Bladeslinger Preview

Bladeslinger lets you play “Cowboys vs Mutants” on iOS and Android

Remember when, as a kid, you’d pretend to be a cowboy fighting crooks and outlaws? Well, if you’re old enough to own an iOS or Android device (and can actually operate it beyond trying to stick it in your mouth), then you’re officially old enough to advance your “Old West” playtime fantasy to a video game about a cowboy who fights aliens and mutants. Welcome to Bladeslinger by Luma Arcade.

Bladeslinger is the story of a cowboy named William Glaston who returns home after a multi-year absence to find that his town’s demographics have shifted slightly. Gone are the hyperactive prospectors and saloon gals; new to the neighborhood are towering alien creatures with a hunger for flesh.

Glaston decides something must be done about the town’s tumbling property values, so he grabs his gun, which is tipped with a pretty wicked-looking blade. Bladeslinger is a third-person action brawler built on the Unity engine, so the game moves at a pleasingly brisk pace and boasts some of the best visuals you’ll see on a mobile platform, hands down.

You control Glaston via tapping and swiping. It seems that making certain gestures on the screen unleashes special attacks, so you can presumably shoot mutants in the crotch or stab them in the eye, depending on the moves you make (and the mood you’re in).

Bladeslinger looks fantastic, but will the gameplay prove to be as compelling as its dusty, post-apocalyptic setting? No word of a release date yet, but stick to Gamezebo for more news about the war between the mutants and a lone cowboy, hombre.

Nadia Oxford

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In the early aughts, Nadia fell into writing with the grace of a brain-dead bison stumbling into a chasm. Over the years, she's written for Nerve, GamePro, 1UP.com, USGamer, Pocket Gamer, Just Labs Magazine, and many other sites and magazines of fine repute. She's currently About.com's Guide to the Nintendo 3DS at ds.about.com.