Lead and Gold (Impressions / Review)

[SirSpam28]

So I picked up Lead and Gold last night via steam, and I just wanted to give you guys my thoughts on the game.

VISUALS
First of all, if you've seen any screens or vids of the game your thinking, Team Fortress 2...and that is pretty spot on.  It looks almost near identical as far as art direction, but i think it looks a little crisper, and they are going for a less overly dramatic/cartoony feel than TF2, so that defiantly ups the realism.  The final line is, the game looks good and animates beautifully.

MECHANICS
The game-play is 3rd person shooter, but unlike Gears, there is no duck or cover system.  The game is all about staying mobile.  There is a dodge button that makes the character roll in whatever direction you want to, and sprint and walk are there as well.  The problem with a lot of 3ps is that the camera can be taken so far out, you can see around corners or so far behind you that you can just sit in a corner and see whenever anybody is trying to approach you.  The camera here is handled beautifully.  It stays very close to the shoulder, so you can still sneak up behind people, and when getting closer to cover, it actually pulls in a little more, to replicate the characters view being obstructed as well.  When you aim, the effect is a zoom(level dependent on gun) with a virtual cross-hair coming up.  the cross-hair is nice in that it isn't a plus, but rater tries to recreate an early period open site picture, I like it a lot.  Present at all times, aiming or not, is your hit circle, which is a grayish area in the center of the screen.  Obviously, moving makes it bigger, and aiming makes it smaller, it grows with each successive shot, to simulate recoil, and I think it does a fine job of allowing you to put rounds on target reliably.

SOUND
Sounds really good, guns have an authentic period booming-ness to them.(If you've ever fired a .45lc, .45-70 gov, or the trappers .50-90, you know what I mean...
The music is nice, the honestly I usually turn the music down so low that I can hear it besides menus.

GAMEPLAY
At launch there are 4 classes, Gunslinger, Deputy, Trapper, and Blaster.
Each class has a different Primary weapon, and all except gunslinger have a 6 shooter as a sidearm(A better revolver is his one and only gun).  On top of firearms, each class has a trait that can be used/deployed.  The gunslinger can fan his hammer, resulting in lots o lead downrange very fast but with reduced accuracy, the Deputy can mark enemies(Does the same thing as BFBC2, but also cause them to take more damage), Trapper can lay down bear traps to snag people and keep them pinned there for 10 secs, and the Blaster, well, he throws dynamite...
Additionally, each class has a synergy that it radiates, basically a buff that helps all teammates close to you, encouraging groups to stick and work together.
There are a lot of game modes, and they do a good job revolving around wild west stuff, mainly stealing gold or blowing up enemy areas with big powder kegs.  During matches, you gain xp, which allows you to level up in match, making all your stats go up.  The levels do not carry over, so everyone starts every new match at level 0 again.  At this point there is no permanent progression, but honestly, it doesn't need to be there. The classes really play to there range strengths well, and In my play I haven't come across a class that seems way to "overpowered" (Cough, duel 1887's, cough).  The game play remains fast, fluid and fun throughout a match and really is a blast to play.

The bottom line is that the game looks good, sounds and plays great, and is a solid third person multi-player shooter.  The fact that it stars cowboys, and I love cowboys, is a happy icing on the win cake. For $15, its worth every penny.
Best Strength:  The guns feel authentic and unique, no clones of standard shooter guns with different skins.
Biggest Flaw:  Not that many people are playing it yet.  Only about 12 matches to choose from last night.

If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to fire away and I will answer as best as I can.