Billy the Kid is an early nineties arcade action game released by Alive Soft and Ocean that really brings the flavor of the wild west to the screen. It features scrolling action and whole lot of shooting fun.
Billy the Kid features a total of ten episodes, each with four unique levels. The episodes (each its own little adventure) that the user will partake in include: escaping from prison (obviously very important if the game is to continue); surviving in the desert when faced with gunmen and poisonous snakes; exploring the old man’s mine shaft for riches; fighting Sombrero Jack and his gang of thugs; flirting and fighting with the deadly senoritas in town; making your way through the ghost town; locating Captain Lightfoot’s lost treasure; fighting the Apache warriors; having a shootout with the cavalry sent to apprehend you; and finally escaping from Sheriff Garrett (who actually shot and killed Billy the Kid in a historical context).
Billy the Kid is an early nineties arcade action game released by Alive Soft and Ocean that really brings the flavor of the wild west to the screen. It features scrolling action and whole lot of shooting fun.
Billy the Kid features a total of ten episodes, each with four unique levels. The episodes (each its own little adventure) that the user will partake in include: escaping from prison (obviously very important if the game is to continue); surviving in the desert when faced with gunmen and poisonous snakes; exploring the old man’s mine shaft for riches; fighting Sombrero Jack and his gang of thugs; flirting and fighting with the deadly senoritas in town; making your way through the ghost town; locating Captain Lightfoot’s lost treasure; fighting the
Apache warriors; having a shootout with the cavalry sent to apprehend you; and finally escaping from Sheriff Garrett (who actually shot and killed Billy the Kid in a historical context). While the plot, if one can say a plot exists, is more or less detailed in the episodes, the point of the game is simply to rack up as much score as possible without getting killed.
The user can play as either Billy the Kid or as Sheriff Pat Garrett (which incidentally isn’t nearly as much fun). The game also comes with a non-violent no gun option for those looking for some peaceful wild west fantasy land. [This option went untried for this review, so I am not really sure how it works to have a gun fighting game with no guns…give it a try for curiosity’s sake]. Most of the action sequences in the game are either played from the bird’s eye top down perspective…especially the flight scenes that feature Billy on horse back. Others are first person gun fights, which are also a lot of fun.
With so many episodes at hand, the user can guess that the mapping is very large in Billy the Kid, and that there will be plenty to do and plenty to explore. The plot is linear, and the episodes must go in order for them to be completed. Fellow outlaws that you meet will offer hints and tips in order to keep Billy on the right track and moving toward ensuing episodes.
Billy the Kid does not feature zippy stellar graphics, but at least the game and game control is fast enough and smooth enough to keep most users interested. It is a very large game, so it is definitely worth a download, since it will take quite a while to complete. For even more fun and even larger scores, look up the hint codes for unlimited bullets and other gems. It could be a real adventure.
