12 Best Western-Themed Video Games Ever

4. Outlaws

Red Dead Redemption
LucasArts

Down and dirty first person shooters don’t come much better than this under-appreciated effort from LucasArts. Released in spring 1997 on PC, the game was a breath of dusty air for players accustomed to their shooters taking place in a war time or sci-fi setting, which is incidental seeing as the Outlaw engine is an adoption of the one used for LucasArts’ own Jedi Knight series.

Along with being revolutionary as one of the first major titles to be set in the Wild West, there are so many ground-breaking elements to Outlaws that made it such a critical smash at the time. There’s those little details we still remember today (the reloading animations, immense) and a genius use of the sniper scope which, for reasons unfathomable, hasn’t carried over into future titles. These elements and an outstanding orchesteral score make this an adventure worth locking, loading and saddling up for.

Contributor
Contributor

Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing. He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.