Space Gun (video Game) - Gameplay

Gameplay

The game is set in a fictional future, in the year 2039, where humans have begun deep space exploration. A distress call is transmitted from a crippled ship near an alien planet. The game's protagonist, a special soldier, responds to the call. Upon boarding the ship, the soldier discovers it has been overrun by hostile aliens. The aliens have captured the human crew for an unknown purpose. The story has sections that take place aboard the space craft and on the planet's surface. The protagonist's overall goal is to rescue as many human hostages as possible, eliminate the alien threat, and escape the space craft.

Space Gun is a side scrolling shooting game in which the player views the on-screen action from a first person perspective. Players use a cabinet mounted light gun to target and shoot enemies. Enemies are either mechanical guns that descend from above the screen or aliens, several of which can only be defeated by first shooting away their limbs. The player must save human hostages from the creatures. Occasionally, a hostage will mutate into an alien. In addition to the standard rapid fire weapon, there are four other weapons: a flamethrower, grenade launcher, freeze bomb, and blade bomb. These weapons require ammunition which can be collected throughout the stages, and are activated by the player using the pump action of the mounted gun.

There are six or seven levels (depending on which version of the game is being played) that are split into four subsections, each with its own end-of-level boss. Between levels the story is explained and moved forward through the use of short animated cut-scenes with text on the screen. Players can often choose their own path through the level by selecting a door or arrow using the gun. Several of the home system versions feature light gun support; however, all of them allow the player to move a crosshair to target enemies. The multiplayer game is identical the single player experience, but the Sega Master System, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum versions do not feature multiplayer.