Incorporating two recent and interconnected themes of mine - casual gaming and one-button gaming - comes Cowboy a new Palm Os game which allows you to lasso various animals while avoiding pesky cacti and, erm, bombs. The interface requires just one button press, as it's all about timing your throw correctly.
As far as I'm concerned, there simply have not been enough lasso sims in videogame history. The last I can remember was Sega's fantastic arcade game Jambo Safari, which ran on the Naomi arcade board, a souped-up version of the Dreamcast hardware. I always hoped that the game - which involved driving a jeep around a safari park capturing sick animals for their own good - would make it across to the home console, but it never did. This release has just raked up those old feelings of disappointment once again.
As for cowboy games in general, these too have been curiously rare, despite a rich cinematic heritage and a wealth of design possibilities. Here are the six best examples in videogame history...
Boot Hill (Midway, 1977) - the arcade classic, Pong meets Space Invaders... with Cowboys! Gunsmoke (Capcom, 1985) - extremely tough vertical scrolling shooter in the style of Commando... with Cowboys! Law of the West - (Accolade, 1985) - Amusing home computer adventure game with a multiple choice conversational interface. Sunset Riders (Konami, 1991) - Typically bright and brash vertical scroller with both walking and horse riding levels. Outlaws (Lucas Arts, 1997) - Underrated spaghetti western-themed FPS. Red Dead Revolver (Rockstar, 2004) - Stylish third-person gunslinger for the PS2 and Xbox.
