Platform: PC
Format: None, downloadable
Genre: Shooting
Release Date: Sometime in 2003?
Developer/Publisher: Softnyx
GunBound is a delightful
Korean game, played
online, with free servers and free downloading for all. It can be accurately described as the love child of
Worms and
Scorched Earth. You pick a
tank and a few items, and then
shoot people in 1v1 to 4v4 games. The english webpage, unfortunately, looks like it has been run through babelfish from
korean, making it a lovely jumble of
Engrish and somewhat difficult to understand! Luckily, the process for
downloading is simple. Check out www.gunbound.net for the download link, which is kind of stuck on the lower left side of the page. You'll also need to get an account, to play. There's all sorts of other
stuff, but it's not really important!
Once you have the
game, you might want to change the settings. If your
computer is junk, turn off the effects and the background, and possibly the music and sound effects. None of these really take away from the game at all; I've played with full effects, it's really not important. Anyways, then run the game. Head into any of Servers 1, 3, or 5 so you don't have to play with people who are infinitely superior to you. Click on the 'Waiting' button to see what games are looking for people to join in. There are currently 4 types of play modes;
- Score - Each team has a limited number of lives. Each time a team member dies, your team loses one life and you choose a place to put your mobile down, which will land in a few turns. Whichever team runs out of lives first loses. Also, if the entirety of a team is dead, that team loses.
- Solo - Once you die, you're gone for good. Then a little slot machine appears at the bottom of the screen, which can get you some money, or get you stuff to drop on opponents. Note that the things you drop will be blown around by wind first.
- Tag - Basically Solo, only you can change your mobile on your turn by hitting F7. You can change back, too, but not on the same turn.
- Jewel - Instead of shooting at people, you shoot at little robots on the ground. They're holding up little signs, which say how many points you get when you kill them. The first team to 100 points wins. Also, the robots say random things, and they will sometimes copy people in the game, which is cool the the max.
So, each game you see on the screen will be one of those types. You can also see how many people are in, and how many people the game needs to start. Of course, you can make a 4v4 game with 6 people in it be a 3v3, if you want. To start out, you might want to find someone willing to let you get a grip on the game before they start actually shooting at you.
When you join a game, you'll see a lot of things. On the left and right are the people in the teams. Note that your character (
avatar) can get items that give you bonuses on
defense,
damage, etc etc. So, most people will probably be wearing something. Anyways, you'll see teams. In the middle is the
map you'll be playing, and below that are a bunch of
options set by the creator of the game, in a 2 by 3 rectangle of buttons. Going from left to right, they are;
- First top - The game mode. Switches between Solo, Score, Tag, and Jewel.
- Second top - How many people in the game. Switches between 1:1, 2:2, 3:3, and 4:4.
- First middle - Always set to Random. Can't be changed. I have no idea what this does.
- Second middle - Kind of sudden death. Switches between Bigbomb (shots do more damage, make bigger holes), Double (You shoot each shot twice), SSDeath (You can use your Super Shot repeatedly), and Nodeath.
- First bottom - Thing. Switches between Basic and Attack. Neither one seems to do anything.
- Second Bottom - How many turns before sudden death happens. Switches between 40, 56, and 72.
You'll want to play for a while, and then you can figure out which options you like. Most of the time people are happy to change options if you ask nicely. Also, note that below each person is their name, and
rank icon. The rank icon changes depending on your
GP, which is basically ranking points. You get
GP when you finish a game, and most of the time you'll get some even if you lose. You start at a
chicken, and make your way up from there. The order is
chick,
hammers, and then
axes. Some other stuff further than that, but that should cover everything you'll see in the beginning. There will also be a
key by the name of the person who can change the
options.
Now then, the more important part is going to be picking a
mobile (
tank) to play in for the game. On the lower left side of the screen, there will be a bunch of them. They all have different qualities, but unfortunately I cannot make an unbiased opinion on them, so you should try all of them, even if I hate them! In order, from left to right;
- Armor Mobile - I don't like this one, but it's not bad. It shoots missiles, and...more missiles!
- Mage - Pretty good. Shoots lasers. Super shot is a big explosiony orb of death.
- Nakmachine - AKA the assbot. It shoots out the back! The second shot is pretty powerful, and makes pretty big holes. The super shot has to hit what you're aiming at exactly or it'll miss; it goes through the ground.
- Trico - Dinosaur! Shoots bombs. The second shot fires three in a line sort of thing, which can be useful to at least partially damage what you're aiming for. Super shot is a big fireball explosion thing.
- Big Foot - Shoots barrages of missiles. It's a pretty good moblie, but at long range only a few of your missiles will actually hit, even if your shot is perfect.
- Boomer - This thing is almost impossible to shoot in the wind. However, the second shot is powerful and can be good for digging holes.
- Raon Launcher - Shoots mines with it's second shot. The first shot is good for hole digging as well.
- Lightning - Makes lightning come down where your shot hits. Has a lot of splash damage, so if you miss you might still do some damage.
- J.D. - AKA the cakebot. The second shot will draw people in like a sort of gravity well. If someone's right on a ledge, this can pull them off to their death.
- A.Sate - Satellite bot. A bunch of lasers come down where your shot hits.
- Ice - Mammoth! Can be powerful. Shoots blocks of ice.
- Turtle - Kind of overpowered. Does lots of damage with second shot.
- Grub - Pretty cool. The second shot shoots little balls that will roll down slanted land and hit people. The super shot is a giant ball, it can cause lots of pain.
- Aduka - Not many people like it. It starts out weak at the beginning of the game, but later on the power will actually grow.
- Random - I think you know what this does.
- Knight - It's basically A.Sate, only more powerful. Much more powerful. You can only use this by getting lucky with Random.
- Dragon - Basically Big Foot, only more powerful. Like the Knight, can only be gotten through Random.
So, I suggest you try all of these.
Playing Random is a good way to do this, and I think it's more fun, too. Once you have your mobile picked, you'll need to grab some
items! I'm getting tired of making lists, but each item tells you what it does with a
mouseover message! I normally use one Dual, one Dual+, and two Shovels. Note that
bunging means making holes, and making people fall through holes to kill them.
Now that that's out of the way,
playing is pretty simple. You use the left and right arrows to move, and up and down to change your angle. Then, hold space to fire. The longer you hold it down, the further your shot will go. In Tag, you use F7 to change your mobile. You can also use F8 to skip your turn, if you want.
On the lower left corner of the screen, you can change your shot. There's Shot 1, Shot 2, and Super Shot. Your Super Shot can only be shot every 3 or 4 turns, so use it
wisely. On the upper right corner, you can use an item. They're all
one use only, so use them wisely as well.
A lot of stupid people play the game, so try not to get too impatient with them. A lot of people will say stuff like 'NS', 'NT', or 'KS' a bunch. They mean nice shot, nice try, and kill steal, respectively.
On a final note,
GB has a word censor, censoring out most curse words and a few other things, as well. It's nothing that will effect your playing experience, so don't sweat it.