Game Review: GUNBOUNDM, The Well Loved Shooter Game Of The 00’s Returns!

Remember that online multiplayer game with cute avatars, vehicles, and uses the laws of physics?  Yes, Gunbound is back, and now you can enjoy it, on mobile! 

Gunbound took the world by storm in 2006 with its adorable characters with gameplay similar to the classic game, Worms. Sadly, it only lasted for three years, as the host was shut down in July 2009. Gunbound made the last years of my college life worthwhile, forming a guild with my college friends and climbing up the international leaderboard with devotion and ferocity. So you cannot imagine how devastated I was when the servers were shut down.

Fast forward to 2017, Softnyx, the original creators of Gunbound, decided to partner with game studio, Dargom to create GunboundM!

GunboundM had all the features of the original Gunbound, however, I was super bummed to know that there was no multiplayer feature! How could I get the guild back together again?! I had seriously considered not getting the game but, since it was free to download and play, I thought I’d still give it a shot.

Game Objective. 

Basically, your objective is to kill the enemy at all costs – whether it was hitting them or destroying the ground underneath them so they could fall into the abyss. Pretty straightforward.

Visual and Performance.

The visuals gave me nostalgia. The avatars look exactly the same as the original game, but you can’t customize them until you get to Level 12 (which sadly, I still am not). Game performance is smooth, but it needs fast internet to work, or you’ll just get disconnected all the time. The game is quick to respond to commands, as long as you have good internet connection. I play on iOS and so far, I haven’t encountered any bugs. Visually, game rooms are amazing. All stages are floating stages, that’s why you can make enemies fall into the abyss. It feels like cheating but who am I to judge? I’ve won a few games thru bungee shots. Each stage has interactive floors, parts of which crumble and fall every time you hit it. The effects are simple but beautiful.

Gameplay.

It’s very simple and outright; you shoot through projectiles while considering wind speed and direction. Firing ammo is simple, but there are certain skills for each avatar that requires a specific length of projectile to exhibit its full potential and max damage. There are also special clouds that if your ammo goes through them, you’ll receive special power-ups like added lighting or laser hits your enemy. Unlike the original, you can only have three items each game, which are randomly generated. There’s a heal item, a double shot, an added skill shot, a vampire shot, a multiple bomb shot, and a bungee shot.

There are two gaming modes: training mode and battle mode. Each mode has three “stages” arranged according to difficulty. The only major differences in each mode is the time and the enemy. In training mode, you are against bots, while in Battle mode you’ll be against other people. In training, you have unlimited time to aim and shoot while in Battle mode, you have 30 seconds to move (which is also limited), aim and shoot. For those who didn’t play the original game, it would take a few training sessions to get a feel of the stage, and estimate the hits, considering wind speed and direction. Overall, GunboundM can be learned and played with ease.