People who remember playing Wild Guns back in the 1990’s know what Annie and Clint had to go through in this steampunk shooter. You had to be a quick draw and be ready to work together to bring down the Kid Gang. With Wild Guns Reloaded, two new allies join the group. Bullet the dachshund and Doris join the fight. While both Annie and Clint are more conventional combatants, these newcomers work a little differently.
Bullet is dog with quite a few tricks. You’re basically controlling both Bullet and his drone. The analog stick aims the drone’s reticle, but also moves Bullet while you’re aiming. The standard attack automatically locks on to enemies within its sphere of influence, while the special sends out eight energy balls that completely decimate every enemy on-screen. It’s tempting to say he’s an easy mode character, due shots locking on, but the level of dexterity and coordination needed to get enemies in your window while also keeping Bullet safe takes a level of skill that isn’t always intuitive. He’s a character where you appreciate the targeting system and ability to shoot out a lot of bullets in a short amount of time, but can’t allow yourself to get careless.
My main issue with Bullet, though, comes up when melee attackers appear. It isn’t as easy to trigger the short range attacks to deal with such foes, the same way it is with Clint, Annie, and Doris. It seemed like he was always stunning Bullet’s drone or winding up just out of range from where my reticle was aimed. If I was playing with someone, things were fine. They could run over to deal with the intruder while Bullet provided covering fire.
Doris, meanwhile, is there to do as much damage as possible. She’s Wild Guns Reloaded’s strongest character. She hurls bombs, instead of wielding more traditional guns, and they’re incredibly useful. While she does have a quick lasso attack, the dynamite is the way to go. Depending on how long you hold down her standard attack, she can send out between one and seven pieces. The more people with you, the better odds you can constantly send out multiple bombs. Though, it is possible to send out multiple bombs if you work on your timing and memorize enemy attack patterns.
Again, Doris is someone who really needs someone else as an aid. She moves slower than the other characters and has an odd dodge that functions differently. Like you may need to double jump, since she doesn’t have a window where she’ll temporarily be safe. Ideally, she should always be charging up her dynamite as often as possible to have between four and seven sticks tossed at once.
Which is why the expanded cooperative multiplayer is such a big deal. You really need at least one other person with you when playing Wild Guns Reloaded as Bullet or Doris, if not the full four this version of the game supports. That isn’t to say it’s impossible to beat the game with them, but I really wouldn’t want to or recommend it. Having someone more typical, like Clint or Annie, allows Bullet or Doris to act as a foil. They can pick off or deal with more specific issues, while Bullet and Doris both are pretty effective at handling crowd control.
Though, you could always go through Wild Guns Reloaded with Bullet and Doris acting as a duo. The two compliment each other well. Doris has this effective ground pound attack that you can pull off in the middle of a jump. This is an amazing way to protect a Bullet that is being chased by a melee attacker. Doris is best when using charged attacks, while Bullet is more of a rapid fire guy. Between the two, it’s easy to pick off hordes and bosses.
When it comes to Wild Guns Reloaded, it feels like Bullet and Doris fit perfectly into the formula. Each of these two characters is the kind that compliments other play styles. They require you to think a little differently as you lay down cover fire or prepare big blasts. This remake really makes the game feel fresh again.
Wild Guns Reloaded is available for the PlayStation 4.
