Dead Man's Hand Critic Reviews

The graphics and sounds will only keep the spirit of the Old West alive as you take out hundreds of outlaws with a few pulls of a trigger. Add addictive multiplayer modes and a low price tag of $29.99, Dead Man’s Hand is easily the best buy so far of 2004.

A unique scoring system lets you unlock killer trick shots - if ya ain't a coward that is.

What we really like about the game is that the unrelenting, merciless killing just feels right.

The Wild West theme lends itself well to the FPS treatment, and the primitive weaponry brings an almost liberating freedom to the gameplay.

Despite its failings, Dead Man's Hand has enough character, style, and atmosphere to make it an enjoyable time killer.

There are way too many technical problems to list, but it makes up for them with a cool theme, fun environmental interactions, a decent story, and gameplay that's, well, fun.

If you thought shooters needed more Stetson hats and Winchester rifles, you can't go wrong with this one.

High camp, and I'm not so sure it's supposed to be...While you won't find anything above and beyond than what you've already experienced in countless first person shooters, DMH is definitely playable and enjoyable without being remotely innovative.

What Dead Man’s Hand lacks are the basics which are integral to stellar game. Things such as a steady framerate, next-gen level graphics, and semi-intelligent enemy AI are items which must be present for a game to even have a chance at being anything but mediocre.

7 / 7 / 6 / 7 - 27

Not to say that this game doesn’t have a few good qualities, but they’re dampened by barren level design and poor enemy AI.

The shooting gallery-style gunplay and cool-looking physics, along with the cheesy voices and music, really nail the Wild West.

As an FPS it can't manage to come close to the likes of "Halo," "Castle Wolfenstein" or "Rainbow Six 3." But as a playful twist on the genre that tries to offer a bare arcade experience, and allows us to feel like Clint supping whisky at the OK Coral, it's pretty good fun.

As an FPS, Dead Man's Hand is nothing special at all. As an experience, though, DMH is a blast.

It feels less like a lost Sergio Leone classic than a simple coin-op shooting gallery.

Out of the box Dead Man’s Hand is a huge disappointment and a classic example of a great idea marred by poor or just sloppy game design.

In spite of a few noteworthy twists and the ability to play online, the game's execution leaves a lot to be desired.

Although Dead Man's Hand has a number of glaring problems It has a ton of potential. A cleaned up and enhanced version of the game could be.

Thanks to its lacking multiplayer features, it really just seems to be short-term entertainment, although that short-term can be a blast for one player.

The concept and play consistently deal a royal flush, just ignore the choppy visuals, which can irritate like a pesky infection picked up at Miss Kitty’s Cat House.