Game Reviews

Guncrafter

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Guncrafter
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Minecraft's success has inspired some pretty blatant clones, but Guncrafter has to be the most tenuous exploitation of the seminal sandbox title's incredible popularity.

It takes a pretty basic shooting range concept and coats it in a blocky aesthetic reminiscent of Mojang's magnum opus - for little reason other than to cash in on an established audience.

The game is as straightforward as they come: you construct a gun, challenge a fellow player, and see who can shoot the most stuff in the allotted time. Coins are awarded for destroying as many objects as possible, and these serve as in-game currency, allowing you to unlock more gun creation slots and different base materials.

Sharp shooting

To begin with, you'll be doing most of your blasting using a wooden gun with a low ammo capacity. Repeat play grants you more coins and the chance to fashion larger firearms, but the high cost of items and the stingy amount of cash handed out for success mean that it's slow going - hence the inclusion of in-app purchases that allow you to speed things up in exchange for real-world money.

When you're on the shooting range, your aim is controlled by your device's accelerometer. You fire by tapping the screen and reload by swiping down on the 'magazine' icon. Occasionally you'll spot "present" blocks, which grant bonus coins, but for the most part the challenge is simply to outgun your rival.

Off target

Needless to say, it quickly becomes repetitive - even the levels themselves (which are based on different structures and look as if they've been lifted wholesale from someone’s Minecraft world) fail to stir any real interest.

On the face of it, Guncrafter doesn't really do all that much wrong - the controls are good, the visuals are acceptable, and we had no trouble getting matched up with other players online.

The real issue is that it's a game designed to leech cash via IAPs, yet the core gameplay simply isn't enticing enough to keep you interested. Guncrafter is quick to take aim, but it's hopelessly wide of the mark.

Guncrafter

A concept too basic to maintain any real interest, Guncrafter ends up feeling like a shameless attempt to cash in on Minecraft's success
Score
Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.