Gunman Chronicles

Gunman Chronicles is a first-person shooter that requires the player to perform combat tasks and puzzle solving to advance through the game, much like its predecessor Half-Life. While gameplay is similar to Half-Life's in terms of health-and-armor systems and artificial intelligence, one major aspect of Gunman Chronicles is the ability to customize each weapon. Each weapon the player obtains has multiple alternate "modes" for various situations; for instance, the starting pistol can be turned into a sniper rifle or a rapid-fire machine-pistol while the MULE, a rocket launcher, can be configured to fire homing rockets, timed explosives, or cluster bombs. Another new aspect of Gunman Chronicles is the ability to drive vehicles.

During the latter half of the game, there is a lengthy vehicle section in which the player is able to drive a tank through a system of canyons. The player occasionally comes across obstacles hindering the tank's path which will require the player to stop and figure out a puzzle or activate a switch.

According to the game's introductory cutscene, the Gunmen act as a sort of military police force for humanity's inter-galactically expanding colonial empire at an unknown time period in the distant future. During a mission five years prior to the beginning of the game, the Gunmen were dispatched to a planet called Banzure Prime to investigate a communications breakdown with a research colony there, under the command of their leader, known simply as "The General". While investigating the colony, they come under attack by massive, worm-like organisms that form one part of a larger genus of creatures known as "Xenomes". The General, seeing his men have no chance by themselves, takes command of one of the Gunmen's dropships and begins performing bombing runs on the attacking Xenomes, destroying several before being captured in the jaws of one of the larger creatures.

Meanwhile, the player character, Major Archer, rallies the remaining gunmen and orders them to retreat to the remaining ships and get off-world immediately, assuming that the general is already dead. The General, still alive as his fighter is dragged underground, pleads (apparently unheard) for rescue over the radio, but the Gunmen leave before having a chance to receive the message.

The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Jim Preston of NextGen called it "A respectable mod that's still no better than some of the free stuff out there." John Marrin of GamePro called it "a worthy title if you hanker for a reheated FPS experience. It's like day old meatloaf: still delicious, but still meatloaf."