, but these can be upgraded as you level. The restrictions work even if you have sufficient honor to ‘afford’ it.

Gunz Online - Combat

Gunz is extremely frantic and fast paced. Players start off in games with low level players, where they can learn the basics and then fight their way up the ladder and out to gain access to higher level games.

The developers have done an impressive job of balancing Melee vs Ranged combat without giving either an obvious advantage. Sword wielders can sometimes block incoming bullet fire, and are generally faster and more agile, so they aren’t completely at the mercy of players with automatic rifles and rocket launchers.

Gunz Online - Problems

Gunz Online isn’t yet completely finished. The game has a number of bugs, and often players will enter a room with a ‘ping’ frozen at over 500ms, forcing you to ‘spray and pray’ with guns and ranged weaponry. It’s also worryingly open to hacking in places, although this is gradually improving with the latest patches. On top of that, the server is regularly taken down for maintenance…disrupting play in the mean time.

Gunz Graphics

Certainly not top of the range – the textures look outdated and the models are a little chunky, and it lacks any dynamic lighting/shadows. However, they’re not ‘bad’ by any means.

Gunz Audio

The sounds are a little bland, but again, not ‘bad’. They can, however, get somewhat annoying at times - such as in the middle of intense combat when things get a little repetitive.

Gunz Verdict

Fun to play, and it certainly some interesting concepts. However, the whole thing comes off as a little unprofessional. Buggy in places, and slow to respond in others, it’s sometimes difficult to get into. The free running, wall hopping, spin-shooting action is an interesting change, and can end up being a lot of fun to play.

Gunz Online– Price

Gunz is advertised as being free forever.